All in Play
“School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play” is a must-see this fall season. Uproariously funny, deeply touching, and quietly heartbreaking, it gives a rare voice to young African women on stage, and marks a stunning New York debut for Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh.
John Leguizamo is back on Broadway in a hilarious and piercing take on the conquest of invisibility that plagues Latin American history; with his singular voice, he teaches some good lessons in “Latin History for Morons”, serving low-brow comedy alongside meaningful, and necessary, social commentary.
“Junk” is a fast paced, financial thriller set in the 1980s that explores how our debt-laden, wealth-obsessed society came to be. There are no heroes and no hope to be found in this excellent new play by Ayad Akhtar (“Disgraced”), only a cautionary tale whose lesson it is too late to learn.
This much-anticipated revival of David Henry Hwang’s “M. Butterfly” falls flat, stripped of the ambiguity that feeds the fantasy central to the drama, in a clunky production with uneven performances that doom an otherwise timely play tackling gender, race, and international politics.
“The Last Match”, a new play set during a tennis match at the U.S. Open, is an exhilarating and smart exploration of the athlete’s psyche.
“The Portuguese Kid”, written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, is a fun and funny relationship comedy that borrows an old formula, and yet flashes an au courant bend. Not everything needs to be Greek tragedy. This is one play you can sit back and enjoy.
“After the Blast” by Zoe Kazan at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theatre provides a well-acted story that imagines a grim, post-apocalyptic future underground where our characters grapple with depression and search for life’s meaning and purpose. Oh, and there’s a robot in the cast.
After a 35-year absence in New York, Second Stage Theater’s revival of Harvey Fierstein’s landmark gay play “Torch Song” is well worth the wait; this hilarious and touching production is anchored by the virtuosic Michael Urie in a star turn you won’t want to miss. Get tickets now. You won’t regret it.
This mostly-forgotten play from 1938 receives a well-appointed revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company, disarming in its simplicity but haunting in its juxtaposition of the imagined future with its disappointing reality. But, ultimately, “Time and the Conways” operates better in idea than reality.
Cheryl Strayed’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” is a powerful and moving testament to the strength and resilience of the soul. This gorgeous play has just extended to December 10th; get a ticket if you can.
“Too Heavy for Your Pocket” is a stunning, powerful, and moving portrait of two ordinary couples living at the crossroads of an extraordinary time - Nashville, Tennessee in the summer of 1961. It is a beautiful, joyous, and heart-wrenching story that examines life on both the margins and at the epicenter of historic change, challenging us to think about our role in making progress, from the moral imperative at hand to the risk, cost, and danger involved. This play is a "must see".
The stage adaptation of the celebrated book and film is an entertaining production, but ultimately doesn’t add anything new to the material. Read the book or watch the Kubrick masterpiece instead.
