Regrets Only

Friends and politics don’t always mix. This bit of wisdom is the starting point for Paul Rudnick’s high-concept comedy Regrets Only. Filled with zappy one-liners and a political message, the funny little tale explores what happens when a very successful, thoroughly apolitical gay designer named Hank learns that one of his best buds is off to Washington to help President Bush draft a ban on gay marriage. Hank, who’s recently lost his partner, is stirred to action and cooks up a plan to foil his friend. All of act II imagines a day without gays. Throw in a high society wedding, and the silliness flies.

Rudnick, whose most famous work to date is the film In & Out starring Kevin Kline, knows how to spin jokes into a fine web of satire. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays. Through March 15. Theatre Southwest, 8944-A Clarkcrest. For information, call 713-661-9505 or visit www.theatresouthwest.org. $13 to $15.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Mon., March 3, 3 p.m. Starts: Feb. 22. Continues through March 15, 2008