‘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.

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

‘BECKY SHAW’: Lauren Patten & Alden Ehrenreich. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Alden Ehrenreich. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Madeline Brewer. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Alden Ehrenreich & Madeline Brewer. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Linda Emond. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Lauren Patten & Linda Emond. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘BECKY SHAW’: Alden Ehrenreich & Madeline Brewer. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

The post ‘Becky Shaw’ revival simmers at Second Stage appeared first on StageZine.

‘MARJORIE PRIME’: June Squbb. Photo: Joan Marcus.

MARJORIE PRIME
By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Anne Kauffman
Through February 15, 2026
Second Stage at the Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
https://2st.com/shows/marjorie-prime
 

By Scott Harrah

AI (artificial intelligence) is everywhere in our lives in the 21st century. Despite all its hype, many contend that AI cannot truly replicate humans—human emotion in particular. Or can it? This is one of many thought‑provoking questions playwright Jordan Harrison poses in the sublime Broadway revival of his 2014 science‑fiction drama, Marjorie Prime.

The play takes place in the not‑too‑distant future, about 37 years from now, in 2062. Marjorie (Oscar nominee June Squibb) is an 85‑year‑old widow experiencing memory issues. Lonely and still coping with the loss of her husband Walter, she is introduced by her family to a “Prime”—a high‑tech AI projection designed to mimic her late spouse. Primes are not robots, but advanced technological recreations that look, speak, and sound human. The play opens with Marjorie in conversation with Walter, revisiting fragments of their shared past.

Blast from the past

Marjorie pours her heart out to the Prime, recalling memories in bits and pieces. The Prime absorbs these recollections and helps her refine and reorganize her thoughts about life with Walter. But are these memories truly fixed? Can they be edited, altered, or even erased altogether?

At the center of this debate are Marjorie’s middle‑aged daughter Tess (Cynthia Nixon) and son‑in‑law Jon (Danny Burstein), who approach the Prime from opposing emotional viewpoints. Tess worries about the psychological toll of her mother bonding with a technological stand‑in for a deceased spouse, while Jon sees the Prime as a compassionate solution to Marjorie’s loneliness. These conflicting perspectives generate a steady undercurrent of tension throughout the play’s brief 85‑minute running time.

Parable about humanity & technology?

On the surface, Marjorie Prime may resemble an ethical parable about humanity and technology. While that theme is certainly present, Harrison’s play is ultimately more concerned with aging, grief, and how families process loss. The differing perspectives of Marjorie, Tess, and Jon lend the story a sustained sense of dramatic tension, raising questions about memory, truth, and the ways humans adapt—emotionally and morally—to rapidly advancing technology.

June Squibb & Cynthia Nixon shine

June Squibb, at age 96, has received understandable media attention for being one of the oldest actors to perform on Broadway, but it is her commanding stage presence and remarkably fluid approach to Marjorie that make her performance so compelling. With apparent ease, Squibb pivots between wit and cantankerousness, irritation and moments of forgetfulness, allowing each emotional shift to feel organic and unforced. She not only brings Marjorie vividly to life but also strengthens the performances around her.

Cynthia Nixon delivers one of her strongest stage performances to date. She brings sharp emotional clarity to Tess, grounding the play’s futuristic premise in recognizable human anguish. Ms. Nixon captures Tess’s anger, vulnerability, and deep emotional fatigue, particularly in scenes shaped by grief and unresolved memory. Her tightly coiled anxiety stands in sharp contrast to Marjorie’s more easygoing temperament.

Danny Burstein & Christopher Lowell

Danny Burstein offers a warm, grounded performance as Jon, Tess’s husband, approaching the role with empathy and restraint. He allows Jon’s quiet frustration to surface naturally, giving the character a relatable humanity. Together with Squibb and Nixon, Burstein helps anchor the play’s emotional stakes.

Completing the ensemble, Christopher Lowell strikes a careful balance as Walter Prime. He suggests warmth and familiarity while maintaining a subtly unsettling emotional distance, reinforcing the character’s artificial nature without tipping into caricature.

