‘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.

‘QUEENS’: (Left to right) Marin Ireland, Nadine Malouf, Nicole Villamil & Brooke Bloom. Photo: Valerie Terranova.

QUEENS
By Martyna Majok
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through December 7, 2025
Manhattan Theatre Club
NY City Center Stage I
131 West 55th Street
https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/

By Scott Harrah

Martyna Majok’s Queens has returned Off-Broadway in a reworked, deeply moving production directed by Trip Cullman. Set in an illegal basement apartment in Queens, the play explores the intersecting lives of immigrant women from across the globe.  These women come from Poland, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and beyond. All the women are struggling to survive in America while reckoning with the past they left behind.

The story

Queens spans from 2001 to 2017 and follows a group of immigrant women from around the world who share the same cramped space while struggling to build new lives in America. When a young Ukrainian woman named Inna (Julia Lester) arrives searching for her estranged mother, she stirs up painful memories and forces the others—particularly Renia (Marin Ireland), the Polish landlord of sorts—to confront the choices and sacrifices they’ve made in pursuit of safety, dignity, and belonging. The women’s stories unfold through shifting timelines and layered interactions, creating a poignant mosaic of survival, identity, and the costs of the American Dream.

Martyna Majok’s unsentimental script examines what it means to build a new life in an unfamiliar place while leaving another one behind. Each character’s story adds texture to the collective immigrant experience, and as the play toggles between 2001 and 2017, the audience witnesses how time, loss, and reinvention shape each woman’s path.

Outstanding ensemble cast

Stage veteran Marin Ireland anchors the production with her remarkable portrayal of Renia, a Polish immigrant whose stoic strength masks deep emotional scars. Ms. Ireland’s mastery of dialects and nuance brings authenticity to every line. Equally compelling is Anna Chlumsky as Agata, whose realism and quiet heartbreak elevate the play’s emotional core. Nadine Malouf gives a particularly poignant performance as Aamani, an Afghan woman whose memories of surviving Taliban oppression and her identity as a woman and a lesbian lend the show moments of haunting despair.

Trip Cullman directs with his usual sensitivity and precision, keeping the pacing tight despite the script’s complex, time-jumping structure. The dialogue occasionally becomes dense and obtuse, especially in scenes where the women speak in thick accents or other languages, making it hard to follow at times. Still, Ms. Majok’s reworked script (originally staged in 2018) is much improved — clearer, more cohesive, and thematically resonant in today’s political climate.

Relevant in modern-day America

For a drama steeped in heavy themes, Queens never drags. Its honesty about immigration, sacrifice, and female resilience feels especially urgent and topical in 2025 America. The result is an affecting, beautifully acted piece of theater that stays with you long after the lights go down.

Published November 6, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on October 30, 2025

‘QUEENS’: Marin Ireland & Anna Chlumsky. Photo: Valerie Terranova.

‘QUEENS’: (Clockwise from top left): The cast; Brooke Bloom & Nadine Malouf; Anna Chulmsky; Julia Lester & Marin Ireland. Photos: Valerie Terranova.

‘QUEENS’: Marin Ireland & Sharlene Cruz. Photo: Valerie Terranova.

‘QUEENS’: (top) Julia Lester; (bottom) Andrea Syglowski. Photos: Valerie Terranova.

‘QUEENS’: Nicole Villamil & Marin Ireland. Photo: Valerie Terranova.

‘QUEENS’: Nadine Malouf, Nicole Villamil, Marin Ireland & Brooke Bloom. Photo: Valerie Terranova.

The post ‘Queens’: Immigrant women, enduring dreams 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.

The post ‘Cult of Love’: Dysfunctional family Christmas appeared first on StageZine.

AT BOSTON’S EMERSON COLONIAL THEATRE

November 30, 2019 to January 5, 2020

PRIOR TO BROADWAY RUN

Tickets Go On Sale Today at 1 PM EST

@MagicMikeBway

www.magicmikebroadway.com

The post ‘Magic Mike The Musical’ is Broadway bound appeared first on StageZine.

‘CHOIR BOY’: (left to right) Nicholas L. Ashe, J. Quinton Johnson, Jeremy Pope, Caleb Eberhardt & John Clay III. Photo: Matthew Murphy

CHOIR BOY
Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through February 24, 2019
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.manhattantheatreclub.com

By David NouNou

Life in any prep school is fraught with teenage angst, anxiety, bullying, camaraderie, homophobia and preparing for college, but the setting for Choir Boy is the Charles P. Drew Prep School—a boarding school for teenage black men with high ethical standards—has an extra layer added, that of hypocrisy and not ratting out your fellow brothers even if they “done you wrong.”

