Meg Joshi and Caroline Ghosn Photo by Victoria DiBari

The play's focus is on Camilla (Caroline Ghosn), who lives in a spacious home (admirably represented in Curtis Howard's scenic design) in Kensington, Brooklyn. She is preparing a surprise party for her grandmother, Tabitha (Candy Dato), when she meets Emilia (Meg Joshi). Emilia, who agrees to perform at the party, sparks a romantic connection with Camilla, possibly due to her resemblance to a mysterious girlfriend (played by Joshi in flashback) from her adolescence. Presumably, this mirroring effect accounts for the play's title.

Laura, who also directs the piece, introduces three generations of Camilla's family, and in addition to her grandmother, we meet her sisters, cousin, and great aunt, all of whom attend the party. Also present are Lucy (Courtnie Keaton), who is a homeless intruder and, implausibly, becomes part of the family in a little more than twenty-four hours; and fifteen-year-old and pregnant Regan (Alexandra Rooney), who lives with Camilla's half-sister Celeste (Olivia Haley Young).

Duality is striking for its large cast, all of whom are women, but there are so many ideas and individual plot lines, it's difficult to become emotionally involved in any one of them. Any one of the topics, such as suicidal intentions, teen pregnancy, or youth homelessness, would be a subject worthy of two-and-one-half-hours of stage time. It's unfortunate that none are given the sustained attention they truly merit.

Laura states in a program note that this is his last play comprising a “memory trilogy.” (The previous plays were The Girl with the Red Hair and Shadows.) The setting moves back and forth in time (depicted by Sarah Woods's atmospheric lighting, Dylan Marshall's symbol-laden projections, and Philip Lauto's moody music and sound design), but the context isn't always clear. As a result, the characters' histories are often nebulous and confusing.

More concerning is the directorial and dramatic tone, which teeters between searing domestic drama, reflected by Camilla's wish to take her own life (a la 'Night, Mother), and broad comedy, with the inclusion of Camilla's sex-obsessed nineteen-year-old cousin Eloise (Brianne Buishas), who has the mental maturity of a three-year-old with no filters. The play also veers into eccentric absurdism (a la Beth Henley) when Tabitha, convinced she is to be married to Prince William, shows up for her birthday party with her habitually cranky sister Stella (Susan Neuffer) wearing a wedding dress. With the late appearance of Camilla's estranged sister Sadie (Chelsea MacLaren), Duality discards many of the excessive eccentricities and gets closer to an emotional truth that had been previously lacking.

At the performance I attended, the cast hadn't yet fully inhabited their roles and had difficulty navigating the tonal shifts. There was a sense of detachment in the interactions between the actors, as if they were observing their characters from a distance.

The social importance of Duality is undeniable, and it notably tackles mental illness head-on. However, as a work of art, the play feels overstuffed and underdeveloped.