The Receptionist

Off-Broadway, Play May 8, 2026 Leave a comment

From the beginning, there is something off about the Northeast Office in Adam Bock’s The Receptionist.  There is a squishy sense of period and an even sparser sense of location beyond a workplace within a city with bagels, croissants, and public transportation. Most extraordinary, even with all the narrative phone calls and perpetual office gossip, it is more than halfway through this clipped play that we get any inkling of what these people do for a living.  It reflects well on the banter and incidentals that this revelation is so slow in dawning, effectively delaying our rising alarm.

Though the script has been around for nearly 20 years, its vibe fits all-too-comfortably into 2026 with only a few tweaks.  The construction hasn’t made the trip nearly as well.  Described by Second Stage as “a jet-black comedy,” the work is really more like a simple black and white cookie, with the gloom and the humor lying side by side.  By the end, much remains merely hinted at with mixed effect.  Post show chatter in the ladies room, where sometimes the most insightful criticism is shared, was split between those who felt sure they’d missed something and those who reveled in the murkiness.

The spiky dialogue is mostly between Katie Finneran’s good natured receptionist Beverly Wilkins and Mallori Johnson as a staff member, Lorraine Taylor.  Though further up the org. chart, the stunning but insecure Lorraine lacks Beverly’s assured hand.  With her consistent missing of her bus, inappropriately flirtatious manner and golf bag clearly in view inside her office door, her holding down of a job is yet another office mystery.  Their breezy day is disrupted by the dark cloud of Will Pullen’s Martin Dart from the Central Office.  He is seeking a chat with their head of office, Edward Raymond (an underutilized Nael Nacer).  We shouldn’t be surprised that someone so named would stay on target.

Will Pullen, Mallori Johnson and Katie Finneran in The Receptionist; photo by Joan Marcus

A skilled hand at refining sharp viewpoints, director Sarah Benson steers her cast through the ripples of normalcy and then oddness.  Encased within the earth-toned carpeting and padded walls by design collective “dots” and fashioned in part by Cookie Jordan’s wig design, the actors spark off one another, even though their characters lack the definition you’d expect to find in an expanded metaphor.  Like Jayne Houdyshell before her, the potential predictability of Beverly benefits from the performance precision of two-time Tony winner Finneran. She vivaciously transmits her character’s “in-the-know” regarding the finer details that flow through her.  Likewise Johnson finds a provocative note within Lorraine’s exhausting coquettishness.

The Receptionist is an amuse-bouche of a play: tasty, but not enough of anything — comedy, commentary, character development — to be fully satisfying.  (And yes, I am using another food metaphor.)  The intervening years have provided us with too many chilly worlds that are better and more distinctively built.  Part of Second Stage’s 47th season, performances are scheduled through May 24th at the Irene Diamond Stage in the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W 42nd Street near 10th Avenue.  Running time is 80 minutes without intermission.  Tickets begin at $66 up to $136 for premium seats.  The latter price range includes the entrance row G where there is extra legroom and space for wheelchairs.  Those in row H get a height boost, though there is a thin railing in front.  

The Door Slams, A Glass Trembles

Off-Broadway, Play April 28, 2026 Leave a comment

A Talking Band production is to a typical scripted play what an impressionist painting is to a photograph.  The plot lines are delineated, but the total picture is brought into focus through imagination and experience.  Their newest work, The Door Slams, A Glass Trembles, is being presented in association with the famed experimental La MaMa.  Judging from audience reaction, this is a match made in avant-guard theater heaven.

Written and directed by founding member Paul Zimet and partially inspired by Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, The Door Slams… takes place in a modern day rural family home and a pre-WWI alpine sanatorium as well as in the memory of Marc (Jack Wetherall).  Over the course of multiple dinners, we learn that he and his wife Clara (Ellen Maddow) have retired to a house in the forest after having their research funding abruptly terminated.  Their family — son Norm (Patrick Dunning), game-loving daughter-in-law Jenny (Amara Granderson), and unseen granddaughter Abby — are visiting for the summer.  They have forged a new community of similarly frustrated neighbors (Lizzie Olesker, Steven Rattazzi and Tina Shepard). Not content with the present and with more time stretching out behind him than in front, Marc often reflects on his first love Anne (Delaney Feener) and the promising work he was forced to leave unfinished.  