Dynamic direction

Director Anne Kauffman skillfully guides the ensemble, allowing each performance to register clearly while maintaining tonal balance. She never lets the drama drift into sentimentality or melodrama, keeping the production emotionally resonant yet controlled.

Marjorie Prime is a provocative and deeply affecting play, and one of the year’s best. It speaks thoughtfully to the accelerating presence of AI in modern life and humanity’s uncertain ability to keep up with it. The play ultimately suggests that emerging technologies need not be inherently frightening; they may someday help shape how we choose to remember our lives—and one another.

Published December 15, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on December 11, 2025

‘MARJORIE PRIME’: June Squbb & Cynthia Nixon. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MARJORIE PRIME’: Christopher Lowell & June Squibb. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MARJORIE PRIME’: Danny Burstein & Cynthia Nixon. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MARJORIE PRIME’: Christopher Lowell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Marjorie Prime’: Sublime & one of year’s best appeared first on StageZine.

‘CULT OF LOVE’: (left to right) Christopher Sears, Barbie Ferreira, Roberta Colindrez, Mare Winningham, Zachary Quinto, David Rasche, Shailene Woodley & Rebecca Henderson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CULT OF LOVE
Written by Leslye Headland
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through February 2, 2025
Second Stage
The Helen Hayes Theater
240 W. 44^th Street
https://2st.com/shows/cult-of-love

By Scott Harrah

Opening just in time for the holidays, playwright Leslye Headland’s Cult of Love is a one act that features all the formulaic elements of a dysfunctional family: arguments about religion, career and marital problems, strained relationships, homophobia, drug abuse, mental illness, and so on. Although the 100-minute play does not exactly shed new light on these issues when they appear in “toxic” families, the trenchant performances of the all-star cast in this fine production, directed by Trip Cullman, make us forget the familiar themes. Just sit back and watch the family fireworks explode.

The story focuses on four adult siblings who return to their parents’ farmhouse in Connecticut for Christmas. Home might be “where the heart is” for some, but in the Dahl family, it’s where the hurt is. Ginny Dahl (Mare Winningham) is the manipulative matriarch who pretends that there’s nothing wrong with the family. Father Bill Dahl (David Rasche) appears sweet on the surface. He loves to play the piano and reminisce about the days when all four kids were young and used to sing “Shenandoah” like a saccharine, American version of the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music. However, Bill is having memory issues and it’s becoming obvious he might be developing dementia.

The Dahl kids

Each one of the Dahl children has an issue that the parents either cannot accept or try to ignore. Mark (Zachary Quinto) went to Yale and was a seminary student but decided to become a lawyer instead. His marriage and career are not in great shape. He is also no longer a Christian—something that does not thrill his evangelical parents. His wife Rachel (Molly Bernard) converted to Christianity when she married him.

Evie Dahl (Rebecca Henderson) is a chef who shuns her religious upbringing. She is also an out-and-proud lesbian, married to wife Pippa (Roberta Colindrez). Diana Dahl Bennett (Shailene Woodley) is a pregnant Jesus freak who has struggled with mental-health problems since childhood. She and her preacher husband James (Christopher Lowell) are temporarily living with Evie’s parents after being forced out of their church.

Everyone is waiting for Johnny Dahl (Christopher Sears) to show up on Christmas Even so they can dig into a roast lamb. Johnny is a recovering drug addict and eventually arrives late with his friend Loren (Barbie Ferreira), a fun-loving free spirit who is refreshingly level-headed and not amused by the discord of the Dahl family.

The Dahls have always played music together, from banjo and guitar to the kazoo. Watching them all jamming and singing together gives the show the right amount of levity to help neutralize the dark tone of gloom and tension that runs throughout the narrative.

Stellar cast

Despite the lugubrious nature of this sometimes-predictable drama, Cult of Love is worth seeing primarily thanks to the brilliant cast. Director Trip Cullman gets superb performances from everyone. Mare Winningham is marvelous as the crafty, unpleasant mother Ginny, and David Rasche also shines as her husband Bill. Zachary Quinto does a great job portraying the brooding Mark, and Christopher Sears is also first-rate as Johnny.

