Category Archives: Off-Broadway

Disruption

Drama, Off-Broadway September 5, 2026 Leave a comment

Disruption is the Cheetos Puffs of this summer’s theater season.  It’s not exquisitely well-crafted or even particularly good, but it’s satisfying in its familiarity.  Three close college friends and their wives — the type who frequently enjoyed a summer share on Martha’s Vineyard — find their lives and relationships (appropriately) disrupted when their even more successful tech-bro buddy, Nick, returns to New York ready to seduce them into investing in his latest company.  While the gang may have common sense and realistic goals on their side, Nick has a sexy business partner and a wily algorithm on his.  That’s an intriguing nugget that should deliver fresher insights and more meaningful outcomes, but at least it makes an entertaining nosh.

The scenic design by Zoë Hurwitz is the first indication that the AI is going to have the coolest role.  The set resembles a giant LED-framed iPad with a floor that displays key images, words and phrases in video by Yana Biryükova.  While unquestionably eye-catching, the shape often leaves the characters marching around in circles or sitting in the dark under Hersh Ellis’s direction.  A cold and eery anti-stat control room along the north wall is only visible when lit from the inside (lighting by Reza Behjat).

At first blush, it’s difficult to become emotionally invested in a group of well-off professionals whose challenges range from getting their kids into the right private school to purchasing a large enough Brooklyn brownstone.  But the extraordinarily adept cast elevates Andrew Stein’s thin script to a high enough point that when a real calamity (thankfully?) makes an entrance, the audience audibly gasps in anguish.  The actors’ salvaging of this otherwise pedestrian work makes the treatment of their credits all the more shameful.  I’ve accepted (to a point) the dispensing of a QR code just before a request to turn off my phone.  It’s a practice that began post-pandemic when no one wanted to touch icky paper and somehow persisted in the name of trees.  But I’m genuinely shocked that Equity agreed to the play’s official website omitting links to hard earned biographical information.  What exactly is that meant to preserve besides anonymity?

Shaunette Renée Wilson (foreground), Irene Sofia Lucio, John David Washington and Jason Ralph in Disclosure;
photo by Emilio Madrid

The first members of the circle that we meet are Ben (Conrad Ricamora of  Oh, Mary! and Here Lies Love) and his wife Suzie (Shaunette Renée Wilson, Fox’s The Resident and NYTW’s Merry Me).  He gives a chalk outline genuine warmth and a smile that seems to radiate from his soul while she purrs through single syllable words like a lioness eyeing her prey.  Irene Sofia Lucio (Liberation, Slave Play) and Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill) play competitive sisters Mia and Jill with such genuine affection for their characters you’ll want to go bake cookies with them.  Joe Tippett’s (Waitress) sense of rhythm makes Jill’s husband Paul’s trite jokes seem hilarious and infuses the most mundane of issues with an air of melancholy.  In Mia’s household, Jason Ralph (Peter and the Starcatcher) lends just enough “aw shucks” to conflicted surgeon Barry to appear vulnerable.  Nick’s increasingly heinous behavior is propelled forward purely by means of John David Washington’s (The Piano Lesson) manner and bearing while his partner, the aptly named Raven, is given some feeling by Emma Kikue’s (My Man Kono) interpretation.

Disruption is empty calories dressed up as a fancy meal.  But don’t you sometimes enjoy that airy crunch?  Performances run through October 4 at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W 42nd Street.  (Disruption is not a production of Signature Theatre as is stated plainly in dark grey on the black postcard given out at the door.)  Runtime is closer to 2 ½ hours including intermission than the 2 hour published time frame, so watch those parking meters.  Tickets start at $69 for balcony seats and can be purchased at https://www.disruptionplay.com/ or through the TodayTix app.   Arrive early and enjoy a theme cocktail in the lounge.  Seating is on either side of a slightly elevated stage, and this will guarantee you can get to your chair without… disruption.