Pharus Jonathan Young (Jeremy Pope), a flamboyantly gay African-American teenager who has been bullied and shamed since he was eight, sings to his own tune, at his own peril. Here now, he does what he knows best and that is to sing gospel songs and he is the lead in the choir. Of course, there is also the homophobic bully, also in the choir, Bobby Marrow (J. Quinton Johnson). He also happens to be the nephew of Headmaster Marrow (Chuck Cooper).

At the onset, Pharus is taunted with racial and homophobic slurs by Bobby at a school recital, which puts the blame on Pharus for stopping in the middle of singing. Pharus is summoned to the headmaster’s office to explain his behavior. Naturally being a young man of honor and obeying the school code, he doesn’t squeal to the headmaster of what the man’s nephew did to him. Well, you see the dilemma here.

In this mix is a closeted, confused young man, David Heard (Caleb Eberhardt), aspiring to be a priest. The sympathetic and understanding straight, macho roommate, Anthony (John Clay III) and the all-around smart aleck, Junior Davis (Nicholas L. Ashe) who tries to do the right thing by all.

The problem here is the story—what there is of it—is riddled with clichés and has little substance. Written by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Oscar winner for the screenplay of Moonlight, has a good premise, that of a young gay black teenager struggling in the world to find a place in it, and the struggle within his own race. It’s a story that should be told, but it was told better in Moonlight. This reeks of the 1992 movie School Ties with Brendan Fraser and Matt Dillon, of honor in an all-boys’ school. What is worse is that there is no focus from director Trip Cullman to give it a more cohesive narrative and badly needed fine-tuning. The redeeming grace is Jeremy Pope as Pharus. He originated this role in 2013 off Broadway, and gives the play the anchor it so desperately needs.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 10, 2019
Reviewed at January 9, 2019 performance.

‘CHOIR BOY’: Jeremy Pope & Chuck Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHOIR BOY’: Jeremy Pope & Caleb Eberhardt. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE CHOIR BOY”: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘CHOIR BOY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE CHOIR BOY”: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘CHOIR BOY’: John Clay III & Jeremy Pope. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHOIR BOY’: Quinton Johnson & Jeremy Pope. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHOIR BOY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHOIR BOY’: Jeremy Pope. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Choir Boy’: Teen angst tale needs fine-tuning appeared first on StageZine.

‘LOBBY HERO’: Brian Tyree Henry & Chris Evans. Photo: Joan Marcus

LOBBY HERO

Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through May 13, 20
18
The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.2ST.com

By David NouNou

Playwrights Horizons first presented Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero in 2001. However, its message and urgency seem more relevant today than they would have been back then. Dealing with lies, coverups, alibis, collusion, sexism, corruption; these are just on the surface. Underneath you are dealing with integrity and the abuse of power, the need for friendship and the betrayal that friendships sometimes bring. Heady topics indeed, but Mr. Lonergan’s gift of injecting humor in almost every line makes this a thought-provoking as well as a delightful evening in the theater.

Jeff (Michael Cera), a security guard in a high-rise who hates being called a doorman, is confronted by his supervisor William (Brian Tyree Henry) for being sloppy on the job, falling asleep on the night shift, inefficient and totally lacking any promise for the future. Jim is a talker and can delude and talk himself into anything. The two talk each other up, and in so doing, it reveals that William has a problem and their roles reverse. William confides in Jeff that his brother was involved with two other gang members in the murder and rape of a nurse in a hospital and stuffed her body in a closet. This involves family loyalty or standing for his integrity and telling the truth. Instead, William finds himself being used as an alibi to protect his brother.

Bill (Chris Evans) is a gorgeous sleazy policeman who can charm the dew off a honeysuckle tree. He is trying to put the moves on his rookie trainee and partner, Dawn (Bel Powley). He is Mr. Good Guy; years on the force have earned him badges and fame but underneath he is a manipulating snake. On this night he is enticing Dawn while he has a rendezvous with a lady on the 22nd floor in the high-rise. While Bill is busy doing his thing, Jeff, being attracted to Dawn, spills the beans on what Bill is doing on the 22nd floor. This devastates Dawn as she has fallen for him, reprimands him and by doing so, incites Bill’s wrath and he shows his true self.

It is at this point that Mr. Lonergan has set up the trap and we wait to see how allegiances will play out. The humor that is infused here is both funny and sad. As humorous as the lines are at any given moment, it underlines the shortcomings of each character. The show’s trump card is the four brilliant performances. Starting with Captain America, Chris Evans, he is a movie star and an action figure, but who would have dreamed he had such charisma and style? Most movie stars making their Broadway debuts are stiff and not in the best of sync. However, Mr. Evans is a pro on the stage. As charming and beguiling as he is in the beginning, he can be equally menacing and a scoundrel when he is backed against a wall. He knows how to command a stage.

