Fault, a world-premiere comedy directed by Jason Alexander now onstage at Chicago Shakes, is quite the mixed theatrical bag.

On the one hand, it features an enjoyably over-the-top performance by Enrico Colantoni, a veteran TV and film actor known for nice-guy roles in Just Shoot Me and Galaxy Quest. He has strong chemistry with Rebecca Spence as the long-standing marital difficulties of high-flying finance wizards Jerry and Lucy play out in front of Lucy’s bar-pickup-turned-hostage, Shaun (Nick Marini). The jokes fly fast and many of them land.

On the other hand, the 90-minute one-act executes a disastrous tonal shift at the end that makes one realize, oh hey, these characters weren’t supposed to just be amusing comedic sparring partners. No, they are supposed to be deeply unlikeable characters with the capacity to do utterly devastating things to each other. None of which are dramatically earned.

There’s a point in the show where Shaun thinks his ordeal of facing Jerry’s cartoonish wrath is just about done, but Jerry says, no, there’s still a lot more for us to unpack here. That was actually the moment to end the show in a way that would have left it with a coherent through line. But, alas.

The playwright, Scooter Pietsch, who’s also an Emmy-nominated TV composer with lots of music credits, crafts plenty of witty exchanges, but then sends characters on extended excursions into material seemingly designed to shock the audience into incredulous laughter but that actually feel more like tired, somewhat embarrassing attempts to be edgy (looking at you, long monologue about the joys of “the C word”).

Did I laugh quite a bit? Yes. Did I find the characters engaging? For the most part. (Spence’s Lucy, in particular, has a compelling narrative arc.) Did the story ultimately collapse into a cringe-y train wreck? Also, yes. Think Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf reimagined as a sitcom. The characters are just too theatrically free-spirited and fun to pull off the dark ending. But their antic interplay keeps the rest of the show rolling merrily along. Like I say, a mixed bag. But if you do go, order the signature drink at the bar on the way in. It plays a significant role in the play and enjoying it along with the characters adds a bit of extra fun to the proceedings.

Fault runs through May 24 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.

Photo by Justin Barbin