Isla

Immersive Experience, Musical, Off-Broadway, World Premiere August 17, 2026 Leave a comment

With both the plight of the neighboring island of Cuba and the struggles of refuges worldwide in the headlines, the appearance of the Hit the Lights! production Isla couldn’t be more timely.  Portraying her own aunt, Lulu, HTL Co-Artistic Director Samantha Blain shares the immigration story of the Blain sisters from Cuba to Miami to New York in 1969.  Thanks to the three scrims that make up the set, dragons and mermaids occupy the same space as Russian missiles and mom’s home cooking.  With its blurry time line and illusory digressions, the narrative is as obscure as a genuine human memory. Yet the feelings — love, fear, and determination — remain evident.

A scene from Isla featuring a shadow puppet by Casey Scott Leach; production photo by Rebecca J Michelson

The story begins in 2018 when Blain decided to begin recording members of her family in order to better preserve their legacy.  After introducing the players, Blain transforms in full view of the audience with a simple change of wardrobe and hairstyle (Costumes by L.A. Clevenson).  She is joined onstage by Daniela Delahuerta as older sister Carmen and Tiffany Iris as younger sister Alina, Blain’s mother.  Drawing on HTL’s multi-disciplinary ensemble work, performance occurs both behind and in front of the screens under the co-direction of company members Roman Sanchez and Mikayla Stanley.  Dialogue in both English and Spanish is minimal and some of the recordings are difficult to hear.  But the three women move gracefully, have sweet singing voices, and lend gravitas and sensitivity to the fabulizing.  

The sisters’ private world is expanded by the Latin jazz music of Claron Hayden — who remains on stage throughout — and most strikingly by original shadow puppets designed by Casey Scott Leach.   Though black and white, they are the most colorful characters.  Leach is assisted in his artistry by puppeteers Erica C. Knight and Jessie March as well as by the resourceful lighting design of Vittoria Orlando.  Mia Sempertegui is the understudy for all three principle roles.

With its reliance on evocative imagery, Isla is more a work of art than a play.  It is intended to be a family entertainment, though a certain amount of maturity is highly recommended. One could imagine this work having life as a museum installation.  (Throughout, I was often reminded of “Meta/Physical Therapy,” Shana Moulton’s performance project that was featured at The Museum of Modern Art in the spring of 2024.)  If you are unfamiliar with the Cuban Revolution, Operation Anadyr, and the Freedom Flights from Havana it is doubtful Blain’s work will offer enough history or explanation, but the images of a rich island life brought into decline will linger.

This World Premiere continues through August 29 at the WP which provides discounted space to Women+ at 2162 Broadway, 4th floor.  The performance on August 17 includes a special talkback about shadow puppetry.  Tickets are three “pick your price” tiers from $34 – $94.  Accessible seating is available only in row A.  Running time is approximately 75 minutes with no intermission.  Advanced purchase is available at https://www.hitthelights.org/.  Late seating and rebooking are not guaranteed.

An American Daughter

Comedy, Off-Broadway, Play, Revival August 12, 2026 Leave a comment

A revered doctor and celebrated champion of women’s health is on track to be confirmed in a bipartisan vote as Surgeon General only to see her nomination derailed by an understandable personal oversight and a catty comment made by a conservative friend.  That storyline at the center of Wendy Wasserstein’s play An American Daughter seems ripe for reexamination amidst the hash political climate of Trump Two.  Tragically the bloated, charmless production that opened at the Irene Diamond Stage on Tuesday night will only serve as a lamentable introduction of an often witty and insightful playwright to a new generation.  

Originally presented in 1996, this script was never the strongest in the Wasserstein prize-winning oeuvre.  Despite a worthy cast, it only survived a handful of months on Broadway.  The updated version includes an unpublished Act 2, which does little to solve its structural issues.  Long talky speeches are in need of trimming and supporting characters including an aggressive former student Quincy Quince (Carmen Zilles) and an (inexplicable) family confident Morrow McCarthy (Ryan Spahn) could use more definition and purpose. 