Michael Cera, last seen in Mr. Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth, has a nebbishy presence but is always in command of his performance. Whether he is being scolded or befriending William or Dawn, he is in complete control of how he manipulates them. He is indispensable to the proceedings because he adds equal measure of loser and hopeful.

Brian Tyree Henry is excellent as the torn security captain between familial ties as well as his integrity. Bel Powley has the hardest part of juggling a female policewoman rookie who wants to do well but is caught up in the cogs of the system and she gives a lovely, nuanced performance of disciple and losing sight of what is right.

Trip Cullman has staged the proceedings in a well-balanced manner, unobtrusively splitting the serious and the humor in equal doses and moves his players with effortless ease. He is helped by David Rockwell’s wonderful revolving set where we get a different perspective of each character as the set moves to reflect each character’s perspective. Whichever perspective you choose, you can’t help but be invested in these characters and their outcome.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 30, 2018
Reviewed at press performance on March 29, 2018

‘LOBBY HERO’: Chris Evans & Michael Cera. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LOBBY HERO’: Chris Evans. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LOBBY HERO’: Chris Evans & Michael Cera. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LOBBY HERO’: Michael Cera & Brian Tyree Henry. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LOBBY HERO’: Brian Tyree Henry. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LOBBY HERO’: Bel Powley. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Lobby Hero’: Good cops vs. bad cops appeared first on StageZine.

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: (left to right) Lisa Emery, Michael Countryman, Allison Janney, Ned Eisenberg & John Benjamin Hickey. Photo: Joan Marcus

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Written by John Guare
Directed by Trip Cullman
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 West 47th Street, (212-239-6200)
www.sixdegreesbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Six Degrees of Separation, just nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, is a provocative trip back to early 1990s New York City. Despite some elements that make the show “dated,” playwright John Guare’s drama remains relevant because it has volumes to say about class, race and American society. There is plenty to enjoy in this reboot, including some fine performances, but Trip Cullman’s direction is puzzling and dilutes the tone and theme of the story.

In 1990 (when the show was first produced), New York City was far different from today. David Dinkins was mayor, Times Square was full of X-rated movie houses, crime was rampant, AIDS was ravaging the gay community and race relations were at an all-time low. However, there was, like today, the wealthy and those who wanted an entrée into their privileged world. It is in this posh milieu that we meet the Kittredges: Ouisa (Allison Janney) and husband Flan (John Benjamin Hickey). She’s a socially conscious rich woman; he’s a successful art dealer, and they live in a swank Upper East Side apartment overlooking Central Park.

As the play opens, Ouisa and Flan are talking (sometimes right to the audience) while simultaneously entertaining Geoffrey (Michael Siberry), a super-rich friend from South Africa (during the apartheid era). They are trying to sell their friend a Paul Cézanne painting when they are suddenly interrupted. The doorman (Tony Carlin) brings in a young African American man, Paul (Corey Hawkins, Tony nominated for the role). The guy, dressed in preppie attire, is bleeding from a stab wound and says he knows Ouisa and Flan’s children at Harvard.

The plot thickens as Paul claims he’s the son of actor Sidney Poitier and is in New York to meet his father, purportedly filming a Hollywood musical adaptation of Broadway’s Cats (there are numerous jokes about that show). Paul is a charming young man indeed, cooking for them and regaling the Kittredges with tales of his famous father and a long monologue about Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (supposedly from a thesis he has written). The Kittredges are so spellbound by Paul’s intellectual wit and grace that they lend him money and allow him to spend the night in their daughter’s bedroom.

Of course, Paul is nothing he claims to be, as the Kittredges soon learn when they catch him in bed with a male hustler the next morning. We see how Paul also cons friends of the Kittredges (Lisa Emery and Michael Countryman) and a young couple from Utah.  John Guare supposedly based Six Degrees on the real-life story of a con man who worked his way into upscale Manhattan homes claiming to be Sidney Poitier’s son.

With many stage shows, suspending disbelief is commonplace for audiences, and one must realize this play is 27 years old in order to make sense of the narrative. Of course, in 2017 a quick Google search would show the Kittredges that Paul could not be Mr. Poitier’s son (in real life, Mr. Poitier, now 90, has six daughters but no son). Mr. Guare’s dialogue remains crisp and on target, even if some of the references to blacks seem outmoded in an America that has seen eight years of President Barack Obama come and go, African American activism and the momentum of Black Lives Matter after countless tragedies involving the police.

Unfortunately, once the truth about Paul is revealed, Mr. Guare’s thoughtful and profound story unravels under Trip Cullman’s misguided direction. As other characters in the show expose Paul’s outrageous con, Mr. Cullman has the cast play parts of the story as farce.  For some reason, Mr. Cullman has the Kittredge children shriek and squawk. Is he trying to send up the absurdities of spoiled rich kids? If so, one doubts that was John Guare’s original intent.

