Sexual Perversity in Chicago

One of Mamet's earliest plays, Sexual Perversity in Chicago follows four acquaintances, two of whom are lovers, as they dissect the relationships between men and women. Danny and Deb are young, naive, and still hopeful about love. Bernie and Joan are older, and much more cynical. As Danny and Deb fall in and out of love, Bernie and Joan provide increasingly bitter commentary -- Bernie about his sexual conquests of women, and Joan about her absolute distrust of men. When Danny and Deb split, Bernie and Joan regain their sway over the two young people, who now admit that their older friends were right about love. The play suggests that Bernie and Joan are perhaps homosexual.