The female cast members are all outstanding.  Rebecca Henderson is often touching as Evie, while Shailene Woodley is riveting and shows incredible range as Diana, the Bible-thumping daughter who goes from sweet and annoying to downright disturbing when she has a meltdown. Molly Bernard as Rachel, Roberta Colindrez as Evie’s out-of-place wife Pippa and Barbie Ferreira as Loren are all sublime in their supporting roles.

Cult of Love is hardly average Broadway holiday fare. Playwright Leslye Headland skillfully dissects and destroys the myth of “happy” families who demand loyalty without truly knowing how to love and accept one’s kin despite their individual quirks and flaws.

Published December 19, 2024
Reviewed at press performance on December 17, 2024

‘CULT OF LOVE’: (left to right) Shailene Woodley, Christopher Sears, Rebecca Henderson & Zachary Quinto. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CULT OF LOVE’: (left to right) Zachary Quinto, Mare Winningham, Shailene Woodley & David Rasche. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CULT OF LOVE’: Zachary Quinto & Shailene Woodley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CULT OF LOVE’: (left to right) Zachary Quinto, Molly Bernard & Chris Lowell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jim Parsons & Jessica Lange. Photo: Joan Marcus.

MOTHER PLAY: A PLAY IN FIVE EVICTIONS
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Tina Landau
Second Stage at The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th St.
(212) 541-4516
https://2st.com/shows/mother-play

By Scott Harrah

A stellar cast and outstanding performances make Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions one of the year’s must-see dramas. Paula Vogel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright best known for her masterpiece How I Learned to Drive, delves into painful recollections of her own family with shades of Tennessee Williams’ classic memory play The Glass Menagerie.

Like Amanda Wingfield in Glass Menagerie, the narrative centers on a single mother from the South and her unrealistic dreams for her kids. Jessica Lange stars as Phyllis, a strict and demanding mother who wields power over her two teenage children, Martha (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and Carl (Jim Parsons).

The plays opens in 1962 in suburb of Washington, D.C. Phyllis and her kids have just moved into a new apartment. Phyllis is a divorcée with a drinking problem. Son Carl, 14, is starting to realize he’s probably gay. Daughter Martha, 12, is also learning she might be gay too, and her mother makes her read—in a passive-aggressive demand—the lesbian classic novel The Well of Loneliness as a cautionary tale.

Jessica Lange gives one of the best performances of her career as Phyllis, a woman who keeps moving her kids into disheveled apartments infested with roaches and mice. Phyllis is not exactly a likable character. She is shrill, demanding, volatile and homophobic, but Ms. Lange gives depth to this villainess with her seamless delivery of rapid-fire dialogue and manic mannerisms. It’s hard to take our eyes off Ms. Lange whenever she’s on the stage, and that’s because her performance is so heartbreaking and engrossing.

Reportedly based on playwright Paula Vogel’s real life, Mother Play is both a dramatic confessional and a portrait of a woman with unrealistic dreams for both herself and her children. The story unfolds in five different scenes spanning the decades or “evictions” as we see the family descend into more grief and all are on the edge of madness. Each attempt by Phyllis to control her children’s lives fails, and she just becomes more domineering and despicable.

Jim Parsons as Carl and Celia Keenan-Bolger are both exceptional and demonstrate a believable brother-and-sister chemistry that truly makes the show worth seeing. They are forced to mix their mother’s drinks and find her chic outfits while they both put up with her constant criticism and disapproval.

Mother Play, performed in one act, is not an easy drama to watch despite its brevity. Ms. Vogel’s portrait of family discord is brutally real, and while the show is not always perfect, director Tina Landau gets such fine performances from the cast that the flaws don’t matter in the end. Mother Play is a trenchant American tragedy for these troubled times.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 12, 2024
Reviewed at April 30, 2024 press  performance

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jessica Lange & Celia Keenan-Bolger. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jim Parsons & Celia Keenan-Bolger. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Celia Keenan-Bolger & Jim Parsons. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jessica Lange. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jim Parsons. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘MOTHER PLAY’: Jessica Lange. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘APPROPRIATE’: (Left to right) Michael Esper, Elle Fanning, Natalie Gold, Alyssa Emily Marvin, Corey Stoll & Sarah Paulson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

APPROPRIATE
Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
Through June 23, 2024
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street
https://appropriateplay.com/

By David NouNou

What family doesn’t have its ups and downs? The Lafayette family is steeped in it. Three siblings and their families come down to rural Arkansas to settle their deceased father’s dilapidated estate, only to come down and find out and get more than they bargained for. The spelling of “appropriate” has two definitions: one can be what is proper behavior when you come down to settle an estate, the other definition is to take something for your own; like a trust fund or mutual property.

