‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: (left to right) Amber Gray, Juliette Lewis, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez & Andrew Durand. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Book, music & lyrics by Richard O’Brien
Directed by Sam Pinkleton
Through November 29, 2026
Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
https://rockyhorrorshowbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

“Let’s do the Time Warp again!” The beloved cult classic The Rocky Horror Show returns to Broadway for the first time in 26 years. It still bursts with infectious songs and bizarre, lovable characters. Now, Tony and Olivier Award-winning director Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!) reimagines it for a new generation.

Meanwhile, the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, just marked its 50th anniversary. Its legend comes as much from unruly midnight audiences as from Richard O’Brien’s subversive creation. Anyone who attended those screenings (including this reviewer) may feel surprised by this first Broadway revival since 2000. “It’s Live Theater, Not a Movie,” signs warn in the Studio 54 lobby. During the opening number, cast members even hold up signs that read “Don’t Be an A**hole.”

Restrained but divinely decadent new spin

This is not the cult-film free-for-all many remember. No shouted callbacks erupt. No flying props or shadow-cast antics take over. Instead, restraint drives the evening. Even so, the show remains a great deal of fun. Pinkleton delivers a sleeker, more controlled Rocky Horror. He still invites you to do the “Time Warp”…just not as loudly.

Juliette Lewis makes her Broadway debut as Magenta. The Oscar-nominated actress (Cape Fear, “Yellowjackets”) plays the demented domestic servant with a delicious edge. When she sings “Science Fiction Double Feature,” she nearly talks her way through it, and the choice lands beautifully. Her ghoulish glamour sets the tone. Throughout the show, she shifts between a punked-out French maid fantasy and a kooky usherette. As a result, the performance and her look both land somewhere between Siouxsie Sioux and a glam-rock banshee.

Brad & Janet enter a weird & wacky world

Soon, straight-laced couple Brad (Andrew Durand) and Janet (Stephanie Hsu) run into car trouble. They search for a telephone and stumble upon the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Luke Evans). Then, the eerie Riff Raff (Amber Gray), a Nosferatu-style hunchback, answers the door. He pulls them into a world of seduction and self-discovery. With bold contemporary casting, the revival goes further into the weird, the wacky, and the gleefully gender-bending.

Inside, the couple meets a string of eccentrics. Each proves stranger than the last. There is the twitchy Riff Raff, Magenta, and the quirky, unhinged groupie Columbia (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez). All remain loyal to their flamboyant master. That master, of course, is Dr. Frank-N-Furter. He presides over the chaos with total authority. Soon enough, he unveils his latest creation: Rocky (Josh Rivera), a musclebound creature built for pleasure.

At first, Brad and Janet simply want help. However, the night quickly spirals into sexual awakening, blurred identities, and rising tension. As the castle’s inhabitants draw them deeper inside, the story turns increasingly surreal. Unexpected arrivals shift loyalties. Gradually, something sinister emerges beneath the surface. In the end, the couple plunges far beyond its comfort zone and into a free-fall of anything-goes sexuality and mayhem.

Controlled chaos

Here, director Sam Pinkleton blends genres with confidence. The show feels part creature feature, part alien invasion flick, and part rock ’n’ roll fever dream. He mixes everything into a glitter-drenched, gender-bending fantasia. At the same time, he maintains tight control. His staging favors precision over audience chaos, and it works.

Design elements support that vision. Dot leans into a retro B-movie aesthetic with heightened flair. David I. Reynoso’s costumes carry much of the storytelling. They swing between kitschy excess and sleek glamour. Meanwhile, the staging keeps everything moving at a brisk, almost cinematic pace.

Killer performances

The cast commits fully, and their killer performances drive the night.

Luke Evans commands the stage from his first entrance. His Frank-N-Furter feels as camp as Christmas, yet something sharper lurks underneath. He pushes the role further than Tim Curry’s iconic take while keeping it distinctly authentic. When he launches into “Sweet Transvestite,” he owns the room. He moves with seductive swagger and total confidence. In that moment, he embodies “Don’t dream it, be it” without slipping into caricature.

Andrew Durand grounds Brad with clean-cut sincerity. Even as chaos builds, he keeps the character rooted. Stephanie Hsu brings Janet to life with bright, searching energy. Each shift in her performance registers clearly, and her powerful vocals soar with glee.

Amber Gray delivers a striking Riff Raff. She pairs eerie physicality with a surprisingly beautiful voice. Meanwhile, Juliette Lewis continues to haunt the edges of scenes. Her watchful, conspiratorial presence adds unpredictability.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (TV’s “Pose”) reshapes Columbia into something darker yet grounded. She strips away the “cutesy” edges and finds a quieter strength. Josh Rivera plays Rocky with playful charm rather than brute force, which adds warmth. Harvey Guillén as Eddie/Dr. Scott and various ensemble actors add energy to the production. Finally, Rachel Dratch anchors the evening as narrator. Her droll delivery and winking irony keep the show self-aware without slowing it down.

Sinful splendor

Ultimately, this Rocky Horror feels more restrained than its midnight-movie counterpart. Still, it remains wildly entertaining. Sam Pinkleton celebrates liberation and self-expression, even as he asks audiences to behave just a bit better. The result is a decadent delight, and an evening of sinful splendor for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Published May 3, 2026
Reviewed at press performance on May 1, 2026.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: (left to right) Juliette Lewis, Andrew Durand, Stephanie Hsu & Amber Gray. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: (left to right) Larkin Reilly, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Durand & Caleb Quezon. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: Luke Evans & Josh Rivera. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: Luke Evans. Photo: Sarah Krulwich/The New York Times/Redux.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: Rachel Dratch. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW’: (left to right) Stephanie Hsu, Paul Soileau, Harvey Guillén, Caleb Quezon & Larkin Reilly. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘FALLEN ANGELS’: Kelli O’Hara, Mark Consuelos & Rose Byrne. Photo: Joan Marcus.

