Playwright William a. Parker here touches on a highly relevant issue — the idea of marriages being redefined and, in this case, threatened by the increasingly upward career mobility of black women.

The playwright's program bio modestly describes him as "emerging as a great force in the world of theater." Judging by this intriguing but flawed effort, he still has some emerging to do.

His timely thesis is undercut by awkward dramaturgy, histrionic dialogue, toneless direction and uneven performances — none of which seemed to dismay the audience, who responded the other night with a steady stream of shouted comments, whoops, hollers and belly laughs.

"Waitin' " (which has already been extended twice) is clearly touching a chord.

It concerns the disintegrating marriage of middle-class couple Dante (Marcus Naylor), a parole officer, and Diane (Trish McCall), a successful business executive, who are first seen uneasily celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary with several friends. Things are clearly strained between the two; Dante, particularly, is upset about their lack of physical relations, or, as he puts it, "coochie." Things are even worse than he realizes: Diane is having an affair with one of her office colleagues (Eric McLendon).

Much of the evening is consumed with lengthy discussions about the state of black male/female relations. Dante's buddy Alvin (played excellently by Ron Scott) delivers one of the most provocative monologues — about what he sees as the treachery of women who get pregnant and milk their men and the government for child support.

The women in the play don't come across well: Diane is depicted as a emotionally cruel adulteress; her best friend, Shay (Thyais Walsh), as a loose harridan plotting to seduce Dante; and Angela (Elica Funatsu), an Asian-American, as all too willing to be dominated by her man.

While the play has its amusing and thoughtful moments, the evening veers between melodrama and overly broad humor. Not helping matters is the inconsistency of the performances, which vary between thoughtfully nuanced and decidedly over the top.