This Is How It Goes
Encyclopedia
This Is How It Goes is a 2005 play by Neil LaBute
set in small town America, about the repercussions of an interracial love triangle
.
High school sweethearts — the star of the high school track team (Cody) and a cheerleader (Belinda) — marry. He becomes a successful businessman; she's a stay-at-home mom. A high school acquaintance (Man) returns to town and rents the room over their garage and upsets the delicate balance of their relationship, raising questions about who they want to be, who they are, and what made them that way.
The play's title refers to Man's frequent breaking of drama's Fourth Wall
as he addresses the audience in between scenes. He prefaces his remarks to set up the next scene with "This is how it goes..." or his remarks on the preceding action with "This is how it went...". Deeply in love with Belinda, or at least the Belinda he remembered, he professes to being an unreliable narrator
. Occasional scenes may not to have occurred as he relates them at first and get re-acted in a style that the audience might find more reasonable or plausible.
The Off-Broadway
production began on 11 March 2005, and opened 27 March 2005, at The Public Theater. The production was directed by George C. Wolfe
and starred Amanda Peet
as Belinda, Jeffrey Wright as Cody, and Ben Stiller
as Man. Marisa Tomei
was originally cast as Belinda but left the production before it began, citing "personal family reasons". The production ran through 24 April 2005.
The London
production opened on 14 July 2005 at the Donmar Warehouse
and ran through 3 September 2005. The production starred Ben Chaplin
as Man, Megan Dodds
as Belinda, and Idris Elba
as Cody.
In Germany it opened at the English Theatre of Hamburg on 6 September 2010 with Julie Addy as Belinda, Ike Ononye as Cody and Sean Browne as Man.
The play was reproduced at the King's Head Theatre in Islington, London, from September 7th to October 3rd 2010, starring Gemma Atkinson
as Belinda, Okezie Morro as Cody and Tom Greaves as 'Man'.
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
set in small town America, about the repercussions of an interracial love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
.
High school sweethearts — the star of the high school track team (Cody) and a cheerleader (Belinda) — marry. He becomes a successful businessman; she's a stay-at-home mom. A high school acquaintance (Man) returns to town and rents the room over their garage and upsets the delicate balance of their relationship, raising questions about who they want to be, who they are, and what made them that way.
The play's title refers to Man's frequent breaking of drama's Fourth Wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
as he addresses the audience in between scenes. He prefaces his remarks to set up the next scene with "This is how it goes..." or his remarks on the preceding action with "This is how it went...". Deeply in love with Belinda, or at least the Belinda he remembered, he professes to being an unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
. Occasional scenes may not to have occurred as he relates them at first and get re-acted in a style that the audience might find more reasonable or plausible.
The Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production began on 11 March 2005, and opened 27 March 2005, at The Public Theater. The production was directed by George C. Wolfe
George C. Wolfe
George Costello Wolfe is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction of the musical, Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk.-Early life and...
and starred Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet is an American actress, who has appeared on film, stage, and television. After studying with Uta Hagen at Columbia University, Peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995...
as Belinda, Jeffrey Wright as Cody, and Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
as Man. Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
was originally cast as Belinda but left the production before it began, citing "personal family reasons". The production ran through 24 April 2005.
The London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
production opened on 14 July 2005 at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
and ran through 3 September 2005. The production starred Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin , is an English actor.-Early life:Chaplin, the youngest of four children, was born in London, the son of Cynthia , a drama teacher, and Peter Greenwood, an engineer. He took his stage name after his mother's maiden name. He was raised in Windsor, Berkshire, England and attended Hurtwood...
as Man, Megan Dodds
Megan Dodds
Megan Lynne Dodds is an American stage and television actress.-Biography:Megan Dodds was born in Sacramento, California, and after High School she enrolled in a community college where she was cast as Bananas in John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves...
as Belinda, and Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
as Cody.
In Germany it opened at the English Theatre of Hamburg on 6 September 2010 with Julie Addy as Belinda, Ike Ononye as Cody and Sean Browne as Man.
The play was reproduced at the King's Head Theatre in Islington, London, from September 7th to October 3rd 2010, starring Gemma Atkinson
Gemma Atkinson
Gemma Louise Atkinson is an English actress, television personality and glamour and lingerie model.-Personal life:...
as Belinda, Okezie Morro as Cody and Tom Greaves as 'Man'.