Left to Right: Jack Wetherall, Tina Shepard, Amara Granderson, Patrick Dunning, and Ellen Maddow; Photo by Maria Baranova

As with Talking Band’s previous collaborations, the story unfolds gently, with co-founder Maddow’s music, the choreography of Flannery Gregg, and lighting by Mary Ellen Stebbins playing as much of a role in the storytelling as the dialogue.  The ensemble — including third co-founder Shepard — is truly a band, with many of the players from previous shows making a return.  Actions are repeated but varied like a movement of a symphony.  Newcomers including Dunning and Feener pick up the rhythm.  Time with its patterns and alterations is central, especially as expressed by preternaturally forlorn-faced Wetherall.  There are well-placed moments of triumph and humor.  Politics is not the main course, but rather a scent wafting in from another room.

In Anna Kiraly’s set and video design, a few key pieces are all that is needed to convey time and space.  A slanted roof shape and window define the dwelling.  Rather than execute the scene changes under cover of darkness, the cast emphasizes the shifts with sound and gesture.  A well constructed family table easily converts to one appropriate for a large banqueting hall.  The front deck of the house is also the deck of a ship.  A window displays the actual woods outside and the murky waters of the mind.  Costume design by Olivera Gajic follows form with tees adorned with clever slogans swapped out for period formal attire and fancy dress.  

The Door Slams, A Glass Trembles has made a providential arrival, opening in a year when for many of us the nature of time feels like it is shifting.  The company’s comfort and understanding of the distinct Talking Band technique make the content flow like the waves and wind incorporated into the projections, even when the events are distressing. The World Premiere plays through May 10, 2026, at The Downstairs at La MaMa, 66 East 4th Street.  Tickets  ($40 General Admission, $35 students/seniors, $10 La MaMa members) can be purchased at https://lamama.org/the-door-slams-a-glass-trembles/ .  Running time is 70 minutes without intermission.  Due to the intimate nature of the piece, latecomers are offered stools to the side of the main seating area.  

The Balusters

Broadway, Comedy April 22, 2026 Leave a comment

Balusters are the tiny pillars that support handrails on a deck or staircase.  Not just an architectural flourish, these critical structures provide safety and support.  In David Lindsay-Abaire’s The Balusters, they are among the items under review by the Neighborhood Association of the landmarked Vernon Point.  They are also a metaphor for the shifting dynamics of the organization’s volunteer participants.  But fear not.  Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Lindsay-Abaire is not taking us down another tragic Rabbit Hole (sublime as that experience was.)  While this new work probes issues including racism, classism, and homophobia, its primary concern is giving the audience a rollicking good time.

We are initially confronted with an array of stock characters, but with novel “accessories.”  This enables the playwright to communicate a familiar starting point for each one and then take him/her/them in a revealing — sometimes startling — direction.  Director Kenny Leon and casting director Kelly Gillespie have composed a circle of actors with advanced degrees in timing and subtext.  Even the expected becomes memorable and sweetly comical.

The battle for control at the plot’s center is between meeting chair Elliot Emerson (Richard Thomas) and new arrival Kyra Marshall (Anika Noni Rose).  While Elliot leverages his long history with the community, Kyra’s fresh viewpoint appeals to some who recognize that not everything is rosy.  The clash is set in motion by a proposal to install a stop sign.  This seemingly sensible set-up expands so that each of the ten members of the talented cast is given time in the spotlight, delighting their distinct devotees in the audience.  Duly awarded for “Sustained Excellence, ” Marylouise Burke lends her distinctive voice and just the right amount of eccentricity to HOA secretary Penny Buell.  Ricardo Chavira’s Isaac Rosario and Margaret Colins’s Ruth Ackerman are given some of the best “burns.”  Even housekeeper Luz Baccay, portrayed with grace by Maria-Christina Oliveras, has the opportunity to contribute more than freshly baked appetizers. 