That said, this rendition is singularly problematic.  Executive Director of La Femme Theatre Productions, Jean Lichty,  executes the lead role of Lyssa Dent Hughes with all the ease of The Tin Man prior to the application of oil.  There is no discernible chemistry between her and the rest of the cast.  Tony nominee Montego Glover plays best friend Judith with aplomb, but bafflingly delivers most of her lines directly to the audience rather than to her scene partner.  Tony winner Robert Sean Leonard as Lyssa’s husband Walter keeps shuffling uncomfortably as if he just wants to go home.  Portraying Lyssa’s father Senator Alan Hughes, veteran actor Dakin Matthews fairs better with characteristic wry delivery.  Likewise Mary Beth Peil ( his fourth wife, Charlotte “Chubby” Hughes) is unfaltering even when Spahn’s newly acquainted McCarthy creepily puts his arm around her.

Carmen Zilles, Montego Glover and Jean Lichty in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter; photo by Joan Marcus

The spacious Georgetown living room set with glimpses of a garden beyond, designed by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, is the artistic highlight.  From there, the 1980s television sitcom style direction of Sarna Lapine dampens whatever stakes are present in the material.  The pacing and emphasis are so far off the mark that my friend thought they’d forgotten to insert the intermission.  The artificial nature of the sound design by Darron L. West often distracts from the dialogue in a “what the heck is that?” manner.  Alan C. Edwards’ lighting queues are poky and entrances consequently delayed causing the audience to clap sporadically in the pauses.  By the end they must have been exhausted.  This is the first time in memory that no one gave the cast a standing ovation.

Due to advanced sales prior to the official opening night, the run has been extended through September 20. It is a shame that the apparent enthusiasm to revisit Ms. Wasserstein’s traditionally snappy dialogue and entertainingly maddening situations is met with this dull and draggy revival.  Performances take place in the The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42 Street.   Presented by La Femme Theatre Productions, An American Daughter is not part of Signature Theatre’s season.  Run time is posted as 2 ½ hours, though the show ran 10 minutes longer when I attended.  Visit LaFemmeTheatreProductions.org for tickets and more information.

The Saviors

Drama, Off-Broadway, World Premiere July 28, 2026 Leave a comment

You can imagine a pitch meeting along these lines: “I’ve written a play that depicts the difference between being religious and acting godly.  Oh, and the lead roles are 13 and 14 year old boys.”  Fortunately for the prospective audience for The Saviors, the pitcher in question was Bubba Weiler who cemented his reputation as a playwright well worth backing with his acclaimed Well, I’ll Let You Go.  Fortunately for Weiler and his go-to director Jack Serio, the producer who picked up the challenge was the Atlantic Theater Company.  Their main-stage, The Linda Gross, is located in a converted church.  To paraphrase a line from The Saviors script, if that isn’t the hand of god, what is it?

A complaint I’ve sometimes made about The Linda Gross is that the performance space is often blocked to be wide and shallow.  This set by David Zinn is gorgeously expansive, with tall delicate stained glass windows and light colored steps leading up to humble statuary and a candle covered altar.  Director Serio also makes use of the aisles as an extension of the upfront interior (necessitating a strict no-late-seating; no-reentry policy).  Sound by Leah Gelpe that accompanies the cast member entrances lets us experience the chilly winter world just outside the heavy church doors.  Stacey Derosier’s shadowy lighting design of the sanctuary nearly qualifies as a fifth character.

Ivan Howe and Julius Rinzel in The Saviors; production photos by Ahron R. Foster

Into this subdued scene of reverence tumble altar boys Michael and Paul.  The young teens are obviously close and have turned each assigned task into a lighthearted contest.  The differences between the two slowly unfold.  Michael has embraced the Catholic teachings with manic enthusiasm.  They give structure to a life that is otherwise filled with anxiety-inducing choices.  Paul is more questioning of the strict prescribed path that seems to lie ahead.  Two adults with disparate views on Christian faith become entwined in the boys’ bond.  Judy, a congregant whom Michael asks to be his Confirmation sponsor, is so devoted to the parish that Michael has come to regard her as a Mary figure. Concurrently, Paul befriends Julian, a homeless man with an unclear connection to the community who comes into the church seeking refuge and comfort.  

Much of the play consists of pairs in hypnotic conversation.  That Weiler began working on the script when he was not much older than the current stars is a factor in making the dialogue so genuine.  There is elegant world-building within the exchanges, with an underlying tension that rivals many psychological thrillers.  