Six Degrees of Separation was a seminal play when it debuted. Ouisa’s famous monologue “I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation” still has a Shakespearean grandness to it.  Allison Janney brings a fresh spin to her character, effectively conveying the heartbreaking, “bleeding heart” maternal instinct of Ouisa, but with more of an archness and less of the natural elegance and grit Stockard Channing brought to the part in the 1990 production and 1993 film adaptation, co-starring Will Smith as Paul. John Benjamin Hickey does a fine job as high-strung Flan, and Corey Hawkins has definitely earned his Tony nomination as Paul.

Reviving dramas with key plot elements that make little sense in the 21^st century is tricky business indeed, but can work with the right cast and director. However, this is a period piece and the “dated” elements are not the problem here.  The cast is outstanding here, but director Trip Cullman leaves out the necessary shading and nuance to make this Six Degrees of Separation work by having the actors perform dramatic parts of the show for laughs. Although the show has many funny lines, ultimately Six Degrees should be presented as a tragedy, and Mr. Cullman just misses the mark in all the wrong places. Regardless, John Guare’s slice of early 1990s New York life remains a modern classic.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 3, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on May 2, 2017

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: Allison Janney & Corey Hawkins. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: Allison Janney & John Benjamin Hickey. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: (left to right) Corey Hawkins, John Benjamin Hickey, Allison Janney & Michael Siberry. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: Allison Janney. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: John Benjamin Hickey. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION’: Corey Hawkins. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Six Degrees of Separation’: Provocative trip back to ’90s NY appeared first on StageZine.

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick, Rebecca Naomi Jones & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

SIGNIFICANT OTHER
Written by Joshua Harmon
Directed by Trip Cullman
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.SignificantOtherBroadway.com

By David NouNou

My God,  present-day millennial gay dating is fraught with so many obstacles and so much angst and pressure, it’s a wonder Jordan Berman, the show’s lead, comes out of it alive. I thought it was tough in the 1970s and 1980s navigating through one-night stands, but it was a breeze compared to what poor Jordan has to go through. What with having to see his three BFFs getting married one at a time and attending their engagements and bridal showers, it’s a wonder he has any time to go out and find a date for himself. When he does land a date, it’s with a coworker who may or may not be gay. Let’s also not forget the pressures one has to endure with social media.

Basically that is the plot of Significant Other. It is a harmless comedy that tries to show a gay 29- year-old, who is good-looking, fun, life of the party. Jordan Berman (Gideon Glick) sees his three BFFs Kiki (Sas Goldberg). Vanessa (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and his closest, Laura (Lindsay Mendez), getting married off and with each loss, he becomes more morose and sinks into a deeper funk.

The three BFFs: Kiki, the Jewish girl; Vanessa, the black girl; and Laura, the white girl are not so much as real characters as they are stereotypical TV sitcom characters; so the actresses that are playing them, Ms. Goldberg, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Mendez respectively do their best to define these roles. In the lesser male roles, playing multiple parts each: John Behlmann (Will, the man crush, Conrad/Tony) and Luke Smith (Zach/Evan/Roger) both play their characters with distinct personalities and come off more favorably.

Which brings us to the hardest part, Jordan Berman, who becomes a buzzkill by the end of the play. As each friend gets married, he becomes more isolated and obsesses on his fellow worker, Will, which makes him even more pitiful than pitiable. He leaves these long-winded, ridiculous messages on his friend’s voicemails, who don’t pick up when he calls, throws tantrums, and becomes needier, as he sinks deeper into his downward spiral. The sad part is as each of his friends gets married and moves on, Jordan just stays in his place and clings to the past. Instead of going out and trying to meet someone, he just wallows in his loneliness. Mr. Glick skillfully changes moods like a chameleon, which is what is demanded of him, and makes the part believable.

There are funny and touching moments in Significant Other, especially the ones with his loving grandmother, Helene (the wonderful Barbara Barrie). She brings a lot of heart to the obvious Nana role. Thanks to Trip Cullman’s fast-paced, breezy and inventive direction, he keeps this otherwise obvious fluff story afloat.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 8, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on March 7, 2017

“SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Sas Goldberg & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: (left to right) Sas Goldberg, Lindsay Mendez, Rebecca Naomi Jones & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: (left to right) Luke Smith, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Gideon Glick, Sas Goldberg & John Behlmann. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Lindsay Mendez & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Barbara Barrie & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: John Behlmann & Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: John Behlmann & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Gideon Glick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER’: Barbara Barrie. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Significant Other’: Love & the single gay appeared first on StageZine.