Ricardo Chavira, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Richard Thomas, Anika Noni Rose, Jeena Yi, Marylouise Burke and Kayli Carter in MTC’s The Balusters; Photo by Jeremy Daniel

At its core, this is a drawing room comedy, and scenic designer Derek McLane has created a welcoming one with elegant pillars and elaborate throw pillow.  There are views into a formal dining room and foyer with stairs leading to the unseen second floor.  His artful variety of chairs plays a role in establishing personality traits.  With transitions that resemble a night at a club (lighting by Allen Lee Hughes and original music and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier) , the characters often make wardrobe changes on the fly with separates by costume designer Emilio Sosa. 

With both heart and brain, The Balusters is a welcome arrival.  As proudly touted in the run-up to opening night, this Manhattan Theatre Club commission is the only original American play opening on Broadway this season, which says something about the well placed trust they had in playwright Lindsay-Abaire.  Running time is a smooth and economical 100 minutes without intermission.  Part of MTC’s spring season, performances are held at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street.  Tickets are currently available through June 7.  Naturally, all of this talent doesn’t come cheaply.  Orchestra seats on the official website run by the Telecharge top out at $347. The Mezzanine — which overhangs the orchestra mid-house — is less expensive and provides a great vantage point.  Visit https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2025-26-season/the-balusters/ for information and purchasing options.

The Approach

Off-Broadway, Play April 13, 2026 Leave a comment

Composed as a round-robin of tête-à-têtes between Cora (Carmen M. Herlihy) and sisters Denise (Kate MacCluggage) and Anna (Danielle Ryan), The Approach explores the fragile mechanics that underpin their relationships. Friends since girlhood, the now middle-aged women have become increasingly entrenched in their own vision of themselves. Three is rarely a magic number, and the inevitable alliances rise and fall as each one attempts to establish some power in the world, at least as far as the other two are concerned.  Over time, some memories have faded; others brightened.  And a notable few are manufactured.  Through their series of seemingly casual chats, we uncover a truer, more honest picture of their personal journeys than any one of them could possibly see.

Often oblique but never opaque, the script provides plenty of luscious reading between the lines.  Playwright Mark O’Rowe’s storytelling technique draws the audience ever closer, which is perfect for this intimate black box space. As directed by Conor Bagley with dialect coaching by Karen Killeen, all three actresses vary the vibrancy and pace the layering of details.  Characters only physically stir to rush off to their next engagement.  

Danielle Ryan and Carmen M. Herlihy in Irish Rep’s 2026 production of The Approach; Photo by Carol Rosegg

The set designed by Daniel Prosky reflects the shades of gray and grittiness that are prominent in the script.  Original music and poetic sounds of warning by Joyce Ciesil form a swaying bridge between conversations.  Given the atmosphere that’s accomplished, Emma Deane’s melodramatic lighting is almost redundant.  Costume design by Stephanie Bahniuk includes Carmen M. Herlihy’s invaluable oversized sweater.

Many of us have filled an emotional void with friends we hold as close as family.  It is not uncommon to manipulate that bond, which is what makes The Approach so uncomfortably relatable. The New York stage premiere continues through May 10 at the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre downstairs at The Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street.  Running time is one hour and ten minutes without an intermission.  Tickets are $60 ($50 for limited view) and available at https://irishrep.org/whats-on/the-approach.  Irish Rep’s GreenSeat program enables patrons under 40 to purchase seats for $25.  Wheelchair seating is available for most performances.  Be aware that there is a permanent pillar in front of seat C2 in the main section and rows AA-CC are to the left of the stage.  

Transcendency Rising

Festival, Off-Broadway April 5, 2026 Leave a comment

Since expanding their initial mission as a theater for the blind, Theater Breaking Through Barriers has become one of America’s few companies for artists with disabilities.  Their current production, Transcendency Rising: Short Plays About Defying Limitation, is a line-up of 10 original works written specifically for them.  The majority are by renowned playwrights while others are penned by TBTB members.  All are staged to also be inclusive of all audience members with large captions projected onto a set comprised of flat surfaces designed for the purpose and scene-setting audio descriptions read out by actress Melanie Portsche.  