Late at night, Frank (Michael Esper) or Franz as his girlfriend, River (Elle Fanning) has renamed him have just broken into the house that belonged to his father. They arrive a bit early for the estate sale that is going to take place. However, his oldest sibling, Toni (Sarah Paulson) has arrived even earlier with her son, Rhys (Graham Campbell). Toni is in a frenzy due to the fact that Frank hasn’t been in touch with the family for over 10 years or attended the funeral of their dad, but he is here now and why. Middle brother, Bo (Corey Stoll) has also arrived with his wife Rachel (Natalie Gold) and their two children, Cassidy (Alyssa Emily Marvin) and Ainsley (Lincoln Cohen) from D.C.

If you are familiar with Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County you will notice a few similarities. These siblings all have backstories and plenty of baggage and recriminations. The first act is constructed and directed flawlessly. It starts with while packing and putting things away, a photo album is discovered which unleashes a torrent of revelations. Starting with racism, antisemitism, drugs, alcoholism, insults, finger pointing, pedophilia and a little bit of fascination between cousins, this family is toxic. More should not be revealed to the reader who hopefully and ultimately will be a viewer. This show plays like a jigsaw puzzle. Your allegiance to each character keeps shifting throughout the first act. Each time you are steered in one direction, you are quickly jolted into another. That is the purpose of a good show; it keeps the audience engaged and constantly guessing.

Act I ends on a brilliant cliffhanger. Act II begins meandering from the onset. It gets mired in further toxicity about the family and in a lot of cases the action seems contrived and doesn’t flow as easily as it did in Act I. The screwups become repetitious, and this is where playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and director Lila Neugebauer should have collaborated more tightly. They had one of the most brilliant endings in Broadway history about a boy coming down a staircase; instead, they chose to keep trudging along.

Where Ms. Neugebauer does succeed is in her direction of this great ensemble cast, headed by Sarah Paulson. Ms. Paulson’s performance is a tour de force: from her manic entrance, to her emotional breakdown, and her resolution, she thrills throughout. She sets the bar high, and her co-stars Corey Stoll, Michael Esper, Elle Fanning and Natalie Gold are on their toes matching her in riveting performances. The performances of these five actors weave a disturbing tapestry of a dysfunctional family and are compelling throughout the show.

This is one of the season’s must-see shows. The show was set to close on March 3, 2024. It will be on hiatus for about three weeks, and will reopen at the larger Belasco Theatre on March 25, 2024 and run through June 30, 2024.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 24, 2024
Reviewed at February 22, 2024 press performance.

‘APPROPRIATE’: Michael Esper, Corey Stoll & Sarah Paulson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘APPROPRIATE’: Alyssa Emily Marvin & Elle Fanning. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘APPROPRIATE’: Michael Esper & Elle Fanning. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘APPROPRIATE’: Natalie Gold & Corey Stoll. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘APPROPRIATE’: Sarah Paulson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Chris Sullivan & D’Arcy Carden. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
Written by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Through June 4, 2023
The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
(212-541-4516), www 2st.com

By David NouNou

Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play is about as close to the theatre of the absurd as one can get. However, this absurdity is in the form of a satire on the state of “woke.” Ms. FastHorse, being a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is the ideal person to write such a play and capture all the nuances of the spoken word of what can be said or can’t be said on or off stage.