FALLEN ANGELS
By Noël Coward
Directed by Scott Ellis
Through June 7, 2026
Roundabout Theatre Company
Todd Haimes Theatre
227 West 42^nd St.
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2025-2026-season/fallen-angels/performance

By Scott Harrah

Broadway veteran Kelli O’Hara and Oscar nominee Rose Byrne are a hilarious dynamic duo as two booze-swilling best friends in this knockout revival of Noël Coward’s 1928 comedy Fallen Angels.

Mr. Coward’s play hasn’t been on Broadway since 1956. That production featured a revised script by Mr. Coward, moved the story from London to New York, and starred Nancy Walker.

Now, 70 years later, Fallen Angels returns in its original form as a sophisticated, zany farce set in a posh London apartment. Julia (Kelli O’Hara) and Jane (Rose Byrne) are two wealthy society women who spend a girls’ night swilling champagne and dishing about everything from their husbands to a former lover with whom they both allegedly had an affair. While their husbands are away on a golf trip, the two best friends discuss the impending arrival of former French lover Maurice (Mark Consuelos) and argue over whether to stay in London and face him or leave town entirely.

As they slowly get drunk on champagne, they reflect on whether they are still happy in their marriages. They grow increasingly competitive and revealing as they become more inebriated. Watching Ms. O’Hara and Ms. Byrne’s comic chemistry is completely riveting and consistently hilarious.

Comic masterclass

Ms. O’Hara is best known for playing leading ladies in musical theater and serious dramas. She received a Tony nomination in 2024 for her portrayal of struggling alcoholic Kirsten Arnesen in Days of Wine and Roses. As Julia, Ms. O’Hara plays a more lovable drunk who may remind some of Edina Monsoon in the 1990s BBC Brit-com “Absolutely Fabulous.” She delivers Edina-style physical pratfalls, juggling cigarettes and champagne, pacing nervously, and falling into furniture.

Ms. Byrne received an Oscar nomination this year for playing Linda in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, a disturbing drama about a psychotherapist unable to cope with caring for a daughter with a severe pediatric feeding disorder. She is also renowned for her work in the blockbuster comedies Bridesmaids, Neighbors, and Spy. As Jane, Ms. Byrne is more impulsive than her friend. She staggers and flings herself across the room with a mix of excitement and hysteria. Every emotion manifests physically as she drinks, like a more refined version of Patsy Stone in “Absolutely Fabulous.” Ms. Byrne brings a sense of elegance and cosmopolitan wit to the character of Jane. Both Ms. Byrne and Ms. O’Hara have a harmonic rapport onstage. They truly seem like two friends having a blast together.

Fallen Angels is a classic comedy by Noël Coward, steeped in posh, Art Deco elegance. Nearly a century later, it still sparkles, thanks largely to the electrifying performances of Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne. Both actresses lean fully into Coward’s champagne-soaked farce, playing society women who go off the rails into giddy, uninhibited chaos. Ms. O’Hara reveals a dazzling comic edge as Julia, tossing off physical gags with precision while steadily descending into deliciously sloppy drunkenness. Ms. Byrne matches her beat for beat, and together they create a whirlwind of impeccable timing and gleeful excess.

Coward’s world

Noël Coward’s world is one of polished surfaces and carefully curated appearances, where even a casual remark carries weight. He peppers the dialogue with references to London neighborhoods and fashionable destinations, using geography as a sly marker of class and taste. A passing mention of a hotel in Bayswater signals status, aspiration, and the subtle hierarchies that define these characters’ lives. The joke lands differently depending on what you know, but it always lands.

Julia and Jane aren’t the only ones getting laughs in this evening of excess. Tracee Chimo plays the lovable maid Saunders, often serving as a deadpan counterpoint to their antics. Saunders loves to interrupt the ladies with long-winded, often irrelevant anecdotes. She also boasts about how knowledgeable and worldly she is, citing her work with the Red Cross, the Foreign Legion, concert pianists, and countless aristocrats.

Saunders also hilariously condones the duo’s drinking. “Several drinks never do any harm,” she quips. “It is only the first which is dangerous, after that the damage is done.”

Later, when Jane mentions a hotel in Bayswater, it’s not simply a generic line. Mr. Coward plays the same game “Absolutely Fabulous” perfected decades later, using London neighborhoods like Shepherd’s Bush and Holland Park as a wink to those in the know and a subtle dig at social climbing for everyone else.

When the men arrive

Julia and Jane’s husbands Fred (Aasif Mandvi) and Willy (Christopher Fitzgerald) soon come home and instantly know things aren’t normal. The apartment is a mess, and both women try far too hard to appear sober, insisting that everything is fine and nothing out of the ordinary transpired.

Maurice soon arrives and chaos ensues. He is now much older and less handsome than the women remember. (Mark Consuelos, of course, is still very dashing and attractive in real life and he’s perfect as Maurice.) Julia and Jane realize they have risked their marriages for nothing.

Both husbands grow suspicious as they try to figure out what really happened, while the wives attempt to do damage control.

Direction & design

Scott Ellis directs this gifted ensemble with skillful precision, allowing each actor to shine. The set design by David Rockwell is gorgeous, and Jeff Mahshie’s period costumes are stunning, particularly those for the leading ladies. Noël Coward’s comedies are best known for sending up the shortcomings of the British upper classes with razor-sharp dialogue. One could argue that Mr. Coward is not known for plays that are slapstick-driven vehicles. However, in Fallen Angels, the physical chaos really is the story. Watching the two women come unglued before pulling themselves together is what makes the show so much fun.

Aasif Mandvi, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Mark Consuelos provide strong comic support in less showy roles. The three men help give the farce just enough structure as everything spirals delightfully out of control. Fallen Angels is an effervescent, bubbly comedy and one of the best revivals of a Noël Coward play in many years.

Published April 26, 2026
Reviewed at press performance on April 23, 2026.

‘FALLEN ANGELS’: Christopher Fitzgerald, Mark Consuelos & Aasif Mandvi. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FALLEN ANGELS’: Tracee Chimo & Aasif Mandvi. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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Complete cast announced for new revival at Studio 54

NEW YORK—Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the complete cast for Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, set to return to Broadway at Studio 54.