The event starts off brightly enough with a section from Buffalos by author and essayist Adam Edmund Linn. With illustrative direction by TBTB’s artistic director Nicholas Viselli and a beguiling performance by a Fareeda Pasha, it is a pretty little watercolor of a monologue.  With a total of six pieces, the first half comes to a climax with Bekah Brunstetter’s Forgotten Corners Of Your Dark, Dark Place.  Bookended by familiar tunes and set in what must be a very progressive community center, the script masterfully combines broad humor with more touchy social commentary.  Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley portrays Gloria, an instructor who would make you uncomfortable even if she was teaching basic algebra.  (Hint: she is not teaching basic algebra.)  Under the direction of Brian Leahy Doyle, Jamie Petrone, Amanda Cortinas, and Emma Shafer collaborate to bring heart to the hastily sketched workshop participants.  (I remembered Petrone from 2016’s The Healing and was thrilled to see so many new entries in her Playbill bio.)

Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley, Emma Shafer, Jamie Petrone, and Amanda Cortinas in Forgotten Corners of Your Dark, Dark Place, one of the short works of Transcendency Rising; photo by Carol Rosegg

Shockingly it is the final piece of Act I, the much touted The Upside Down Man by John Patrick Shanley, that is the show’s low point.  This is not a reflection on director Ivette Dumeng or actors Nelson Avidonand Veronica Cruz, but rather on Shanley’s head-shaking focus on a misogynist breezily dismissing the harm done to Gisèle Pelicot and victims of Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein.  I kept waiting for the twist in his character arc, but it never came and the motivation of his date Serena for remaining at their table wasn’t a punchy enough reward for putting the audience through their exchange.  

Several people used the five minute bio-break that serves as intermission to head for the exit.  That was unfortunate given that the second half opens with a refreshingly original monologue: Redemption by Tony nominee Lyle Kessler.  Directed by Viselli,  Xen Theo portrays Syd, a Jewish man relaying his defense statement to an unseen judge.  Funny and vulnerable by turns, Theo gives a lift to every minute of his scene.  This is followed by a sincere and insightful exploration of caregiving in The Calling written by TBTB member Kathryn Grant and directed by Ann Marie Morelli.  It features Scott Barton as an elegant patient in assisted living.  Carla Brandberg and Enrique Huili portray his aid and an orderly with their own connection.  Portsche provides a voice over the facility’s intercom.

Like most short play festivals, Transcendency Rising is uneven, though the theme of wishing to be seen loosely ties the works together.  Critically, the 145 runtime too often allows the engagement to flag and the energy to dissipate doing a disservice to all involved.  Performances continue through April 11 in Theatre 5 at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street.  Tickets are $60 and are available at the Theatre Row Box Office or online at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/transcendency-rising/.  The venue is low rise and shallow with 7 rows of 15 seats.  Most of row G is dedicated to wheelchair and companion seating.  

Titus Andronicus

Drama, Off-Broadway, Shakespeare March 30, 2026 Leave a comment

Titus Andronicus was Shakespeare’s first “stab” at tragedy.  Unlike his soon-to-arrive Romeo and Juliet, it has no characters to fully invest in and bears many of the hallmarks of a brilliant and driven playwright who has not yet grasped the subtle art of developing a tragic hero.  The excitement is derived from the adrenaline of brutality, a device not apparent in the rest of his Folio. In fact scholars now think that Act 1 (maybe more) was written contemporaneously with George Peele.

The title character is a brave General in the Roman Army recently returned victorious over the Goths.  In front of his captives including the Goth’s Queen Tamora and her paramour, the Moor Aaron, he orders the Queen’s eldest son to be butchered as a religious sacrifice to honor those lost in battle.  This act of cruelty immediately earns the military leader two calculating enemies and sets off a cycle of chaotic and bloody revenge.

I have recently taken up needle felting.  It’s wonderfully cathartic to stab something beautiful into being.  I imagine Red Bull Theater’s Artistic Director Jesse Berger must have felt a similar tug towards reshaping Titus Andronicus after absorbing current events.  As director, he has used the flatness of the characters to craft an experience akin to a live video game illustrating the purposeless of vengeance and violence.