Logan (Katie Finneran) was an actress and now is a director for an elementary school. She has just received a grant to direct a Thanksgiving play providing it has a Native American in the cast. She and her boyfriend, Jaxton (Scott Foley), a street performer/yoga enthusiast, are jointly working to present this play in a non-offensive, nontraditional, non-confrontational way and trying to sort out all the machinations on how this will come about.

Logan brings in two people that hopefully can sort out all the issues that arise in today’s “woke” society. In comes writer Caden (Chris Sullivan); he is an aficionado on the matter and has done research on Thanksgiving dating back to 3,000 years ago. The second is Alicia (D’Arcy Carden), an actress whom Logan hired, thinking she is a Native American. As it turns out Alicia is everything but a Native American. Her agent has advised her to have six different headshots to qualify her for any role from Native American to a Latina, and she was third understudy to Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin. Alicia has been hired without checking her origins, because that would be discriminatory.

Problems keep arising for Logan who is in a serious predicament, because if she doesn’t get a Native American, she fears she will get fired or lose grant money. Logan decides to improvise this play and tries to find a way without offending somebody. With all the improvisations, there is no easy solution; hence the conundrum that “woke” has generated. The fun in the play is how to arrive to a reasonable solution, and it’s a dilly.

Director Rachel Chavkin has done a great job in keeping the play moving at a frantic pace, therein lies the humor. She has her cast on their feet and no one comes off better than the outstanding D’Arcy Carden as Alicia, for she embodies the beautiful vapid Hollywood actress that believes she doesn’t have to do anything but just be. She is perfection. The inimitable Katie Finneran is her usual great, energetic self as the uptight director trying her best to commit to a non-offensive production. Scott Foley and Chris Sullivan are ideal foils for these polar opposite women.

The pleasure here is how Ms. FastHorse has illustrated how “woke” has gotten a stranglehold on the theatre. Her Thanksgiving play is a thought-provoking metaphor for how far “woke” and political correctness can and has permeated American culture.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 27, 2023
Reviewed at April 26, 2023 press performance.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Katie Finneran. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Scott Foley & Katie Finneran. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Chris Sullivan & Scott Foley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: D’Arcy Carden. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: D’Arcy Carden, Scott Foley & Chris Sullivan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Katie Finneran. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Chris Sullivan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE THANKSGIVING PLAY’: Scott Foley. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘The Thanksgiving Play’: Superb satire of ‘woke’ appeared first on StageZine.

‘BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY’ (left to right): Stephen McKinley Henderson, Elizabeth Canavan, Michael Rispoli, Common,  Liza Colon Zayas & Rosal Colon. Photo: Joan Marcus

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY
Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Austin Pendleton
Through February 19, 2023
Second Stage at the Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.2ST.com

By David NouNou

Stephen Adly Guirgis won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Between Riverside and Crazy—crazy on the outside, but cunningly crafted on the inside. On the surface it first comes across as grifters taking advantage of an old man, but once the surface is scratched, there is a minefield percolating, ready to explode.

Walter “Pops” Washington (Stephen McKinley Henderson) is a retired black policeman who was accidentally shot by a white officer eight years ago. He turned down a lucrative settlement that did not meet his demands. He has been pursuing a discrimination suit against the police department. He lives in a large rent-controlled three-bedroom apartment on Riverside Drive and is now facing multiple eviction notices.

Pops’ wife Dolores has died a few years earlier. He now lives with a recovering drug addict, Oswaldo (Victor Almanzar), as well as his son “Junior” (Common) who has just been released from jail and living with them is Junior’s girlfriend, Lulu (Rosal Colon).

“Pops” is visited by three guests, not ghosts: Detective O’Connor (Elizabeth Canavan) who used to be Pops’ old partner when he was on the force, and Lieutenant Caro (J. Anthony Crane), her fiancé. Both have come to talk sense into Pops in accepting the force’s final offer. Also visiting is Church Lady (Maria-Christina Oliveras) who has come to comfort “Pops” by having him accept Jesus and find salvation.

The characters are set, and what’s unfolds takes place in multiple rooms in Pops’ shabby, overstuffed apartment. The set is an ingenious one designed by Walt Spangler where the set revolves and the actors and action flow seamlessly from room to room.

