Marriage and politics are a reactive mix. Either the drunken wife is blabbing about the president's crimes and needs to be sequestered (brave Martha Mitchell, married to Nixon's attorney general) or the husband is posting pictures of his penis on Twitter. And then you have the Stepfords, like Newt Gingrich's wife: frozen blond hairdos and permanent "surprise eyes." Like victims of Pompeii, they seem to have been petrified, all the better to serve as perfect façades.

Side Effects, a play from off-Broadway, takes a hard look at a Midwestern political marriage: the husband, a failing businessman tapped by greater powers to run for office; and the wife, an attractive bipolar case whose failure to take her meds is threatening the campaign. At fundraisers and rallies, they're the advertising image of domestic harmony. Behind closed doors, they're, well, violently human.

Starring renowned regional actors Deborah Sherman and Jim Ballard, this is a play you don't want to miss. It opens at Mosaic Theatre (12200 W. Broward Blvd, Building 3000, Plantation) on Thursday at 8 p.m. and runs through October 9. Tickets cost $15 to $39.50. Call 954-577-8243, or visit mosaictheatre.com.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 16. Continues through Oct. 9, 2011