The period has been updated to a time of business attire, smooth jazz and neon chandeliers.  The escalating blood lust is reflected in all the creative elements from the bright red accessories of Emily Rebholz’s costumes to the torture instrument design of the bows by Anya Kutner.  Sounds orchestrated by Adam Wernick that could be wind or whispers whisk around the pillar-trees by award winning set designer Beowulf Boritt.  These solid white elements are given eery tone with lighting by Jiyoun Chang.

Adam Langdon, Amy Jo Jackson, Jesse Aaronson in Titus Andronicus; photo by Carol Rosegg

Literally frothing at the mouth as Titus Andronicus is the Shakespeare-fluent and magnetically edgy Patrick Page.  But this has always been an ensemble work and Berger’s entire cast deserves a chef’s kiss for their commitment to his giddy vision.  Many moments are positively hilarious, a word rarely applied to this play.  When Matthew Amendt’s Saturninus accepts the Emperor’s crown with a goody-goody-gumdrops of delight you know this is not your great-great-great-great-grandfather’s production.  Likewise the purring of Francesca Faridany’s Tamora who’s slide into death is perfection. Also of note are the smirking Jesse Aaronson and Adam Langdon who skin-crawlingly out “Bro” each other as Tamora’s sadistic sons Chiron and Demetrius.  McKinley Belcher III portrays Aaron in a more classic style as befits his more traditional path to villainy.  Many actors play multiple parts.  A character map and “about” pages are provided to help you keep track of the relationships along with 430 year old spoilers and trigger warnings.  A more complete content advisory is posted on the Red Bull Theater website.

Popular in its day, Titus Andronicus still appeals today in the lurid vein of tabloids and clips on Musk’s X.  Berger’s interpretation smartly puts what could be melodrama through Martin McDonagh’s black comedy grinder to serve up something rip roaringly entertaining.  Performances continue through May 3 at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre (480 West 42nd Street).  Running time is a little over 2 hours including a 15 minute intermission.  There is more legroom though less rake at the entry aisle F.  Aisles are used for entrances, so there are multiple reasons for wanting to keep your arms and legs to yourself.  Tickets start at a welcome $49.  Visit https://www.redbulltheater.com/titus-andronicus-off-broadway to make a purchase or to get more information.

Monte Cristo: A New Musical

Musical, Off-Broadway March 23, 2026 Leave a comment

In The Count of Monte Cristo, an 1846 book by Alexandre Dumas, revenge is a chef’s tasting menu of dishes best served cold.  In Monte Cristo, a new musical by Peter Kellogg and Stephen Weiner, the story is more of a warming dinner served family style with an emphasis on dessert.  2026 would seem the perfect time to become reacquainted with this clever complex tale about the abuse of power, the influence of the rich, and the self-destruction that can accompany vengeance.  With its false facial hair, a backdrop that flaps in the A/C, and a clownish bi-curious detour, this interpretation bears more of a resemblance to Bugs Bunny’s take on the Barber of Seville: pleasing, diverting and just a little silly.

After a short prologue, the piece flashes back to 1815.  A projection announces that Napoleon has been defeated and he is “not happy”.  As in the classic tale, three men, each with his own selfish motive, conspire to get the well-meaning but naive Edmund out of the way.  Fernand wishes to marry Edmund’s fiancé, Mercedes.  Danglars feels he is entitled to Edmund’s impending promotion to captain.  After the pair hatch a plan to make it appear that Edmund is a traitor, their forged letter falls into the hands of the prosecutor, Villefort. He too has a reason to act dishonorably on what he knows to be false information.  The book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg skillfully handle the brooding years between Edmund’s arrest and the rest of the action, with a tone that often swings between gravity and levity.