Performances begin March 26, 2026, with an official opening on April 23. The production will run as a limited engagement through June 21, 2026.

Courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company.

A bold Broadway debut

British film and stage star Luke Evans will make his Broadway debut as the iconic Dr. Frank‑N‑Furter. Evans is best known for his work in Beauty and the Beast, the Hobbit films, and High‑Rise.

He joins an ensemble that blends Broadway favorites, award winners, and first‑time Broadway performers.

Courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company.

Star‑studded ensemble

The cast includes Rachel Dratch as the Narrator, Andrew Durand as Brad, and Stephanie Hsu as Janet.

They are joined by Amber Gray as Riff Raff, Harvey Guillén as Eddie/Dr. Scott, and Juliette Lewis as Magenta.

Completing the principal cast are Josh Rivera as Rocky and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Columbia.

A creative team with bite

Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton directs the new production. His recent work includes the acclaimed Broadway hit Oh, Mary!

The creative team features choreography by Ani Taj, music supervision by Kris Kukul, scenic design by dots, costume design by David I. Reynoso, lighting design by Jane Cox, and sound design by Brian Ronan.

Courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company.

A cult classic returns

First staged in London in 1973, The Rocky Horror Show has played continuously around the world for more than five decades. The musical inspired the 1975 film and remains a staple of late‑night theatre culture.

The story follows Brad and Janet, whose broken‑down car leads them to a mysterious mansion and an unforgettable night. The show features iconic songs including “Dammit Janet,” “Hot Patootie,” “Touch‑A, Touch‑A, Touch Me,” and “Time Warp.”

Performance details

The Rocky Horror Show will play at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street).

Tickets and subscription information are available at:
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org

For more information about the production, visit:
https://rockyhorrorshowbroadway.com

For more information on The Rocky Horror Show, visit rockyhorrorshowbroadway.com or follow on social

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‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: Nicholas Barasch, Ramin Karimloo & Jinkx Monsoon. Photo: Joan Marcus.

PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL
By W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
Adaptation by Rupert Holmes
Music direction by Joseph Joubert
Choreography by Warren Carlyle
Directed by Scott Ellis
Through July 27, 2025
Todd Haimes Theatre
227 West 42^nd Street
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/

By Scott Harrah

Gilbert and Sullivan purists might be puzzled by Pirates! The Penzance Musical, the new, hysterically over-the-top Broadway reboot of The Pirates of Penzance. Regardless, audiences looking for sheer escapism will love it. This updated and modernized version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta just received a Tony nomination for Best Musical Revival. This gleeful iteration is quite different from the first production in New York City in 1879.

The original show was set on the craggy coast of Victorian-era Cornwall, England. In this revival, however, Pirates! takes place in 1880 New Orleans in the French Quarter. The revamped book contains a few additions and changes to the story. Nonetheless, Gilbert and Sullivan’s basic plot remains intact.

Motley crew of characters

The story focuses on naïve young Frederic (Nicholas Barasch). He is about to turn 21 (or is he?) and erroneously becomes an apprentice to a group of motley pirates. This is due to the mistake made by the engagingly eccentric woman who raised him, nurse Ruth (Jinkx Monsoon). In addition, Frederic was born on February 29^th during a leap year so no one can figure out exactly how old he actually is or how many birthdays he’s actually had.

He starts working as an assistant to the pirate, led by the dashing Pirate King (Ramin Karimloo), an alleged orphaned nobleman-turned-pirate who appears intimidating but is a softie in reality.

Major General-Stanley (David Hyde Pierce) is a lovably bumbling military man with a bevy of beautiful daughters. Frederic is immediately lovestruck by Mabel Stanley (Samantha Williams), one of Major General’s daughters.

Twisty plot & many production numbers

Not being that familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan’s body of work, I will not nitpick about whether or not Rupert Holmes’ modern adaptation is true to the original Pirates of Penzance. It doesn’t matter that the story is now set in the Big Easy because New Orleans is a perfect setting for shameless silliness and the lively score, given an all-American flavor with jazz rhythms thanks to music supervisor Joseph Joubert. The entire cast seems to be having a blast onstage, sporting Linda Cho’s elaborate period costumes and performing choreographer Warren Carlyle’s high-spirited dance moves.

Top-notch performances

The vibe of Pirates! is manic and madcap, but the show is first and foremost an operetta/musical. For Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados, the songs are crucial, and David Hyde Pierce does an excellent job with the most recognizable number, the tongue-twisting classic “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.” Mr. Hyde Pierce is best known for playing fussy snob Dr. Niles Crane on the popular TV sitcom “Frasier,” but he’s been in countless Broadway musicals and dramas and he certainly approaches the quirky Major-General with the right mix of wit and wackiness.

Mr. Hyde Pierce also takes on the dual role of William S. Gilbert while Preston Truman Boyd doubles as both Arthur Sullivan and the Sergeant of Police. Mr., Truman Boyd and Mr. Hyde Pierce both give a brief introduction at the beginning of the show as Gilbert and Sullivan, respectively.

The always brilliant Ramin Karimloo, also a Broadway veteran, is sublime as the Pirate King. He’s handsome, winsome, and agile, with a natural gift for all the physical comedy involved with the role. Of course, he has a dynamic tenor voice and is a huge crowd-pleaser when singing “I Am the Pirate King” in the first act.

Nonstop energy

Jinkx Monsoon, a two-time “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner, broke box-office records two years ago when she made her Broadway debut in Chicago. As Ruth, Ms. Monsoon hams it up and is as camp as Christmas, but when she sings, one immediately knows why she has so many fans. She has an amazing voice, especially during her solo number, “Alone, and Yet Alive (The Mikado)” in the second act. She consistently captivates the audience with her nonstop radiant energy. When she sings with cast members, the chemistry she has with the others is incredibly palpable.

