Dusk Rings a Bell

At first, it seems as if Stephen Belber’s two-hander “Dusk Rings a Bell” is a conventional romantic comedy. TV star Kate Walsh of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” addresses the audience as Molly, a harried single woman with a troubled love life and a brilliant career as a CNN executive. Her opening monologue is full of witty banter about her failed first marriage, her crush on her boss Jeff, and her fear of turning into “a cat person.” But just when you think you’re in for a “Sex & the City” knock-off, she encounters Ray, an old flame, in her parents’ former summer house, and the play turns to the dark side. This should not surprise those familiar with Belber’s work, since his earlier plays “Tape” and “Match” concern characters confronting unfortunate incidents from their past. Ray did a stretch in jail just two years after he knew Molly as a teenager and the crime for which he was sent up casts a shadow over their reunion.