It is always a delight to see a formidable actor who has finally landed a role of a lifetime that is tailor made for his talents, and one in which he dominates. Having formerly seen Stephen McKinley Henderson in: King Hedley II, Fences and A Raisin in the Sun, he has always been a consummate actor that delivered the performances but never really got the attention he deserved, because he was always in supporting roles. At last, now at 73, Mr. McKinley is a star, giving one of the season’s devilishly outstanding performances.

Common as Junior, making his Broadway debut, has an incredible presence and delivers a heartfelt performance. Maria-Christina Oliveras as Church Lady gives a performance that has to be seen to be believed. It is outrageous in the most flattering of ways.

Best known for the 2011 The Motherf**ker With the Hat,  Stephen Adly Guirgis delivers another thoroughly enjoyable “dramedy” with salty language suitable to the characters. However, it is his star, Stephen McKinley Henderson, that is the steam to this percolating cauldron.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 4, 2023
Reviewed at January 3, 2023 press performance.

‘BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY’: Stephen McKinley Henderson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY: Stephen McKinley Henderson, Elizabeth Canavan & Michael Rispoli . Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY’: Victor Almanzar. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY’: Stephen McKinley Henderson & Common. Photo: Joan Marcus 2022.

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‘THE KITE RUNNER’: Amir Arison. Photo: Joan Marcus.

THE KITE RUNNER
Based on Khaled Hosseini’s Novel
Adapted by Matthew Spangler
Directed by Giles Croft
Through October 30, 2022
The Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.TheKiteRunnerBroadway.com

By David NouNou

With the exception of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, there are very few memory plays that come to mind. Better yet, a powerful and effective memory play that grabs you from the first scene and engulfs you with so many emotions and feelings and tugs at you way after the play is over—that being the ultimate reward in a theatrical experience—which The Kite Runner does so beautifully.

The play starts modestly with a simple backdrop scene that changes with the situations. In comes a musician (Salar Nader), playing the tabla (a pair of small drums fundamental to Hindustani music) in a pulsating rhythm, evoking various moods as the play unfolds. In walks Amir (Amir Arison), narrator and central figure. It is 2001 and he lives in the Bay Area of San Francisco now and starts his monologue and I’m paraphrasing: “There are things from your past you want to bury inside you and never want to think of them again, but there are always claws that will pull them out again.” Amir thinks back to 1975 in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he lived in an estate with his father/Baba (Faran Tahir) who is a Pashtun (upper class). Amir’s mother died during childbirth, so he lived with his Baba’s devoted manservant of 40 years Ali (Evan Zes) and his son, Hassan (Eric Sirakian). Ali and Hassan are Hazaras (lower-class descendants of Genghis Khan, Mongols who invaded the country). Amir and Hassan grew up together and were the best of friends and did everything that boys do together at that age. They lived like brothers in the household. Amir states that his first word was Baba, and Hassan’s first word was Amir. In that split second, a knife stabs the heart and the play swallows you whole.

Hassan is devoted to Amir, heart and soul. Hassan, being from a lower class and not knowing how to read or write, loved to be read to and Amir complied. They both loved to fly kites. Amir did the flying, and Hassan found and brought back the defeated kites as the spoils. They also enjoyed going to the movies together. Their favorite genre was Westerns. Hassan especially wanted to meet John Wayne because he spoke Farsi in the movie Rio Bravo. Baba had to explain to him that John Wayne didn’t really speak Farsi but was dubbed. On his 12th birthday, Hassan got a cowboy hat from Baba, starting a rift in the boys’ relationship. Amir never understood why Baba was so attentive to Hassan and so passive to him. Being a Hazara, Hassan was always picked on and beaten by the town bully, Assef (Amir Malaklou). Amir watched and never intervened but Hassan stilled loved Amir unconditionally.

On the day of the big kite fight, Amir had to prove his worth to his father by winning the kite fight by cutting them all down, and he succeeds and gets that admiration from Baba for a while. The big prize here for victory was the blue kite that belonged to Assef, and Hassan went to get it for Amir. Upon retrieving it, Hassan is accosted by Assef and his gang. After not relinquishing the kite, Hassan is brutally sodomized. While searching for Hassan, Amir witnesses the brutality and denies any knowledge of what happened to Hassan.