Sierra Boggess and Adam Jacobs in Monte Cristo; Photo by Shawn Salley

Songwriter Stephen Weiner has put together a lilting but largely forgettable score.  (My plus-one described it as “groundbreaking for 1955.”)  Though opening with the promising “Dangerous Times” there are no big showstoppers.  Fortunately, casting director Andrea Zee  has secured a top flight ensemble who give their all.  At the helm of this ship is the smooth-voiced Adam Jacobs as Edmund.  He approaches act one with smiling good nature and becomes visibly hardened in the second half.  As the innkeeper’s wife, Carconte, Karen Ziemba, is a standout both lyrically and comically.  Kate Fitzgerald has her fun with the vapid Eugénie.  But disappointingly the former Broadway Phantom Norm Lewis’s talent is squandered as Villefort, participating only in a reprise of “One Small Thing” and then saddled with the fiddly solo “A Great and Noble Man.”  The rest of the cast includes Sierra Boggess as Mercedes, James Judy as Danglars, Jadon Lopez as Albert, Stephanie Jae Park as Princess Haydee, Eliseo Roman as Morrell, Danny Rutigliano who gets the most amusing numbers as innkeeper Caderousse and prisoner Abbe, and Daniel Yearwood as Fernand, the most interesting of the three betrayers.  Those in smaller roles take on multiple parts.

Sense of place is particular well illustrated by Siena Zoë Allen & Amanda Roberge’s costumes which not only denote class, but change from country print to Parisian elegance.  The scenic design by Anne Mundell has three main areas that are repurposed with projections designed by Shawn Duan and roll on set pieces.  Director Peter Flynn uses the spaces and his talent to maximize the pace of storytelling.  Joanna Lynne Staub’s sound includes the slight echo required for the dungeon scenes.  

While not likely destined to be the next Les Miz, Monte Cristo is a satisfactory crowd pleaser.  With its appealing story, easy to assemble set and well utilized cast, I could see it making a terrific touring production.  For now, you can find The York Theatre’s presentation at the Theatre at St. Jean’s, 150 E 76th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues.  The venue is down a short steep flight of stairs, but there is an elevator entrance on the 75th street side of the church. Current running time is 2 hours and 20 minutes including intermission.  The limited engagement through April 5 is quickly selling out. Tickets range from $29 to $85 and can be purchased at https://www.yorktheatre.org/monte-cristo-2025.  

Spare Parts

Off-Broadway, Play March 16, 2026 Leave a comment

In Spare Parts, a well-meaning Columbia University Assistant Professor and a dedicated graduate student are studying the aging process; experimenting with possibilities for slowing or reversing it.  As with many such studies, they have received a government grant and had success with lower organisms.  But a potential billionaire investor is ready to skip all the usual precautions and move straight on to a human subject: HIM.  He’s 64 with high blood pressure and simply doesn’t have the patience or the NEED to wait.  Along with his younger and more emotionally intelligent assistant, he has summoned the academics in hopes that his money will move them along.

The concept is sadly timely, with Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman among those eagerly backing anti-aging ventures.  Playwright David J. Glass is a medical professional and has drawn on his first-hand experience at both a biotech company and Playwrights Horizons to forge a unique narrative path.  The result is a wild blend of life questions.  While the probing of ethics is enticing — especially during our period of deception — it is the exploration of the purely human realm that gives this play heart.  There are a few places in the script where the storytelling is a touch inelegant, but for the most part it’s impressively paced given that this is a 95 minute play and not a three-part mini.  

While the content vibrates with originality and intrigue, the direction by Michael Herwitz erodes the impact.  Actors are sometimes stretched out across the long, shallow space, diminishing the electricity between characters.  Worse is in the unimaginative and downright confusing set by designer Scott Penner.  Various locations slosh around on top of one another without so much as a color shift in Zack Lobel’s serviceable lighting to differentiate the location.  My I-Give-Up moment with the staging occurred when the the walls became doors thanks to PVC strips that flap upstage.  The thumping original synth music by Ryan Gamblin overwhelms his futuristic soundscape.

Matt Walker, Jonny-James Kajoba, Michael Genet and Rob McClure in Spare Parts; Photo by Russ Rowland

Fortunately the cast more than holds up their end of selling the story.  While the draw is frequent award nominee Rob McClure, his talent outweighs the needs of Professor Coffey.  Similar to their characters’ dynamics, he is outshone by Matt Walker in a delicious layer cake of a performance as assistant Jeffrey Jordan.  Perhaps it is Walker’s actual Ph.D. in genetics from Columbia University that makes him appear so comfortable while embodying such an awkward personage.  As billionaire Zeit Smith, Michael Genet understands how to portray a character with troubling intentions without stepping over the line into melodrama.  Most admirable is Jonny-James Kajoba’s turn as Ivan Shelley, Zeit’s faithful protégé.  (How I wish I’d seen his Lady Bracknell!)