It is nearly impossible not to feel protective of both Ivan Howe’s exuberant Michael or Julius Rinzel’s probing Paul.  Both actors are heartbreakingly brilliant (and neither has an understudy.)  Making his stage debut is an impassioned Stanley Simons as the older but equally vulnerable Julian.  Completing the first-rate company is Crystal Finn who expertly traverses Judy’s rough terrain.

The Saviors will undoubtedly have a different impact on practicing and lapsed Catholics than it did on me, but it doesn’t take a background in religious doctrine to feel its sting.  This World Premiere has been extended through August 15 at The Atlantic’s Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street.  Running time is a tight 90 minutes without intermission.  Tickets start at $56.50 for standing room and top out at $121 for premium seating at select performances.  To purchase, visit https://atlantictheater.org/production/the-saviors/

A Walk on the Moon: A New Musical

Musical, Off-Broadway July 21, 2026 Leave a comment

After ambling through San Francisco and New Jersey, the musical version of A Walk on the Moon has landed Off-Broadway.  The story is set in 1969 during a summer of great societal change.  America is about to win the space race against Russia with astronaut Neil Armstrong soon to take his first historic steps and anti-war voices are being amplified in a field near Woodstock, New York.  Pearl and Marty, a working-class Jewish couple from Brooklyn, have arrived at Marty’s mother’s bungalow in the Catskills along with their teenage daughter, Alison, and younger son, Daniel.  Pearl tries to keep busy playing mahjong and making pancakes, but her life feels restricted and meaningless.  With Marty working in the city on weekdays, she finds herself attracted to a handsome salesman, Walker Jerome, who introduces her to the writings of Jack Kerouac and vivid visions of a liberated life in California.  

The script is based on playwright Pamela Gray’s recollections of her own eventful summer and the clash of cultures between a family-oriented Jewish resort and the seismic concert being staged just up the road.  The original 1999 film of A Walk on the Moon wasn’t a box office sensation, but it did succeed in pricking many a conscious.  Throughout its metamorphosis into something more family-friendly, much of the emotional jeopardy and steamy content of that previous work has been peeled away leaving a lumpy center.  The many years that have passed since Betty Friedan was on the best seller list haven’t helped keep the required sensibilities relevant to a new generation without that provocative context and detail.

Director Sheryl Kaller’s vision is equally nebulous as seen through designer Tal Yarden’s haze of grainy television clips and a tangle of fairytale tree branches with a cartoonish moon above. Though former Elphaba, Talia Suskauer, gives Pearl a vocal lift, her character arc is stifled in this PG reinterpretation of her journey.  Even her scenes with fellow Wicked alum Sam Gravitte as Walker are tepid.  And with the tender encounter between her husband Marty (Max Chernin) and Walker removed from the rundown, Pearl’s introspection and subsequent shift lose much of their validity. Into this developmental void step Sophie Pollono’s rebellious Alison and Oscar Williams as Ross “the Jewish Hendrix,”  her sweet and funny crush.  There is a much needed charge of energy whenever they are on stage together.

Sophie Pollono and Oscar Williams in A Walk on the Moon; Photo by Joan Marcus

Some composers can write memorable tunes about finishing hats and waving through a window.  AnnMarie Milazzo does not succeed with this work. Just rehashing a line doesn’t give it meaning.  While there are echos of Joni Mitchell and CSNY in some of the melodies, most feel like they are breezing through the theater on their way to the exit.  (My friend called the music “song adjacent.”)  There is also the issue of having the orchestra perched above the stage where the musicians are often distractingly eye-catching.  Of the creative team members, Matthew Armentrout deserves a spotlight for his groovy wigs and hair design.

As an Off-Broadway offering, A Walk on the Moon resembles the featured tie-dyed shirt with a choked off plot-line and muted colors.  But despite everything stated above, the audience obviously didn’t give a fig about my or my fellow critics’ insights.  They were there to have a good time, filling the house and clapping along. Performances continue through August 22 at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street.  Running time is 2 ½ hours with one 15 minute intermission. Tickets start at a very reasonable $56 and can be purchased at https://awalkonthemoonmusical.com/.