Through his own guilt of not coming to Hassan’s defense, Amir becomes belligerent to him and beats him up in the hope of wanting Hassan to stand up for himself and retaliate, but that doesn’t work, sending Amir further down the spiral of hating Hassan. When Amir tells his father he wants Ali and Hassan thrown out of the house, Baba goes ballistic on him and to never repeat such words. The final injustice comes on Amir’s birthday, where he gets a Rolex watch and money from his family as presents. Amir takes the watch and money and puts them under Hassan’s mattress. Amir accuses Hassan of stealing his presents; Hassan is known for his honesty, and when he is brought in front of Baba, Ali and Amir to explain, he admits he stole the presents in order to protect Amir’s standing with Baba. As Ali and Hassan prepare to leave Baba’s household, the grief for Baba is untenable, and a sobbing Baba pleads to Ali not to leave and that all is forgiven. However, Ali considers his honor and they depart. With Baba mourning this loss, Amir has to deal with his heinous guilt for the rest of his life.

Ultimately Kabul’s government monarchy is overthrown, Baba gives up his land and properties and flees to Pakistan and then America to San Francisco. He has to start all over. Amir meets Soraya (Azita Ghanizada) and marries her. All goes well, until Amir gets a phone call from Rahim Khan, (Dariush Kashani), that claw of the past resurfaces. Rahim was Baba’s former business partner from Kabul who was always fond of Amir and tells him he has to come to Kabul because Rahim Khan knows of the guilt and crimes that both he and Baba had committed to Ali and Hassan. If he ever wants peace and redemption in his life again, he has to fulfill this mission.

The immediate comparison one can reach is the biblical Cain and Abel story. However, this tale is so multifaceted, it is not only about brotherly love and hatred; it is about the sins of the father, guilt, jealousy, pride, friendship, devotion, class distinctions, a country’s religious sects and conflicts, salvation, humanity, faith and ultimately redemption. Seldom have so many issues been captured in a theatre piece in a single show and done with such conviction and passion.

The problems that arise in this New York version vs. the 2017 London production are the performances. In London, actors from the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have much more visibility and chances to perfect their craft than their American counterparts. London theatre has a larger pool of multiethnic creativity (Bollywood musicals, etc.), more productions featuring non-Western culture,  and more multiethnic actors to choose from to create an ideal cast. Unfortunately, in the USA the pool is much smaller and fewer multiethnic actors get the chance to appear on the New York stage. The major disconnect here is Amir Arison playing Amir. Being the central character who narrates the proceedings, starting as an adult in California, then going backward in time to the 12-year-old Afghani boy that he was, Mr. Arison never gets in touch with that boy and comes across as an American adult feigning an Afghani child and accent.  In contrast, Eric Sirakian as Hassan gives a heartfelt and gut-wrenching performance.

Giles Croft, the director, working with such a complicated story, makes the scenes flow easily but it is some of the performances that lack stage experience that gives an unevenness to the proceedings. The minimal sets just add to and heighten the imagination of what we are witnessing.

Overlooking the acting shortcomings, ultimately the show expresses guilt, hope, salvation, humanity and redemption in the most profound of ways that ultimately touches everyone. It is the sort of riveting and extremely cathartic drama that we rarely see on Broadway.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 25, 2022
Reviewed at July 24, 2022 press performance.

‘THE KITE RUNNER’: Amir Arison & Eric Sirakian. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE KITE RUNNER’: (left to right) Faran Tahir, Beejan Land, Amir Arison, Danish Farooqui, Azita Ghanizada, Amir Malaklou, & Houshang Touzie. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘THE KITE RUNNER’: Faran Tahir & Dariush Kashani. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE KITE RUNNER’: Azita Ghanizada, Amir Arison, Eric Sirakian & Houshang Touzie. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘The Kite Runner’ a gripping memory play & epic appeared first on StageZine.