Spare Parts is certainly not easy to peg, which makes it exciting even for frequent theater attendees.  Whatever discomposure is brought on by the indecent proposal is more than offset by the satisfaction of an unexpected journey.  The limited engagement of this comedy/drama/mystery/horror show has been extended through April 30 in Theatre Three in Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street.  Prices range from $39 “cheap seats” to $129 for the premium section.  There is little rake in the first four rows followed by sufficient rise, along with better than average leg room throughout the house.  Visit https://www.sparepartsplay.com/ for more information.

Mother Russia

Comedy March 3, 2026 Leave a comment

When I went to Russia as a child, my parents and I brought Skippy, Hanes, and Levis to a friend’s niece in Moscow.  All the best restaurants only took American dollars, which were unavailable to local residents, and we were constantly shadowed “for our safety.”  When I returned as an adult, all of my guides had their own Ikea-furnished apartments.  One of our destinations was a sprawling indoor mall in the center of Moscow and international fast-food chains were as plentiful as the family owned dumpling joints.  Between those two eras, the Soviet Union had been dissolved and the promise of social democracy hung in the air.  

It is within that unsettled period of 1992 that Lauren Yee has set her new comedy, Mother Russia.  Erstwhile aspiring KGB agent Dmitri is operating a tiny general store in St. Petersburg while surveying former pop star Katya as a side gig.  His childhood friend Evgeny tries to shake him down for protection money.  The pathetic attempt at menace leads to an alternative job offer. A devoted fan of Katya, Evgeny will follow her when she is off mic and will take a shift monitoring her. The fourth character is an explosion of innovation.  David Turner portrays Mother Russia herself, an embodiment of Russian history, ideology and culture.  Dressed in bright tomato red from babushka to pointy shoe (costumes by Sophia Choi), she can see back to the “not so bad” Ivan the Terrible and forward to Pussy Riot and Navalny.  Within the whirl of broad and situational humor, she is the snide ballast, overseeing all that transpires.

Wildly praised prior to the pandemic — particularly for Cambodian Rock Band which inventively explored the terror of the Khmer Rouge using a father/daughter story with music — Lauren Yee is currently a playwright in residence at the SignatureTheatre.  Her pen and tongue are still sharp, though she seems in a more fun-loving mood this time around.  Lines are written in colloquial English but with Russian construction.  Teddy Bergman’s playful direction enriches the slender script.  The prolific and visionary scenic design team of dots plays up the conflicting worlds of artifice and factuality that run throughout its pages.  The central portion of the set has a detailed commercialized frame and a defaced rolling metal door that is often used for emphasis.  Fancifully painted curtains complete the look of a city bus and Evgeny’s family home.  This two-pronged motif is continued with Jon Knust cunning props.  Sound designer Mikhail Fiksel makes terrific use of a wide range of music

The part of Mother Russia is made riveting by Turner’s droll and pricelessly-timed thick-accented delivery.  He is not alone in mining the dialogue for every precious laugh.  Dmitri could easily be two dimensional, but Steven Boyer gives him heart and amiableness.  Adam Chanler-Berat elevates and varies Evgeny’s many feeble attempts at swagger.  The two play good-naturedly with one another, especially in a scene co-starring a Filet-O-Fish sandwich.  Rebecca Naomi Jones does the most she can as Katya, a surprisingly flat role given that the singer/revolutionary is the catalyst for the climactic scene. Ironically, we get a clearer image of Dmitri’s never-seen girlfriend, Masha. 

Genuinely unfunny is the current design of the black box space of The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre.  The narrow ceiling-high stadium seating is oppressive, leading many audience members to use their programs for air circulation.  Those in the back rows crouch like tennis fans in an impractical effort to take in the intimate scenes while those nearer the front must crane their neck to follow David Turner’s antics.  If the red house lights are intended to make us feel as disoriented as a typical Russian in the 1990s, then they work.