Nicholas Barasch is perfectly cast as Frederic, the overzealous youngster and pirate apprentice. With his red hair, squeaky-clean looks, and a lush tenor voice, Mr. Barasch delivers a rock-steady performance and shows amazing physical agility with all the frenzied scenes in the show. His love interest, Mabel, is portrayed by the lovely Samantha Williams. Ms. Williams has a gorgeous soprano voice and a natural rapport with Mr. Barasch.

Admirable direction

Overall, Scott Ellis does an admirable job directing everyone and keeps things light and full of vitality while managing to rein in the cast when needed despite all the hubbub onstage. Pirates! The Penzance Musical is not a definitive new interpretation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 19^th century saga. However, it’s still a lot of fun for anyone looking for an evening of light entertainment.

Published May 4, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 29, 2025

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: Nicholas Barasch, Ramin Karimloo & Jinkx Monsoon. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE MUSICAL’: Jinkx Monsoon & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: (Collage, clockwise from top, right): Samantha Williams & Nicholas Barasch; Nicolas Barasch (center right & left). Photos: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: (Collage, top:) Nicholas Barasch & Ramin Karimloo & David Hyde Pierce. (Bottom, left): David Hyde Pierce as William S. Gilbert & Preston Truman Boyd as Arthur Sullivan. (Bottom, right): Preston Truman Boyd as the Sergeant of Police & cast. Photos: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: Ramin Karimloo & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical’ is zany fun appeared first on StageZine.

‘ENGLISH’: (left to right): Pooya Mohseni, Hadi Tabbal, Marjan Neshat, Tala Ashe & Ava Lalezarzadeh. Photo: Joan Marcus.

ENGLISH
By Sanaz Toossi
Directed by Knud Adams
Through March 2, 2025
Todd Haimes Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2024-2025/english

By Scott Harrah

Four Iranian students struggle to learn English as a foreign language while pursuing dreams of life abroad in the provocative comedy-drama English by Sanaz Toossi (winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama).  Set in a language school in Karaj, Iran in 2008, English focuses on the stories of each student as well as their teacher Marjan (Marjan Neshat), an upbeat woman who spent nine years in Manchester, England before returning to the Middle East. Ongoing themes about the struggle to learn a new language, cultural identity and communication issues run throughout the 90-minute play.

The English teacher

Marjan is a passionate anglophile and demands that everyone speak English only in her class. No Farsi is allowed at any time. Anyone familiar with advanced foreign-language classes knows this type of “immersion,” as it is called, is standard. However, while English contains lots of comedic moments about the difficulty learning and speaking English, Sanaz Toossi’s tale is also about the different reasons why the students are studying a foreign language. Many have dreams of leaving Iran to pursue better lives abroad.

The students

Elham (Tala Ashe) is hoping to attend medical school in Melbourne, Australia to become a gastroenterologist and medical researcher, but she needs a near-perfect score on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Although she’s highly proficient in math and science, Elham is having trouble mastering English. She tells the class in earnest , “My accent is a war crime.”

Omid (Hadi Tabbal) is the only male student and his English skills are so exceptional that everyone wonders why he is in the class. He likes to visit Marjan during office hours so the two can watch videotapes American and British romantic comedies to purportedly get a better grasp of English. Regardless, it is obvious he fancies her and the two are flirtatious together.

Roya (Pooya Mohseni) is a middle-aged woman who needs to learn English so she can spend time with her son and daughter-in-law in Canada. She specifically needs to be fluent in English because her Canadian granddaughter doesn’t speak Farsi. Her character is one of the most heartbreaking in the show when we learn the truth about her family overseas.

Goli (Ava Lalezarzadeh) is an 18-year-old woman who just wants to learn English and speak it without a Persian accent to give her more career opportunities.  Because she is so young, Goli learns the language fast and has fewer difficulties than the older students.

Word games & ‘show & tell’

The story shows the students participating in word games, such as throwing around a ball and naming every item in a kitchen using the proper English word. Students are also expected to do a “show and tell” presentation in many classes, and there are some genuinely funny moments. In particular, Goli plays the silly Ricky Martin pop song “She Bangs” and analyzes the 2000 hit like it’s a Shakespearean soliloquy. However, Goli points out that “English doesn’t want to be poetry like Farsi.”

The universality of the play is perhaps the best aspect of playwright Sanaz Toossi’s story. This could be set in any non-English-speaking nation where people aspire to leave their homeland for a better life. Many dramas set in the Middle East focus on politics and religion, but the play avoids these controversial topics and instead explores the human conflicts that arise when a foreign language, culture, tradition and ambition all collide.

All that’s missing from Ms. Toossi’s otherwise superb script is more depth to the characters. Many scenes outside the classroom, when characters discuss their issues with learning English as well as their personal problems in life, add nuance and some explanation about each student’s backstory. However, in this one-act play, there are a few holes in the exposition. For example, we know the teacher Marjan spent nearly a decade in Manchester, but why she returned to Iran is never fully explained.

Outstanding performances

Director Knud Adams extracts outstanding performances from the five-person ensemble. Marjan Neshat, as teacher Marjan, is lively and somber and portrays the woman as both positive and nurturing while being complex and mysterious behind her cheerful façade.

Ava Lalezarzadeh as young Goli is wonderfully bubbly, while Hadi Tabbal is great as the enigmatic Omid.

Tala Ashe is remarkable as the troubled but gifted future doctor Elham. Ms. Ashe displays all the multiple layers to Elham with amazing skill and precision, showing the woman to be smart and self-assured but also vulnerable when she discusses taking the TOEFL exam.

Pooya Mohseni gives one of the show’s best performances as Roya, a woman torn between her love of her country and native tongue. She wants to learn English so she can reunite with her son and form a relationship with her English-speaking granddaughter in Canada. Ms. Mohseni displays a wide range of emotions with ease and aplomb, and the audience really feels all the pain Roya is experiencing.

Marsha Ginsberg’s simplistic but innovative set design, complete with Farsi words on a sign, Enver Chakartash’s authentic Iranian costumes, along with Reza Behjat’s wonderful lighting and equally effective sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar really make audiences feel like we are watching a class in the suburbs of Tehran.