Pied-À-Terre

Drama, Off-Broadway July 2, 2026 Leave a comment

At first glance, John S. Anastasi’s Pied-À-Terre appears to be just another version of an oft-repeated story.  Jack, a middle-aged, financially successful lawyer, picks up Katie, a teen prostitute, and installs her in his New York City apartment away from his Connecticut-based family.  The tale takes an alluring turn when instead of using Katie to indulge in a bit of fun on the side, Jack chooses to focus on the young girl’s educational and cultural development.  Thereafter, we learn that despite her profession, Katie is a devout Christian, while Jack is a religious skeptic.  We see their incongruous relationship progress in a series of flashback scenes while in the present Katie’s residence has been discovered by Jack’s newscaster wife, Julia, whose marriage to Jack has grief as one of its foundational pillars.  

Having completed an Off-Broadway run in 2007 and notwithstanding an intriguing premise at its core, the play’s current production has some obvious strikes against it.  The positive evolution of medical treatment and the shifting views on power dynamics between the genders have poorly aged some of the plot elements.  And even in the TikTok age, the timeline of events strains credulity.  Six months doesn’t seem long enough for even the most ambitious and clever of young women to undergo Katie’s transformation and yet it seems too long for Jack to keep up his deception.  

Director Mitch Poulos, who has worked with Anastasi’s material on multiple occasions, has been put at a disadvantage by being saddled with the stodgy set constructed for the theater’s main occupant, The Perfect Crime.  While this decision no doubt threw the producers a budget lifeline, the fixed doorway upstage right and downstage secretary desk dictate much of the staging. Moreover, the stuffy decor complete with 20” TV and squashed upright piano, is a tonal disaster in the critical  “role” of a Greenwich Village co-op.   There is also an on-going swapping of paintings on the mantelpiece which interrupts the flow with blackouts.  It is unfortunate that Carlo Sabusap’s projections aren’t more creatively employed to modify the atmosphere. 

Jordan Allen Bell (as Jack) and Macy McGrail (as Katie) in Pied-À-Terre; photo by Lee Wexler

Despite this stylistic misadventure, the cast of three is a reminder of the many talented individuals giving their all for intimate audiences in smaller houses across the city.  Michelle Serje (Julia) and Macy McGrail (Katie), both graduates of the famed improv program Upright Citizens Brigade, deftly negotiate the hairpin turns in their dynamic, even when the script piles on superfluous melodramatic details at the 11th hour.   The more seasoned Jordan Allen Bell has a warm Everyman quality that serves the character of Jack Davis well and helps ground some of the dialogue’s odder details. 

With Pied-À-Terre, playwright Anastasi has captured what is intrisically interesting about people in relationship working their way towards a shared truth.  And I appreciate The Theater Center’s General Manager Catherine Russell’s commitment to providing opportunities for the Off-Broadway community.  But I question whether this earnest work — dedicated to the memory of the late Tony-Award-winner producer, Lauren Stevens — is the best fit for the mission.  In the final analysis, Pied-À-Terre pulls on heartstrings and maybe a few purse strings rather than adding imaginatively to the breadth of the summer season.  

Produced by 22Q Entertainment, the open-ended engagement of Pied-À-Terre continues in the Anne Bernstein Theater at The Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street on the 4th floor.  Performances are Wednesdays at 2PM and Sundays at 5PM.  The script contains profanity and descriptions of sexual situations.  Running time is approximately 2 hours including a 10 minute intermission.  Standard admission begins at $60.85 though less expensive options are available for assigned-by-the-box-office seats.  Visit https://www.piedaterreplay.com/ for ticketing information.

Lauder: Scotland’s Kilted King of Broadway

Off-Broadway, Revue June 1, 2026 Leave a comment

Part biography, part musical revue, Jimmy Logan’s Lauder is a jubilant celebration of “Scotland’s Kilted King of Broadway.”  Born in 1870 in Edinburgh, Harry Lauder used laughter, imagination, and a strong sense of self to move up in the competitive world of music hall entertainment to become an international star and an early brand ambassador for Scotland.  As the eldest child of 7, there was tremendous pressure on him to bring money into his household from a young age.  But he was also lucky enough to find enduring love along the way.

