BROADWAY & ME QUICKIES

The Play: Jerome; set in a rural part of Arizona during the early 1990s, this comedy-drama tracks what happens when a gay couple who have lived in relative isolation for nearly 30 years decide to bring a third partner into their relationship when a mysterious younger man arrives in their town Written by: John J. Caswell, Jr.        Directed by : Dustin Wills One good thing: It’s refreshing to see a love story centered around an older gay couple, especially one anchored by a deftly nuanced performance from Stephen Spinella  One not-so-great thing: The running time is only 2 hours and 20 minutes but seems far longer and the time spent having the characters asking the same questions and repeating the same points would have been better spent on developing the more intriguing storylines only hinted at; plus the production could have done without one surreal scene even though it does provides a gasp-inducing coup de théâtre      

The Play: A Woman Among Women; a riff on Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” set in a wellness center run by a woman named Cleo who is a pillar of her progressive community and the mother of a daughter who is in prison for having committed a shockingly violent crime  Written by: Julia Maj Jonas        Directed by: Sarah Cameron Hughes One good thing: Zoë Geltman is amusing as Cleo’s often-overlooked second child but brings a focused energy to the role that makes her character more than just a joke  One not-so-great thing: There’s too much of everything: too many characters who have too little to do and too many distracting directorial flourishes, from having the actors break into singsong at odd moments to staging some lame and strained interactions with the audience    

The Play: Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody; a surprisingly sweet, cleverly staged and very amusing send-up of the hit HBO series about the relationship between two closeted gay hockey players Book, Music and Lyrics by: Dylan Marcaurele        Directed by: Alan Kliffer One good thing: You don’t have to have seen the streaming series to enjoy the terrific performances by Jay Armstrong Johnson and Jimin Moon, who sing great, look great and have great chemistry together; and just as good are the hardworking three-member ensemble who play all the other roles in the hockey guys' lives as well as the trio of straight women superfans who serve as the musical’s narrators One not-so-great thing:  This new makeshift theater’s folding chairs and tall stools aren’t all that butt-friendly even though the show only runs about 80 minutes and the site lines can also be a challenge for some audience members (one of them being me) if they're seated in the pathwa...

The Play: Animal Wisdom; a revival of the self-proclaimed 2017 requiem that aims to simultaneously mourn and celebrate its MacArthur Genius author’s childhood in Natchez, Mississippi and the ancestors, or ghosts, who helped shape it Written by: Heather Christian        Directed by: Keenan Tyler Oliphant  One good thing: Kenita R. Miller has stepped in to play the main character and her powerhouse vocals lend layers of soul-stirring jazz and blues to the show’s eclectic but largely folk-roots score One not-so-great thing: The show is a purposeful patchwork of memory and imagination but the pieces—including a rambling narrative, an onstage band costumed as though going to a Sgt. Pepper's theme party and a final 25-minute section that takes place almost entirely in the dark—don’t fit together quite as well as intended and while they do seem to reduce some audience members to tears they can also come across as self-indulgent and pretentious to others   ...

The Play: Indian Princesses; a satire about young girls of color who attend a misguided program that’s supposed to help them bond with their white dads Written by: Eliana Theologides Rodriguez      Directed by: Miranda Cornell One good thing: Centering a play around interracial families, particularly those who are working hard to love and support one another, is more than welcomed in these fractious times One not-so-great thing:   Yet it's hard to shake the feeling of been-there-seen-that as the play succumbs to the lengthening string of angry-young-women dramas in which girls get together, start noting how society has misunderstood or mistreated them and then exorcise their frustrations by performing some kind of ritual, usually a manic dance.  

The Play: What Happened Was...; a revival of the 1992 two-hander about the awkward first date between two low-level co-workers at a law firm Written by: Tom Noonan        Directed by: Ian Rickson One good thing:   Corey Stoll  and  Cecily Strong give a master class in supportive scene work as they peel back the layers of two lonely people clinging to the belief that it’s not too late to make their dreams come true One not-so-great thing:  It’s understandable how desperate today's theatergoers are for excuses to laugh but I wish those at the performance I attended had appreciated the pathos in this poignant production as much as they did its humor