Sanaz Toossi’s play examines the complexities of yearning to travel outside one’s home country for a better life. Just learning a foreign language is not the only obstacle people face when planning to travel abroad to work, study or reunite with family. English is a provocative evening of theater, showing how language and cultural barriers create many setbacks with sobering consequences.

Published January 29, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on January 28, 2025

‘ENGLISH’: Hadi Tabbal & Marjan Neshat. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ENGLISH’: Ava Lalezarzadeh. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ENGLISH’: Tala Ashe & Marjan Neshat. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ENGLISH’: Hadi Tabbal. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ENGLISH’: Tala Ashe. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘ENGLISH’: Pooya Mohseni. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘English’: Pursuing the Persian expat dream appeared first on StageZine.

Danny DeVito, who most recently starred in Roundabout’s I Need That by Theresa Rebeck and made his Broadway debut in Roundabout’s The Price by Arthur Miller, will be honored for his contribution to the theater with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre, named after the late Jason Robards for his longstanding relationship with Roundabout and memorable body of stage work. The award is given to those who have made an indelible impact on both theatre and Roundabout.  All tickets and tables include a seat for dinner, live auction, and Mr. Groban’s performance.

‘I NEED THAT’: Danny DeVito in the acclaimed 2023 Broadway production. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Proceeds benefit Roundabout programs

All proceeds benefit Roundabout’s many programs, including Education at Roundabout, which offers nationally recognized programs that use the stimulating power of the arts to inspire, engage, and promote social equity.

The Gala is presented by The Mustang Foundation. The Official Auto Sponsor of the Gala is Tri-State Cadillac.

‘NATASHA AND PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812’: Josh Groban in the 2016 Broadway production. Photo: Chad Batka.

The evening is chaired by Samantha Rudin Earls and David Earls, Jeanne and Tom Hagerty, Fran and Paul Turner, and Johannes and Regis Worsoe.  Vice Chairs are Bank of America, Cynthia and Ron Beck, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Roxanne and Scott Bok, Karen McKeel Calby, Michael T. Cohen, Colliers International NY LLC, John and Colleen Cook, Sylvia Golden, Tom and Kitty Patterson Kempner, Stephanie and Ron Kramer, Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence and Dr. Ryan P. Shelhamer, Alan P. Mark and Jeffrey Fraenkel, Janet and Marvin Rosen, Jennifer and Owen Thomas, & Diane and Tom Tuft.

The Gala Auction is chaired by Wendy Barker and Colleen Cook and Auction Committee includes Regaye Fulcher, Nancy Lee Molesworth, and JT Tsou. The Education Paddle Raise is sponsored by Capital One. The Gala performance is underwritten by Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence and Dr. Ryan P. Shelhamer.

Ticket information

Gala Tickets range from $2,500 – $10,000 and include seating for the dinner and performance, and an invitation to the private cocktail party with Roundabout artists starting at $3,500. Gala Tables start at $25,000 and include a table of ten for dinner and the performance.

To purchase tickets or a table to Roundabout’s 2025 Gala, contact: events@roundabouttheatre.org

For more information: https://gala.roundabouttheatre.org

Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays and musicals on its five stages: Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre, Studio 54 and Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and Off-Broadway’s Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre.

Roundabout Theatre Company has been working to prioritize and actively incorporate anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion and accountability throughout the institution. Read more about the company’s social justice progress and timeline at edi.roundabouttheatre.org.

Roundabout productions are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Roundabout’s 2024-2025 season includes English by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Knud Adams; Liberation by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White; and The Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, adapted by Rupert Holmes, music direction by Joseph Joubert, choreographed by Warren Carlyle and directed by Scott Ellis.

www.roundabouttheatre.org

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Biographies

JOSH GROBAN.  Tony®, EMMY®, and five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist Josh Groban possesses one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable voices in music. Moreover, he continues to captivate fans everywhere as both a powerhouse vocalist and dynamic renaissance man. He has sold over 35 million albums worldwide, headlined legendary venues all over the world, and has also entertained audiences with acclaimed film and television appearances. In 2016, he made his Tony-nominated Broadway debut as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1912, and in the Spring of 2023, Josh took to Broadway once again, performing in the highly anticipated revival of Sweeney Todd, playing the title role which earned him Tony and GRAMMY Nominations along with widespread acclaim.

Danny DeVito’s career

Danny DeVito. Photo: Daniel Bergeron.

DANNY DEVITO is one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile players, excelling as actor, producer and director.  The award-winning performance as Louie De Palma on the television show “Taxi” was what propelled DeVito to national prominence. He won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. In a 1999 readers’ poll conducted by TV Guide, DeVito’s Louie De Palma was voted number one among “TV’s Fifty Greatest Character’s Ever.” 

Thus far, 2024 has seen DeVito reunite with friend and former co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Super Bowl commercial for State Farm, and again on stage presenting together at the 96th Academy Awards. In March he narrated his role in the beloved 1996 classic “Matilda,” with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra performing the music live, while the film played on screen. He had a cameo appearance in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which released in theaters September 2024. He served as an executive producer on Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming docuseries Game 7 with his children Jake and Lucy, which Premieres October 22.

DeVito returned to Broadway in Fall-Winter of 2023 in a brand-new play called “I Need That,” at the Roundabout Theatre. Written by Theresa Rebeck, he acted alongside his daughter Lucy, who made her Broadway debut. The actor previously made his Broadway debut in 2017 in Arthur Miller’s “The Price” in the role of Gregory Solomon. Mr. DeVito earned his first Tony Award nomination.  The legend also won a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for the role.

Recent & current projects

He was the voice Uncle Dan in the warmly received 2024 Universal family film “Migration.” On television, he returns as “Frank Reynolds” in the 17^th season of FXX’s acclaimed cult comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” The show was renewed in 2020 for seasons 15-18. The hit became the longest-running scripted comedy in television history.  Other recent TV appearances include Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part II.  He did a guest role in the first season of Netflix’ “The Kominsky Method.”

