'Becky Shaw' revival simmers at Second Stage

‘BECKY SHAW’: Patrick Ball & Lauren Patten. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

BECKY SHAW
By Gina Gionfriddo
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through June 14, 2026
Second Stage at The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
https://2st.com/

By Scott Harrah

Second Stage’s outstanding revival of Becky Shaw centers on an emotionally volatile family and what happens when a blind date sets off a chain reaction of chaos. As a result, family secrets slowly surface, exposing uncomfortable truths with caustic wit.

Playwright Gina Gionfriddo’s acerbic, darkly comic play debuted Off Broadway at Second Stage in 2008 and later became a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Here, characters carefully manage how they come across to others, until that control begins to crack. Becky Shaw unfolds as a tightly coiled dramedy, where tension stems not only from what is said, but also from what is avoided, misheard, or ignored. Ultimately, it becomes a portrait of relationships shaped by deflection, control, and emotional instability. The outstanding cast leans into that instability with precision.

A family on edge

The story begins before Suzanna Slater (Lauren Patten) is married, as she meets with her newly widowed mother, Susan (Linda Emond), alongside Max (Alden Ehrenreich), a troubled young man who was taken in by the family years earlier. Suzanna’s father has just died, and everyone is already on edge. Here, grief manifests as tension rather than shared family anguish.

As the conversation unfolds, Max comes across as disarmingly likable, but he quickly grows uncomfortable when questions turn to his past. Meanwhile, Susan shows little outward sign of mourning and instead complains throughout the evening. What begins as a strained family interaction soon gives way to something more impulsive and revealing, setting the tone for the instability that follows.

The play then jumps forward several months. Suzanna is now married to Andrew (Patrick Ball), and she has set up a blind date between Max and Andrew’s coworker Becky Shaw (Madeline Brewer), a temporary office employee, who enters the story at this point. What begins as an awkward social encounter quickly spirals into a series of messy, destabilizing interactions. As a result, long-buried tensions and contradictions begin to surface, exposing the fragile dynamics at the center of these relationships.

A finely tuned ensemble

Consistently sharp director Trip Cullman has assembled a finely tuned ensemble, with each actor contributing to the play’s carefully controlled instability.

The women, in particular, leave a lasting impression, each delivering sharply defined performances that deepen the play’s emotional complexity. Madeline Brewer gives Becky a layered mix of vulnerability and unpredictability, keeping the audience guessing about her true intentions. Lauren Patten stands out with her precise command of Suzanna’s staccato dialogue and emotional acuity, capturing both her need for control and the rigidity beneath it. Meanwhile, Linda Emond is consistently compelling as Susan. Despite limited stage time, she commands attention with a performance of remarkable authority and nuance that lingers well beyond her final scene.

The men match that intensity with performances that add structure and tension to the ensemble. Patrick Ball (of “The Pitt”) draws early attention as Andrew, fully embracing the character’s conflict-averse nature while revealing the limits of his passivity. Alden Ehrenreich is equally strong as Max, bringing a magnetic unpredictability that gradually exposes the character’s defensiveness and discomfort with intimacy. Together, their performances sustain the production’s uneasy balance and reinforce the instability that drives the play forward.

A sharply observed revival

Like the fragile, volatile relationships it portrays, Becky Shaw offers no easy resolution. None of the characters fully arrives at a place of clarity. Even so, that sense of incompleteness feels deliberate and effective. Anchored by a strong cast and driven by performances that capture both what is said and unsaid, the play lingers. Not because it ties everything together, but because it reflects the unsettled nature of human relationships.

Published April 16, 2026
Reviewed at press performance on April 9, 2026.