Viciously Voluptuous

Neil LaBute has a reputation for deliberate misogyny. His edgy dramas like In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors didn't win him any friends among his fellow worshipers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After courting controversy with Bash: Latter-Day Plays, LaBute got the soft boot from the Mormons, and he eventually left the religion behind. LaBute is still a brute when it comes to depicting the realities of romantic entanglements, and his 2005 play, Fat Pig, doesn't pull any emotional punches.

The play is something of a departure for the acclaimed playwright, who mainly traffics in prickly dramas. Fat Pig tells the story of a physically mismatched couple — an upwardly mobile businessman meets cute with a Rubenesque love interest, and a funny, real, powerful relationship develops before the audience's delighted eyes. This being is a LaBute play, cruel friends do their best to ensure that the winds of love do not blow smoothly for the unconventional lovers. The skilled players of GableStage offer this poignant production through March 25.
March 1-25, 8 p.m.