DeVito is the principal of Jersey Film’s 2nd Avenue, a successor company of Jersey Films. In film, they most recently optioned the screen rights to Tom’s River: A Story of Science and Salvation, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Dan Fagin.  The first season of their animated comedy “Little Demon,” was picked up by FXX in 2022, including characters voiced by DeVito, daughter and actor Lucy DeVito, and Aubrey Plaza, with Dan Harmon executive producing.

DeVito’s other recent VO work includes the character Bob for Walt Disney Pictures’ “The One and Only Ivan,” released in 2020. In 2018, he was heard voicing Dorgle in Warner Bros.’ animated feature “Smallfoot.”  Other voiced characters include the Lorax in Universal Pictures’ animated feature “The Lorax,” based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. His voice was also heard in the German, Russian, Spanish and Italian versions of the film.

Other projects

He was in Sony Classics’ 2016 film “The Comedian,” with Robert De Niro and Leslie Mann, directed by Taylor Hackford.  DeVito directed, starred in and co-produced short film “Curmudgeons.” It premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and was later seen at the 2016 Seattle Film Festival and 2016 London Film Festival. The same year, DeVito also co-starred in the Todd Solondz’ dark comedy “Wiener-Dog.”

 DeVito and Richard Griffiths received rave reviews in the 2012 London stage revival of Neil Simon’s comedy “The Sunshine Boys.”  The following year, DeVito reprised his critically acclaimed role together with former “Taxi” co-star Judd Hirsch in Los Angeles.

 In 2015, DeVito was executive producer on the biographical documentary “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story.” He co-produced Universal Pictures’ crime drama “A Walk Among the Tombstones” and starred in “All The Wilderness in 2014. DeVito starred in Sebastian Gutierrez’s black and white crime drama, “Hotel Noir” in 2012.

Actor also a prolific director

 Throughout his career, DeVito has directed more than 25 projects. These include “Matilda,” “Death To Smoochy,” “The War of the Roses,” “Hoffa,” “Throw Momma From the Train,” “The Ratings Game.” He was in short films, TV movies and episodes of television, including “Taxi.”

Jersey Films  produced over 20 motion pictures. Films include “Freedom Writers,” “Be Cool,” “Garden State,” “Along Came Polly,” “Man on the Moon.” In addition, “Pulp Fiction,” “Out of Sight,” “Get Shorty,” “Hoffa,” “Matilda,” “Living Out Loud.” “Erin Brockovich” received an Academy Award nomination).

Apart from his work with Jersey Films, DeVito has starred in such films as “The War of the Roses,” “Junior,” “Batman Returns,” “Twins,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Jewel of the Nile,” “Ruthless People,” “Throw Momma From the Train,” “Tin Men,” “Anything Else,” “Big Fish,” “Renaissance Man,” “The Big Kahuna” and “Heist.”  He also starred in “The Good Night,” “Deck The Halls,” “Relative Strangers,” “The OH in Ohio,” “Be Cool” and “Even Money.”

DeVito’s early days

DeVito attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School in Summit, N.J. He appeared in only one school play, as St. Francis of Assisi.  After graduation, he pursued several odd jobs, always with the idea of acting in the back of his mind. He finally entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. “They had fencing and a speech class,” he said mockingly, “So you don’t talk funny.”

Unable to get work, Danny bought a round-trip ticket and headed to Hollywood.  After years of unemployment, he returned to New York.  He called an old friend and former American Academy professor who, coincidentally, had been seeking him out for a starring role in one of three one-act plays presented together under the title of “The Man With the Flower in His Mouth.” In no time, Danny was into big money ($60 a week), and other stage performances followed.  Among his credits were “Down the Morning Line” and The Line of Least Existence.” He also appeared in “The Shrinking Bride” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Under a grant from the American Film Institute, Danny and his wife, actress Rhea Perlman, wrote and produced “Minestrone” (1975). “Minestrone” was shown twice at the Cannes Film Festival and translated into five languages.  Later, they wrote and produced a 16-millimeter black-and-white short subject, “The Sound Sleeper,” which won first prize at the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association competition.

Honored in NJ hometown

The mayor of Asbury Park, NJ declared November 17, 2018  (DeVito’s birthday) as Danny DeVito day in Asbury Park. The actor grew up there.

DeVito carries his success well.  Never forgetting that there were more difficult times, he maintains a healthy sense of perspective.  As “Taxi” character Louie DePalma, would say, “If you don’t do good today, you’ll be eatin’ dirt tomorrow.”

The post Josh Groban to perform at Roundabout 2025 Gala honoring Danny DeVito appeared first on StageZine.

‘YELLOW FACE’: Daniel Dae Kim & Ryan Eggold. Photo: Joan Marcus.

YELLOW FACE
By David Henry Hwang
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Through November 24, 2024
Todd Haimes Theatre
227 W. 42nd St
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2024-2025/yellow-face/

By Scott Harrah

White actors in blackface in old movies are mostly a thing of the distant past, but whites portraying Asians were much more common in the mid to late 20^th century.  From Mickey Rooney playing a stereotypical caricature of a Japanese man in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) to David Carradine portraying an Asian in the popular 1970s TV show “Kung Fu” to British actor Jonathan Pryce, a white Welshman, playing a Eurasian character on Broadway in 1990 in Miss Saigon, the history of whites playing “Orientals” has been particularly offensive and cringe-worthy. The story surrounding the controversy over Miss Saigon is the launching point for 90 minutes of dark humor and satire about portrayals of Asians in the entertainment world in David Henry Hwang’s semi-autobiographical play, Yellow Face.

Mr. Hwang’s play originally appeared off Broadway at the Public Theater back in 2007, with the same director, Leigh Silverman. The play received mediocre reviews back then, but half an hour has been cut and this Broadway production is now tight and fast-moving, and is just as topical in 2024. Issues of race, identity, and the need for cultural representation in the arts are still controversial nearly two decades later.

