BY KAREN BOSSICK

Forging a healthy relationship is complicated enough.

Throw in race, class and gender, and it becomes triply hard.

Company of Fools will take audiences down that road when it presents the two-woman play, “Bright Half Life,” Sept. 27 through Oct. 14 at The Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

The two-woman play by Pulitzer-Prize nominee Tanya Barfield spans the decades but not in chronological order as viewers follow Vicky and Erica through the ups and downs of courtship and marriage, kids and parents, death and divorce, interracial relations and same-sex marriage.

Although the play addresses topics that would hardly have been thinkable a half-century ago, the play is timeless in its exploration of love and relationships.

“It shows how race and class and gender swirl together to create the opportunity for misunderstanding. We’re in a country that’s been traumatized, However, we find a way in plays to force people to come together to examine these things,” said Ilana Becker, who is directing the play as the Fools’ interim artistic director.

Barfield, the recipient of a Lilly Award and the 2011 Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, developed the play during a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference in 2014. 

A reviewer for The New Yorker called it a profound, well-written portrayal of smart women finding, losing and finding themselves and each other again.

Becker has brought in two actors—Liz Morgan and  Sophie Hazett—with whom she had worked with in New York City before moving to Sun Valley a year ago. The two hope to provoke laughter and tears as they serve up different perspectives culled from the different versions of the women’s memories.

“A lot of it is about perspective as we see the impact these two women have on one another, from getting to know one another to falling in love with one another,” said Becker.

For instance, Morgan noted, in one scene Vicky wants to buy something for Erica’s birthday, but Erica has strong opinions about what she wants, even though it’s ostensibly a gift.

“It’s about compromise, negotiations, who’s on top and ‘Does it matter what my opinion is?’ ” said Morgan. “It explores what makes it hard to stay with one another. You watch your kids take their first step yet you have two different opinions about what’s happened.”

“Both want the same thing but they argue about what really should happen. It’s really sweet because couples do in fact do that,” said Hassett.

In the end, the play offers that changing definitions in relationships may be the best solution, noted Morgan: “Sometimes the best way to love one another is to let go, to give the other person some space.”

The audience will sit on stage in 60 seats in the round in a move designed to create intimacy.

“It’s so easy to go to the theater when you’re sitting far enough away from the stage you don’t have to engage,” said Morgan. “There’s something about being in the round that makes the audience lean forward and connect to the story.”

Joe Lavigne has provided the scenic design; Mike Inwood of Philadelphia and New York City, the lighting design, and Emma Wilk of New York City, the sound design . K.O. Ogilvie is stage manager.

IF YOU GO…

WHAT: “Bright Half Life”

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 27-28, Sept. Oct. 4-5, and Oct. 11-12. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 29-30, Oct. 6-7 and Oct. 13-14. 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8.

WHERE: Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

TICKETS: $35 for members of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and $40 for nonmembers. $35 for seniors 62 and over and $15 for students with student ID. Tickets are available online at www.sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208-578-9122 or at the Liberty Theatre box office at 110 N. Main St., Hailey.

“Pay What You Feel” Night is Wednesday, Sept. 27.  Second Night 22, a new addition, features $22 tickets on Thursday, Sept. 28. Educator Night on Friday, Sept. 29, will offer two $15 tickets for currently employed educators and school administrators who purchase in advance. Ten seats are sold for $10 each at the box office the night of the play. And parties of eight or more receive $35 group-rate tickets.

POST-SHOW CHAT BACK AND BACKSTAGE TOUR: Following the 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 8.

CAVEAT: The play contains some strong language and is therefore recommended for ages 13 and older.