‘TAKE ME OUT’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

TAKE ME OUT
Written by Richard Greenberg
Directed by Scott Ellis
Through May 29, 2022
The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
(212-541-4516), www 2ST.com

By David NouNou

Take Me Out is a show that is enjoyable while watching, but mind-blowing long after leaving the theater and pondering the different subject matters it tackles. I admired the show in 2002 more as a voyeur and missed out on the multiple layers upon which it is built. The central subject matter is the coming out of a beloved baseball player, who is at the top of his game, to the media, unbeknownst to his fellow teammates and without any cause or a personal relationship. Although it might have seemed a breakthrough for a major league athlete to come out as gay in 2002, just think where we are in 2022 and the alarming “Don’t Say Gay” Florida law that was just signed, banning the word “gay,” and other states trying to undo same-sex marriages. It is mind-numbing to see how far we are regressing, which in turn makes Take Me Out more progressive and relevant today.

The catalyst, Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams), a biracial center fielder for the fictional Major League team the Empires, beloved by the public as well as himself, has just announced he is gay for no apparent reason other than to free himself of the secret he’s carried on a daily basis. Now that his sexual orientation is in the open, he must navigate through life with the slings and arrows that are hurled upon him. Everything now comes under scrutiny—from an ordinary shower after a game to dealing with his teammates on a daily basis. He has the support of his teammate and friend Kippy Sunderstrom (Patrick J. Adams), who is also the narrator of the play. However, his best friend Davey Battle (Brandon J. Dirden) who plays on an opposing team, The Larks, is a holy man and revolted by what he considers Lemming’s “deviation” and “depravity.” This is the proverbial line in the sand that has been crossed.

Later, Darren Lemming also acquires a new accountant, Mason Marzac (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). The last one we are to believe has retired. Marzac knows nothing about baseball, but is enthralled that Darren has come out and has new interest in the game. Marzac has learned “that baseball is absolute. It works better than democracy. It has a definite winner and a loser.” Here is another layer for us to peel: in a democracy who wins an election and who loses?

Due to Lemming being in a slump and losses piling up, a dimwitted, racist, homophobic relief pitcher, Shane Mungitt (Michael Oberholtzer), is brought in from the minor leagues. He happens to be an orphan due to his father killing his mother and then killing himself, and is either from Arkansas or Tennessee. Now that the team begins winning, Mungitt is wanted for a press interview where he expresses his displeasure with “colored” people and having to shower with a “fa**ot.” This places Mungitt on suspension.

Due to the suspension, the team goes into a slump again. An apology letter is written and released to the public. Public sentiment wants Mungitt back, against Lemming’s feelings. With Mungitt back, this creates new revelations and consequences that will affect the lives of many. Please unravel the revelations and consequences for yourself, it will be more fulfilling. So many things come into question here, and I’m sure each viewer will have their own interpretation

Although this looks like an ensemble piece, there are four standout remarkable performances; Jesse Williams is an Adonis with a command of the stage that is riveting. His every stance, move and interaction is poetry in motion. Patrick J. Adams as friend and narrator anchors the play in his sincerity. Michael Oberholtzer as the outsider can he heartbreaking once you realize he will always be a failure in life and will always get himself in trouble.

The joker in the deck is Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Marzac, a role that won Denis O’Hare a much-deserved Tony Award in a supporting role. Where Mr. O’Hare was an introverted, nebbish “Mr. Cellophane” who blossomed while loving baseball, Mr. Ferguson is never a milquetoast but a lonely, self-deprecating accountant who falls in love with baseball once he meets Darren Lemming. As his friendship with Darren evolves, so does his flamboyance, giving the show its much needed levity.

My sincere hope is that Take Me Out will be extended beyond May 29th. With so many tourists coming to New York this spring and summer, this would be the one solid play I would recommend people to see. Its poignancy is harder hitting today than it was in 2002.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 7, 2022
Reviewed at April 6, 2022 press performance.

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Jesse Williams. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Jesse Williams & Brandon J. Dirden. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Michael Oberholtzer & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Jesse Williams & Ken Marks. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Patrick J. Adams & Jesse Williams. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TAKE ME OUT’: Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Take Me Out’ revival even more topical today appeared first on StageZine.