Reasons to Be Pretty

Four friends confront America’s obsession with physical beauty in this brutal and exhilarating comic drama by the acclaimed author of In the Company of Men.

“LaBute takes us to shadowy places we don’t like to talk about, sometimes even think about.” —Newsday

In Reasons to Be Pretty, Greg’s tight-knit social circle is thrown into turmoil when his offhand remarks about a female coworker’s pretty face and his own girlfriend Steph’s lack thereof get back to Steph. But that’s just the beginning. Greg’s best buddy, Kent, and Kent’s wife, Carly, also enter the picture, and the emotional equation becomes exponentially more complicated. As their relationships crumble, the four friends are forced to confront a sea of deceit, infidelity, and betrayed trust in their journey to answer that oh-so-American question: How much is pretty worth?

“Like a giant, mischievous child poking a dog with a stick, [LaBute] delights in seeing what he can get away with. . . . [He’s] the bad boy of American theater. . . . Devastating and dangerously funny.” —Time

“LaBute[’s] judgment of his fellow men makes the Old Testament Jehovah look like a softie. . . . His talents go beyond glibly vicious storytelling and extend into thoughtful analyses of a world rotten with original sin.” —Ben Brantley, The New York Times