While Burton was my favorite of Misha's leading ladies, Laurie Kennedy is excellent as the first wife who could no more hate Russia than she can hate Misha, as is Melissa Bowen as Lydia. He's as funny here as he was in Nixon, Nixon , in which he starred off-Broadway a few seasons ago. Of all the funny moments, his were the most rib-ticklingly funny. On the American side of the cast ledger, only Penny Fuller as the endearing and glamorous American grandmother, has a large role that intersects meaningfully with the basic situation of the Russian birthday party. The smaller roles of both the Russian and American contingents also make smaller impressions.
Praise is also due to the production team.
Martin Pakledinaz' costumes are colorful and fun, from Penny Fuller's lavender ensemble to Natasha's arty Russian look. To sum up, some questions . . . No more, than the events beyond their hotel windows resulted in a definitively better or worse political situation. Solutions that seem simple are too unlikely to remain simple and past mistakes are not so readily undone. Only in the sense, that it will probably send you from this dinner party with a generous doggie bag of ideas to think about and discuss.