This preview article originally appeared in The Star & Wave newspaper on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Couple Try to Get Their Groove Back in “Sexy Laundry” at Cape May Stage
By Lynn Martenstein
Meet Alice and Henry, a middle-aged couple whose 25-year marriage has lost its spark. Hoping to find it, Alice books a room at a chic new hotel in town and packs a copy of “Sex for Dummies” in her roller-bag that she checked out of the local library for inspiration. Unfortunately, the couple also unpack a long list of marital grievances.
Cape May Stage presents “Sexy Laundry,” a funny, poignant, and hopeful play, July 16-August 24. Canadian playwright Michele Riml wrote the play early in her own marriage. The show premiered in Vancouver in 2004 and has since been performed throughout Canada, the U.S. and parts of Europe.
“A long-term relationship is really a work-in-progress,” explained Riml, who celebrates her 28th wedding anniversary this year. “I think the play resonates with couples because it’s respectful of the hard work it takes to sustain a marriage. It isn’t always about ‘happily ever after.’ There are hills and valleys, and highs and lows.”
A couple in real life portray the fictional one. Georgette Reilly Timoney and Bill Timoney are superb as Alice and Henry as they try to jump-start their sex lives, second-guess a lifetime of choices they made together, and contemplate roads not taken.
Alice and Henry are at a crossroads when we meet them. She is a successful real estate agent. He is an architectural engineer hoping to make partner at his firm. They have three children, own a nice house and live in a good neighborhood. She feels they’re in a rut, however. He feels “pushed around like a piece of furniture.”
Two scenes offer glimpses of who they could be if they reset some controls in their lives. One is when Alice re-enacts a recent first-time visit to the gym, where she gets on a treadmill next to two young women and tries to keep up with them as they ramp up their speed. Unfortunately, she ends up flying off the equipment and literally hitting a wall.
Henry’s moment is when he inadvertently turns on the room’s sound system, turns it off, turns it back on and starts to dance with abandon to the Rolling Stones’ song, “Miss You.” As he happily rocks on, it’s as if he’s turned back the clock to younger, brighter days.
Regular attendees at Cape May Stage will remember the Timoneys from past performances there. Georgette Timoney was in “Love, Lost and What I Wore” earlier this month and “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” in 2015. She has also been in many productions regionally, done voice-overs for numerous movies, and recently written a play.
Bill Timoney was in “The Lifespan of a Fact” at the theater in 2022. Earlier this year, he was in a reprisal of “Our Town” on Broadway, and has been a regular on and off-Broadway for many years. He also has played roles on many popular TV shows including “Law & Order,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Blacklist” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
“Performing in any play at any time in any venue is always an exciting adventure but this one is especially thrilling because I’m co-starring with my wife,” he added. The Timoneys will celebrate their 23rd anniversary later this year.
The show’s set also plays a leading role in the production. Set designer Josh Iaocovelli has created a delightfully over-the-top hotel room for the couple’s getaway weekend that could be described as the Orient meets Bollywood meets borderline bordello.
Center-stage is an enormous circular bed covered in leopard-print sheets surrounded by gold walls, a faux brass bathtub, bamboo screens, beaded window and door treatments, and, quite possibly, erotic art.
“’Sexy Laundry’ carries on our theme this season about how time influences relationships,” said Roy Steinberg, producing artistic director at the theater. “Some long-married couples struggle to keep their initial passion alive. Others find it deepens over time. The key is communication.”
“Sexy Laundry” runs from July 16 – August 24 at Cape May stage. It is a one-act, 90-minute play with no intermission. Given its subject matter, the show is recommended for audiences over the age of 16. Please call the theater at (609) 770-8311 or visit www.capemaystage.org. for tickets or more information.