The ingredients for blistering social commentary are present.  But Mother Russia subverts a more serious conversation about economic and societal challenges in favor of punchy lines in absurdist packaging.  Given the current state of our own culture, one could do worse than spend 90 minutes laughing at and with these talented artists.  The New York Premiere continues through March 22 at the SignatureTheatre in Pershing Square, 480 West 42nd Street.  Tickets begin at $74.  Visit https://signaturetheatre.org/show/mother-russia/ for more information.

Rebecca Naomi Jones and Adam Chanler -Berat in Mother Russia; photo by HanJie Chow

Chinese Republicans

Off-Broadway, Play February 27, 2026 Leave a comment

In Chinese Republicans, four women of Chinese heritage and spanning three generations are gathered for an Affinity Luncheon near their New York City office.  As co-workers at a stressful international investment banking firm, they look forward to these supportive gatherings, not to mention the turnip cakes.  Their stated purpose this time is to welcome their newest member — the pretty and giddy 24 year old Katie — and celebrate her recent promotion.  Managing Director Ellen has been acting as Katie’s mentor, giving her encouragement and hints about how best to reach the next rung of the ladder.  Corporate consultant Phyllis, who once held Ellen’s current job, plays healthy skeptic to Ellen’s cheerleader.  The most conservative of the group, she punctuates many of her observations with a pointed “Thanks, Obama.”  Also in attendance is Chinese citizen Iris.  She is in the US on a Work Visa and hoping her contributions to the firm will allow her to stay.  But from what we can see, her main responsibility is to get the lunch ordered correctly.

Over the course of numerous encounters and flashbacks, we watch the foursome jockey for position, sometimes in support of one another and more often in competition.  All four are trying to cope with pressures both cultural and corporate; sometimes responding in anger and other times tactically. Their varying viewpoints on what it means to be Chinese add an intriguing element to their sparring.

Jodi Long, Jennifer Ikeda, Anna Zavelson, and Jully Lee in Chinese Republicans; Photo by Joan Marcus

Quite a bit of obvious shorthand is used to backfill the women’s histories with the intention of clarifying their current motivations.  Such narrow definition of character leaves Jennifer Ikeda (Ellen), Jully Lee (Iris), Jodi Long (Phyllis), and Anna Zavelson (Katie) without the ability to shine at full wattage. Some right leaning political views are mixed in with the abbreviated development (whoosh hate crime, whoosh abortion, whoosh “me too”) and the placement of the action in 2019 avoids the most thorny topics.  Often director Chay Yew relies on elevated voices and manic gestures to take the place of more involving connection.

Playwright Alex Lin has generated enormous enthusiastic buzz, most recently for her Lear-inspired Laowang.  In Chinese Republicans, what she sacrifices in keener character arcs, she makes up for in startling imagery.  She demonstrates a flair for switching tones from heart attack-inducing conflict to door-slamming farce.  Based on Lin’s obvious talent and genuine interest in her subject matter, there is a deeper, more distinctive, and less strident script just beyond our reach. While it certainly never gets boring, as the piece approaches its final 15 minutes the plot losses focus.  

The play’s atmosphere is nicely detailed.  Costume designer Anita Yavich provides a wardrobe made for code switching, mixing business attire with Asian-inspired accessories.  The sound design by Fabian Obispo incorporates original music and big city hubbub. Impressive sets by Wilson Chin include an attractive modern restaurant and the imposing wall of the investment firm.  To prepare for the varying degrees of fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, the company enlisted dialogue coach Ka-Ling Cheung.

With a great deal to say and an unconventional blending of styles, Chinese Republicans is both a thrilling and a frustrating ride. The World Premiere production, part of Roundabout’s 2025-26 season, continues through April 5.  Performances are at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street.  Running time is 95 minutes without an intermission.  Seat prices range from very reasonable $69 – $102. The venue has superior sight lines and a small cafe on the lower level.  Visit https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2025-2026-season/chinese-republicans?url=/get-tickets/2025-2026-season/chinese-republicans for more information and to purchase tickets.