The cast of the unimpressive "The Gift." Photo by Michael Lamont.

The less is known going into the play, the more interesting of an experience the audience will have, so this summary will be short, but "The Gift" centers on two couples, Sadie (Kathy Baker) and Ed (Chris Mulkey), and Chloe (Jamie Ray Newman) and Martin (James Van Der Beek). After Chloe and Martin win a vacation to the posh resort where Sadie and Ed are relaxing, the two couples become fast friends, a bond which is solidified after Martin saves Ed's life.

Playwright Joanna Murray-Smith has created a very interesting world for her characters to inhabit, one which, much like postmodernist cinema, is enticing, yet dubiously believable. Martin's statements about his conceptual art get a little metatheatrical at times, and one has to wonder if there is a point to Ed and Sadie's insistence at only speaking the truth, beyond creating some dramatic tension. As the play progresses, the story becomes less and less credible, until the audience is left agreeing with Ed's disbelief in what is happening on stage. Perhaps Murray-Smith is trying to achieve some kind of Brechtian effect, but it doesn't quite work.

While Mulkey and Newman shine through the material they are working with, the play is not aided by Van Der Beek's flat performance. Additionally, under Maria Aitken's direction, credulity is further stretched by the inconsistency between real and imaginary props and elements of Derek McLane's set. While this may serve to make the audience question what is and is not real, it mostly comes across as if the production didn't have the time and/or budget to fully realize the demands of the script, settling instead for a half-realization.

"The Gift" is not an actively bad play, so much as a confounding show that doesn't quite work.

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"The Gift" is playing at the Geffen Playhouse (10886 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA) through March 10. Tickets are $47-$77. More information can be found at GeffenPlayhouse.com.