Daniel Dae Kim stars as DHH, obviously based on playwright David Henry Hwang. The story unfolds in 1990 as DHH, the first Asian American playwright to win a Tony Award (for M. Butterfly), is spearheading a movement to make British mega-producer Cameron McIntosh re-think the casting of white actor Jonathan Pryce portraying a Eurasian in Miss Saigon. Although Mr. Pryce sold many tickets over in London, DHH feels that the American production should have an actor of Asian descent for many reasons. Because Mr. Pryce was a big name at the time, Cameron McIntosh ultimately got his wish and the Welsh actor was cast in the Broadway production.

DHH, feeling defeated, writes the play Face Value and casts Marcus (Ryan Eggold), a white actor from Seattle with no Asian ancestry, in the lead role of an Asian. At this point, Yellow Face delves into a bit of wonderful satire. DHH cannot find an Asian actor he thinks is right for the role, so he invents a fake ancestral history for Marcus. When Marcus tells the playwright that he has both Russian and Jewish blood, DHH comes up with the absurd idea that Marcus is a “Siberian Jew” and uses this bogus history to justify casting the actor.

When Face Value flops and closes in previews on Broadway, DHH realizes he has not been true to his culture and why he needs to be more of an advocate for Asian Americans in the theater.

The story includes subplots, most notably DHH’s Chinese American father (Francis Jue), a successful banker in California. DHH’s dad is living the American dream, modeling himself after his hero, Jimmy Stewart. Scenes between DHH and his ambitious father are among the show’s most powerful and moving. As DHH struggles financially, his father offers him a lucrative seat as a board member of the Far East National Bank—a position the playwright reluctantly accepts. However, taking the job has negative consequences when criminal allegations are made against the bank by the U.S. government.

What’s most remarkable about Yellow Face is the humor Mr. Hwang has inserted into the story. What could have easily been a heavy-handed tale of inclusivity is instead a witty, insightful, often hilarious look at a serious topic that pokes fun at multicultural casting while still demonstrating why cultural representation is so vital in 21^st century America. Director Leigh Silverman has done a brilliant job fine-tuning the narrative while also getting fine performances from the cast, with standout performances by Mr. Kim and Mr. Jue as well as trenchant acting from many supporting cast members. Yellow Face is thought-provoking and powerful, and one of the fall season’s must-see show

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 6, 2024
Reviewed at October 2, 2024 press performance

‘YELLOW FACE’: Daniel Dae Kim. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘YELLOW FACE’: (left to right) Francis Jue, Marinda Anderson, Kevin Del Aguila, Daniel Dae Kim, Ryan Eggold & Shannon Tyo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘YELLOW FACE’: Francis Jue & Daniel Dae Kim. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Yellow Face’: Asians in the arts & controversy appeared first on StageZine.

‘HOME’: Brittany Inge, Tory Kittles & Stori Ayers. Photo: Joan Marcus.

HOME
By Samm-Art Williams
Directed by Kenny Leon
Through July 21, 2024
Roundabout Theatre Company
Todd Haimes Theatre
229 West 42^nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheater.org

By Scott Harrah

Home by the late Samm-Art Williams was first produced on Broadway back in 1980. Director Kenny Leon has brought the African-American classic drama back to Broadway for a brief summer run at the Roundabout Theatre Company at the Todd Haimes Theatre. On a sad note, Mr. Williams died just a few days before the first preview of this Home revival.

This simplistic one act focuses on the life of young Cephus Miles (Tory Kittles), a Black man working on the small Cross Roads, North Carolina farm he inherited from his family, struggling to survive in the segregated South. When his childhood crush Patti Mae Wells (Brittany Inge) rejects him and leaves for college, Cephus’s world is shattered. He refuses to serve in the Vietnam War and gets thrown in prison as a draft dodger.

Fast-forward to a few years later. Cephus is out of prison but he has unpaid taxes on his land and the farm has been seized. He flees up North to a big city and finds a brand-new life. Although he finds a good-paying job and a new girlfriend, his luck soon runs out. He loses his job and gets mired in a downward spiral of drugs and hookers. Fortunately, he manages to clean himself up and moves back down to North Carolina where Patti Mae is waiting for him.

Home captures a place and time, chronicling the life of an African-American man who is forced to face adversity and struggle. Not everything has aged well in the 44 years since the show was on Broadway, particularly the references to him jokingly saying he can “speak Indian,” referring to Native Americans. However, overall Mr. Williams’ story has profound things to say about the Black experience and how home is where both the heart and hurt is for many people.

The production is utilitarian and sparse, and Arnulfo Maldonado’s sets are minimalistic but still manage to depict different decades, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Director Kenny Leon gets fine performances from Tory Kittles, who is consistently riveting as Cephus, a man who never loses his sense of goodwill. Brittany Inge as Woman One/Patti Mae Wells and Stori Ayers as Woman Two both do an outstanding job playing multiple characters—everything from a bus driver to an alcoholic in the street. Home is, more than anything, a story of hope that is anchored by a talented ensemble cast that really make this 90-minute story shine and come to vivid life.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 19, 2024
Reviewed at June 13, 2024 press performance

‘HOME’: Stori Ayers, Tory Kittles & Brittany Inge. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘HOME’: Stori Ayers, Tory Kittles & Brittany Inge. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Home’: Where the heart & hurt is appeared first on StageZine.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Liev Schreiber & Zoe Kazan. Photo: Joan Marcus

DOUBT: A PARABLE
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Scott Ellis
Through April 21, 2024
Todd Haines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David NouNou

To date, John Patrick Shanley’s 2005 Pulitzer Prize Award-winning play Doubt: A Parable is still one of the finest and most concise dramas ever written. At 90 minutes, it gives us an account of a nun, a priest and an accusation—and it is riveting.

