Lots of plays about contemporary society these days are so vicious, churning up so much evidence of neuroses and family dysfunction, it seems they want to hold up a mirror only to the blackest side of nature. Karen Zacarias’s “The Book Club Play,” at Arena Stage, is not such a play. It’s a loose-limbed but perceptive comedy that uncovers flaws, indiscretions and failings, but nowhere — even when its main character is flipping out — does it lose its sense of buoyant humor. It shows the shallowness and lack of self-awareness of some of today’s thirty-somethings, but also indicates those same people looking for their better, or at least truer, selves. It’s a delicate balance, but Zacarias pulls it off.
“The Book Club Play,” takes place in the upper-middle class home of Ana (Kate Eastwood Norris), who writes a column for the Style section of her local newspaper. In Ana’s home, everything is perfect: there are touches of good taste everywhere. Further proof of Ana’s refined taste is that she hosts a book club in her home, where four of her friends visit to discuss fine books, drink fine wine and eat fine food.
