“People always think people in love are happy,” says Matilde, a Brazilian maid who hates to clean; she’d rather spend her time thinking up the perfect gag. “But love isn’t clean like that. It’s dirty–like a good joke.” In Sarah Ruhl’s wonderful play, a 2005 Pulitzer finalist, love and happiness blossom in the dirt of life’s disorder. Jessica Thebus directs a crack cast with such wit and panache that the plot’s surprising twist not only makes complete sense but resonates with a deep tenderness. Mary Beth Fisher as Lane, the coolly efficient owner of the clean house, and Christine Estabrook as her fanatically tidy sister sustain the story’s tension while Marilyn Dodds Frank adds effervescent color as a patient of Lane’s husband, a surgeon. Through 6/4: Wed 7:30 PM, Thu 2 and 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM, Sat 5/13, 8 PM only, Sun 5/14, 2 and 7:30 PM, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, 312-443-3800, $20-$65.