From his entrance down the aisle, Jamie MacDougall throws himself into the role of this unforgettable comedian/minstrel with complete joy and commitment.  Trained as a classical singer, he delivers the tunes about bonnie lassies with a soothing voice and a smile.   An interview with an unseen reporter is used as the pretext for sharing highlights of Lauder’s journey beginning around age 10 and ending as the Scottish troops were coming home from the French front.

Jamie MacDougall as Harry Lauder in Lauder at 59E59; Photo by Alan Peebles

Directed by Kally Lloyd-Jones who also helped adapt Logan’s script, MacDougall is relaxed interacting with the audience.  In Janis Hart’s design, a wicker travel chest and clothing rack hold the props and accessories he needs to fill out the images from Lauder’s history.  Music director Derek Clark accompanies on the piano and helps expand the stage patter.

Whether you are familiar enough with the Harry Lauder songbook to sing along or getting introduced to his work, Lauder is a pleasant division from the constant bombardment of controversy and buzz.  The explosive sound effects of war are the only disturbance.  Produced by Scottish Opera and Loch Doune Productions, this offering is part of 59E59’s Brits Off Broadway series.  Performances continue through Sunday, June 7 at 59 East 59th between Park and Madison Avenues in Theater B.  Running time is listed as 75 minutes, though it ran closer to a full hour and a half this past Sunday afternoon.  Tickets are all $44 for non-members and “best seat in the house” is a personal choice.  Those requiring legroom should opt for row AA.

Emma Duncan: In Praise of an Alternate

Musical, Off-Broadway May 25, 2026 1 Comment

It is not unusual for a theatrical production to hire an alternate for a leading role.  Unlike an understudy, who is typically a member of the ensemble, an alternate is cast to play one specific part.  They can either be solely on stand-by or — particularly for a musical — contracted for set performances such as Wednesday and Saturday matinees.  

Animal Wisdom is a very personal piece written by Heather Christian in which she originally played  “Heather”.  It is more like a live performance of a concept album than a traditional musical, with the star singing the lead on every song.  For their revival, Signature Theatre at Pershing Square was lucky enough to find two very different women with powerhouse voices — Kenita Miller and Emma Duncan as the alternate —to take on the central character now known as “H”.  The company’s persistent focus on which performances either did or did not feature Miller struck me as disrespectful not just to Duncan, but to everyone else in the cast and to the work itself.  

I have seen a number of fabulous alternates over the years.  (Hello, Javier Muñoz as Hamilton!)  What I had never seen is an alternate overtly treated like an also-ran.  So incensed was I, I spent over $100 on a ticket to see the “H Alternate”.  Ms. Duncan is a recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Award which supports outstanding emerging artists.  (Some past winners whose names you may recognize are Leslie Odom Jr, Oscar Isaac, Paul Tazewell, and Patrick Page.)   But rather than saying that it was she fulfilling the role of “H” at the May 23rd matinee, my ticket only said Kenita Miller wasn’t.  Unsurprisingly, over 30% of the house was empty, even though it was a wet and unseasonably cold day.  

The part of H, the “cantor” of this musical ritual, is extremely demanding.  Composer Christian describes it as “an olympian feat of radical empathy.” Not only must whomever embodies H cover multiple song styles but do so at points while singing at a 45° angle, while being spun around a small circle, and for one song, while wringing tunefulness from a hanging condenser mic.  

Though similar in timbre to Christian’s, Duncan’s voice seemingly binds with your central nervous system.  Pouring from her waifish body comes a tone that is a little Joni, a little Janice, a little Xtina and a lot “oh, my goodness!”  If some Miller fans were waiting until the Tony nominee took the stage in the evening, at least they had background for their choice.  But if the clumsy marketing had anyone thinking they would get a lesser experience at 2PM than at 7PM, that’s a tragic loss of Signature’s own making.

