To My Girls

D+

Since I had not seen a play in almost four months, I really hoped that my return to theatergoing would be an auspicious one. Alas, it was not to be. This alleged comedy, which somehow made it to Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theater, is a dud. If JC Lee (Relevance) set out to write a "Boys in the Band" for the 2020's, he missed the mark. A group of five 30-something gay men who have not seen each other since before the pandemic have rented a home in Palm Springs for the weekend from Bernie (Bryan Batt; Forbidden Broadway), an older gay man who lives just down the street. Curtis (Jay Armstrong Johnson; On the Town) is an aging cute white boy. Castor (Maulik Pancholy; Grand Horizons) is his motormouthed South Asian friend whose love for Curtis has gone unrequited. Leo (Bretton Smith; Be More Chill) is a black friend from New York, a character who remains frustratingly underdeveloped. Jeff (Carman Lacivita; Marvin's Room) and Tom are a couple whose arrival keeps getting postponed. (Tom may be the smartest of the lot -- he never arrives.) Castor brings home Omar (Noah J. Ricketts; Frozen), a superbly built, exotic younger man he meets at a bar. Underlying tensions rise to the surface. Amidst the bitchy one-liners, a few of which are quite funny, we are subjected to monologues on generational differences, white privilege, the privilege of good looks, the corrosive influence of social media, and the effects of living through the age of MAGA. Judging from this group, despite all the changes of the last couple decades, including same-sex marriage and greater LGBT rights, the emotional life of American gay men has not improved. The final message seems to be that there's no problem a lively drag number can't fix. Under the direction of Stephen Brackett (Be More Chill), the action moves fitfully. The deliberately (I hope) hideous set by Arnulfo Maldonado (A Strange Loop) is a tribute to bad taste. The transition between scenes is marked by garish colored lights, courtesy of Jen Schriever (A Strange Loop). The costumes by Sarafina Bush (Pass Over) are appropriately over-the-top. Honesty compels me to report that much of the audience seemed to be having a very good time. To each his own. Running time: a long 90 minutes without intermission.

Grand Horizons

B+

Of the three Bess Wohl plays to make it to New York this season (the other two were Continuity and Make Believe), this new play, which marks Wohl’s Broadway debut. is far and away the funniest and slickest. While it lacks the innovation of Make Believe or Wohl’s earlier play Small Mouth Sounds, and has a few minor problems, it is irresistibly entertaining. Furthermore, it provides a marvelous showcase for two fine actors, Jane Alexander (The Sisters Rosensweig, First Monday in October) and James Cromwell (“Babe,” The Invention of Love), as well as juicy roles for the other five actors. Shortly after Nancy and Bill move into the titular senior community after their 50th anniversary, Nancy suddenly announces that she wants a divorce. Bill does not object. Their two adult sons, the practical, unemotional Ben (Ben McKenzie; “The Report”) and the overemotional Brian (Michael Urie; Torch Song, Buyer & Cellar), arrive, along with Ben’s very pregnant wife Jess (Ashley Park; Mean Girls), to attempt to talk them out of divorce. There are two additional characters, Tommy (Maulik Pancholy; It’s Only a Play, “30 Rock”) and Carla (Priscilla Lopez; In the Heights, Pippin), each of whom has a marvelous scene that probably should have been cut despite its entertainment value. The dialogue is very funny and often witty but occasionally stoops to sitcom level. Amidst the hilarity, there are moments that raise thought-provoking issues of identity, parenthood, female empowerment, and the difficulty of clear, honest communication. Most of the time, the mix works well. The production levels are very high. Instead of a curtain, there is a gigantic projection by Bryce Cutler (Soft Power) of an aerial view of row after row of identical attached houses. The set by Clint Ramos (Torch Song, Once on This Island) shows the first floor of one of the units, blandly neutral, accented by safety grab bars in peculiar places. The costumes by Linda Cho (The Lifespan of a Fact) befit the characters well. Leigh Silverman’s (The Lifespan of a Fact, Chinglish) direction is assured. While it may not be the best play I have seen recently, it certainly is the funniest. The audience loved it. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

NOTE: Did Second Stage learn nothing from the mistakes made at the Tony Kiser Theater when they renovated the Helen Hayes Theater? Once again, the cramped seats are unstaggered with very narrow armrests and little legroom.