Set in 1964 at St. Nicholas, a Catholic church and school in the Bronx, NY, it starts with Father Brendan Flynn (Liev Schreiber) giving us a sermon about a shipwrecked sailor lost at sea for days, having doubts in the direction where he is drifting. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Amy Ryan) has doubts about anything decent in life, especially Father Flynn’s benevolence. Sister James (Zoe Kazan) not only is the assistant to Sister Aloysius but also plays the eyes and ears—and is in doubt about everything she enjoys in life being sucked out of her by the demanding Sister Aloysius. The last character is Mrs. Malloy (Quincy Tyler Bernsteine), the mother of the only Black boy at St. Nicholas who is befriended by Father Flynn.

In its original production, Doubt was brilliantly staged by Doug Hughes and performed in the highest caliber by Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius and Bryan F. O’Byrne as Father Flynn. That production had shadings that kept you shifting allegiances. With the exception of Mr. Schreiber, this is an uneven production.

Actors are supposed to bring in their own interpretations to any role and should never try to replicate anyone else’s performance. However, the actor also has to bring shadings to extreme characters especially when they are hell bent on destruction. Amy Ryan, a very capable actress, was a last-minute replacement for Tyne Daly. She is diminutive in stature as compared to the imposing, larger-than-life Mr. Schreiber. Her portrayal of Sister Aloysius is evil incarnate. There is no wiggle room in her performance to give her some space to make her more objective or try to see her viewpoint of what she perceives to be the duty of a headstrong principal of the school. She just sucks out any joy from any life force.

This is where Mr. Schreiber’s charm, charisma and stage presence comes in and brings much needed oxygen back to the stage. Whether there is any proof that he has any guilt on the 12-year-old Black boy by supplying him with altar wine or doing anything inappropriate is unevenly balanced because of the nature of the two antagonists.

Zoe Kazan gives a touching, tortured, conflicted performance as young Sister James who has been so burned by the elder sister. Quincy Tyler Bernstine has a beautiful turn as the mother of the boy who just wants her son to pass the semester so he can go to a good school. Her scene with Sister Aloysius is genuinely touching and she wants nothing to do with her personal vendetta scheming.

In the end it falls on Scott Ellis’ unbalanced direction which has Ms. Ryan floundering when she cries; she has doubts about everything. You feel nothing for her because she instigated the events not from any facts but pure evil, so there is no shifting of allegiance or compassion from one character to the other.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 15, 2024
Reviewed at March 14, 2024 press performance.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Amy Ryan & Zoe Kazan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Amy Ryan & Quincy Tyler Bernstine. Photo: Joan Mrcus.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Liev Schreiber & Amy Ryan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Doubt’ revival: Riveting despite flaws appeared first on StageZine.

‘I NEED THAT’: Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

I NEED THAT
Written by Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Through December 30, 2023
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

What is there to be said about a hoarder? We’re all guilty of it in one form or another. Hoarding is a universal condition which most people suffer from, but can it sustain a play for 100 minutes? The answer to that would be a resounding no, but what sustains I Need That is Danny DeVito’s Sam, the hoarder.

Sam is a widower living alone. His home (amply hoarded by set designer Alexander Dodge), is uninhabitable; as a matter of fact, his neighbor from across the street as taken pictures of the inside the house and reported him to the police as a hazardous place that can be a fire trap. He has gotten a few eviction notices to make his place habitable but he has ignored them. His mementos go back as far as 60 odd years and includes books that his late wife used to read, board games he played with his daughter, a 60-year-old TV set that was built by his father, and all sorts of items that only have importance to a hoarder.

Sam has not stepped outside his home in years. His contact to the outside world is Foster (Ray Anthony Thomas) who is his best friend, and who steals from him. Sam tells Foster about the items he has collected over the years: a ring, bonds, and magazines which Foster then steals, then pawns, cashes in and/or sells on eBay behind Sam’s back and keeps the proceeds.

The other contact in Sam’s life is his daughter, Amelia (Lucy DeVito). She devotes her life to trying to protect her father from bringing him food to trying to fend off the law from evicting him. Both Foster and Amelia try their best to help Sam unload, but he argues back that he is organizing.

To tell you more would be revealing the outcome which is unfair to a theatergoer. Suffice it to say there is a lot of extemporaneous filler halfway into the play, and the play goes off into tangents. There is even a mention of the TV show “Hoarders.” While most hoarders may be crotchety and unlikable, Sam is crotchety but lovable.  After all, he is Louie De Palma from “Taxi” in the form of Danny DeVito.

Having seen Mr. DeVito in the 2017 Roundabout revival of Arthur Miller’s The Price (in which he was robbed of a much-deserved Tony Award), Mr. DeVito is a consummate stage actor. He is as comfortable on the stage as he is on any TV set. He is the oxygen that pumps into the veins of this lackluster play. What also adds dimension to the performance is that he is performing opposite his daughter, Lucy. There is a beautiful care and chemistry between them that comes across as only a real father and daughter possess. They enhance each other’s performances.

Ray Anthony Thomas gives a sincere performance as a caring friend but is also guilt-ridden from his constant stealing. His apology scene to Sam is very touching.

Ms. Rebeck is a good and prolific playwright. She always has a grand idea, but in a lot of cases she can’t flesh them out properly. Think of Dead Accounts, Seminar and Bernhardt/Hamlet (also at the Roundabout), to name a few. Her two best plays are Mauritius, and Mad House, the play I saw in London last year at the Ambassador Theatre with David Harbour and Bill Pullman, also directed by Mr. von Stuelpnagel. I am truly stunned that Mad House has not made it to Broadway yet. With a little tweaking and editing by Mr. Von Stuelpnagel, it can be a terrific play on Broadway.

The positivity here is that both Ms. Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel work together well and both have their own quirky, edgy chemistry together. Mr. von Stuelpnagel has the capacity to flesh out and edit scenes in Ms. Rebeck’s play to give them a smoother polish and finish.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 8, 2023
Reviewed at November 7, 2023 press performance.

‘I NEED THAT’: Ray Anthony Thomas, Lucy DeVito & Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Lucy DeVito & Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: (left to right) Ray Anthony Thomas, Danny DeVito & Lucy DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Ray Anthony Thomas, Danny DeVito & Lucy DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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