This post is not a feature.  I did not interview the playwright about what she thought of the two takes on her persona, or the marketing director to ask why Ms. Miller was made the center of the Animal Wisdom promotional campaign rather than the substance, or Ms. Duncan to ascertain whether she was even a little bit ticked off by the consistent emphasis on her counterpart’s appearances.  This is a rant about an inequity that I can (for once) change. So, I encourage you to support a magical performance with your humming, your bell ringing, or just your sweet selves.  Find a seat on your favorite ticketing site for a Friday at 4PM or Saturday matinee of Animal Wisdom.  And don’t be put off when printed upon it are the words “Kenita Miller will not be performing.”  You are in radiant, nurturing, and capable hands, even if her name is in invisible ink.

Indian Princesses

Off-Broadway, Play May 20, 2026 Leave a comment

YMCA’s Indian Princesses was originally established in the mid-1950s.  The objective was to nurture the bond between white fathers and daughters with Native American heritage.  The good intentions that were behind the launch of the project are evident in Eliana Theologides Rodriguez’s play Indian Princesses, alongside the residual anger she felt after participating in the culturally deaf program with her sister.  The financial stresses that emerged in the aftermath of the global market crisis of 2008 had forced her father to uproot his family just at a time when she needed stability and connection.  The summer’s activities only added to her pain; resentment over the organization’s false narrative followed.

Fortunately for theater-goers, Rodriguez’s approaches her complex feelings about the appropriation that passed for honoring traditions with humor and compassion.  A carefully composed Playbill insert provides helpful background to her simmering creative process.  She has drawn on the similar experiences of other women of color to round out the narrative and included a Mexican American and an adopted African American in her cast of characters.

Five immensely talented adult actresses — Anissa Marie Griego (Lily), Rebecca Jimenez (Andi), Serenity Mariana (Hazel), Lark White (Maisey), and Haley Wong (Samantha) —  portray girls ages 9 to 12.  The audience is with them from the moment of their initial meeting at a YMCA somewhere in the midwest.  So expressive and open are their faces that the constant fidgeting under the direction of Miranda Cornell is an irksome distraction from the authenticity that radiates from their interactions.  The actors playing the white fathers — Ben Beckley (Wayne, adoptive father of Maisey), Greg Keller (Chris, stepfather to Lily and Hazel), Pete Simpson (Mac, widowed father of Andi) and Frank Wood (Glen, Indian Princesses program leader and Samantha’s grandfather) — are given narrower paths to tread, but each does so with commitment and warmth.  

Serenity Mariana, Haley Wong, Lark White, Anissa Marie Griego, and Rebecca Jimenez in Indian Princesses;
Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

The naive and questioning viewpoint of kids about identify, racism and family relationships is critical to the success of the piece.  In absence of true insight, they’ve each designed their own personal mythology.  While the girls approach their camp assignments such as decorating mini canoe paddles with colored masking tape with glum obedience they also draw ever closer to each other with genuine curiosity.  

Co-produced by Rattlestick Theater and Atlantic Theater Company, this comedic social commentary is playing in the Linda Gross Theater.  A converted church — its arched windows and wide beams still in view — has more than its share of staging challenges.  The creative team has served this production well.  Set designer Emmie Finckel gets the muted in-need-of-a-paint-job colors and multi-purpose arrangement of a Y room just right and adds a wildflower strewn strip downstage to serve as the more magical outdoor clearing.  A car interior is among the areas of focus defined by Mextly Couzin’s shrewd lighting. Sound design by Salvador Zamora is beautifully woven into the dialogue.  

Currently scheduled to run through Sunday, June 7, Indian Princesses is a comedy derived from discomfort.  Though there are dark memories behind its creation, the story is rooted in love and empathy, resulting in both warm laughs and distressing cringes.  Performances are in the Linda Gross Theater at 336 West 20th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.  There is an accessible entrance through the courtyard to the west of the main door.  The house is shallow with a decent rake and staggered seating.  Tickets range from $56.50 for standing room to $131.50 for “Tier 3”.  Running time is nearly two hours without an intermission.  In related news, the restrooms are downstairs and the elevator is very small.  Visit https://atlantictheater.org/production/indian-princesses/ for tickets and further information.

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.