"HOUSEKEEPER" PROVES THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DUST A ROOM

“HOUSEKEEPER” PROVES THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DUST A ROOM

Sure, love is always complicated.But playwright James Prideaux takes this uniquely human pursuit of happiness the extra mile with his multi-faceted romantic comedy “The Housekeeper.” Like a circus juggler who can’t resist adding more items to all the stuff he keeps in the air, Prideaux keeps adding more quirky turns to all the plot twists.

It is a fiendish exercise for the playwright and an exasperating exercise for any director who takes on the challenge of staging this bristly love story. Over at Live Theatre Workshop, Christopher Johnson grabbed the script and started sharpening all the balance points.

He directs Kristi Loera and Michael Woodson, the only cast members, who turn in performances more nuanced than most romantic comedies require. Loera plays Annie Dankworth, one of those street smart eccentrics who looks like a frumpy bag lady but protects herself by keeping everyone else confused.

Woodson is Manley Carstairs, the largely unpublished though independently wealthy writer who would rather sit alone, grumbling at his typewriter, then leave his crumbling mansion and engage the world. There are no other time references in the script, so we can’t be sure if “The Housekeeper” is a period piece of if Manley is just a Luddite with literary intentions.

The set-up is pretty simple – one is poor, one is rich, both are needy. But the play’s resolution isn’t.

Audience members can laugh at all the jokes or dive into the dialogue and go exploring among their observations on the psychological possibilities in class war, guilt trips, repressed sexuality, the rigidity of traditional gender roles and lots more. On this battlefield of the heart, it is an achievement just to keep on fighting.

Much of the humor comes out of the inventive insults in the mis-matched couple’s arguments. Manley has no shortage of arrogance toward Annie, takes pride in his own “self-edification” and goes on and on to Annie about his “ruminating in the garden.” Annie is shocked that anyone would want to ruminate anywhere outdoors.

In practical matters of the world, however, Annie is the master. On this turf Manley is a little lost lamb, though he does have some resources.

The advantage middle-aged people have when they fall in love is their decades of experience.When it comes to matching wits, they can bring a lot of tricky mind games to the fray. So what if Annie keeps some of her best weapons in an old grocery cart. She’s a survivor.

“The Housekeeper” runs through Sept. 27. Tickets are $15-$18. For details, www.livetheatreworkshop.org