Lips Together, Teeth Apart

Lips Together, Teeth Apart is a play by American playwright Terrence McNally. The play, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1991, concerns two straight couples who spend a weekend in a gay community.

A gay community in Fire Island provides an unlikely setting for two straight couples spending the Fourth of July weekend in a house inherited by Sally from her brother who died of AIDS. Through monologues unheard by the others, the characters reveal a desperate sense of individual isolation. The only people these four characters find more alien are the unseen gay men partying in the houses on either side of them. "As they divert themselves from their own mortality with food, cocktails, the New York Times crossword puzzle, fireworks, charades, and biting jabs at each other and the boys next door, the two couples find little to celebrate about themselves or their country on its birthday."

The play opened Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at the New York City Center Stage 1 on May 28, 1991 and closed on January 5, 1992 after 250 performances. The play transferred to the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 9, 1992 and closed on June 27, 1992. Directed by John Tillinger, the play was written for the original cast, which featured Christine Baranski (Chloe), Swoosie Kurtz (Sally), Nathan Lane (Sam) and Anthony Heald (John). It was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Best Off-Broadway Play, and Baranski won the Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

...
Wikipedia