Spain

 C-

Although Second Stage describes their new play by Jen Silverman (Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties) as “seductive” and “funny,” I failed to be either seduced or amused by it. Silverman presents an imagined version of the circumstances behind the filming of “The Spanish Earth,” a 1937 documentary intended to win sympathy and support for the Spanish Republican government against Franco and his Fascist allies. The film was directed by Dutch documentarian Joris Ivens, written by John Dos Passos, Lillian Hellman and Ernest Hemingway, and edited by Ivens’s wife-to-be Helen van Dongen, all of whom except Hellman are characters in the play. Silverman posits that Ivens (Andrew Burnap; Camelot, The Inheritance) has become dependent on Russia to finance his films and has been ordered by his opera-loving KGB handler Karl (Zachary James; The Addams Family) to make a film promoting the Republican cause while carefully omitting any mention of Russian support. Karl, by the way, is the person who introduced him to Helen (Marin Ireland; Reasons To Be Pretty, Blue Ridge). Neither Joris nor Helen has ever been to Spain. We observe their strategizing to make the film, including their intent to play on the rivalry between Dos Passos (Erik Lochtefeld; Metamorphoses, Misery) and Hemingway (Danny Wolohan; To Kill a Mockingbird, Octoroon). Rifts in the relationship between Joris and Helen repeatedly emerge. After the film is made, the play suddenly jumps 80 years into the future with a scene in which the actor who played Karl is instructing the other four actors that movies are now passe and they must learn to use the internet to create propaganda. For me the play completely failed to cohere or find a consistent style. A couple of scenes that placed Hemingway in a recording studio seemed out of left field. His characterization seemed cartoonish compared to the other roles. Ireland and Bernap, who I have found compelling in previous roles, were bland here. James has a marvelous singing voice that I wish we had heard more of. Dane Laffrey’s (Parade, Once on This Island) set uses a revolving platform to create several settings with just a few suggestive props. Alejo Vietti’s (Allegiance, Beautiful) period costumes are apt. Tyne Rafaeli’s (The Coast Starlight, Epiphany) direction is unfussy, but cannot supply coherence  where there is none. All in all, it was a great disappointment. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

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.

Clyde's

 A-

Twice Pulitzer-awarded playwright Lynn Nottage (Ruined, Sweat) wrote this comedy with serious overtones and a touch of magic realism at the same time that she was working on Sweat. Both share a Reading, PA setting but are otherwise quite different. Clyde’s (formerly called Floyd’s when it premiered at the Guthrie Theater in 2019) is the name of the roadside sandwich shop owned by the titular character (Uzo Aduba, Godspell, “In Treatment”). All her employees have been recently released from jail. Taking full advantage of the fact that they are desperate, she treats them abominably and tries to squeeze any drop of hope out of them. We meet Letitia (Kara Young, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven), a young single mother with a chronically ill child; Rafael (Reza Salazar; Sweat, My Mañana Comes), a romantic Latino; newly hired Jason (Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements, Lewiston/Clarkson), who is covered with gang tattoos; and Montrellous (Ron Cephas Jones, “This Is Us,” “Mr. Robot”), an older man of philosophic bent who inspires the others with his quest for the perfect sandwich. We learn the backstory of each employee. As they work, they describe to each other their vision of sandwich perfection and occasionally make one for the others to try. Significantly, Clyde refuses to try any of Montrellous’s creations. The acting is universally superb. The set by Takeshi Kata (Cambodian Rock Band), lighting by Christopher Akerlind (Indecent, The Last Ship) and costumes by Jennifer Moeller (Sweat, Aubergine) contribute greatly to this Second Stage production. Kate Whoriskey, who has often demonstrated her affinity for Nottage’s work before (Ruined, Sweat, Intimate Apparel), directs with smooth precision. The ending will definitely get your attention. A word of caution: don’t attend when you are hungry — the rapturous descriptions of ideal sandwiches will have you salivating. (Running time 100 minutes, no intermission.)

Superhero

B-

This new musical at Second Stage comes with an impressive pedigree — music and lyrics by Pulitzer winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and book by Tony winner John Logan (Red). Two years ago, Charlotte’s husband and Simon’s father was killed in an accident witnessed by Simon. Both mother and son have had trouble dealing with their grief. Simon (Kyle McArthur) refuses to talk about his father and spends most of his time drawing comic books about superheroes. Charlotte (Kate Baldwin; Hello, Dolly!, Big Fish, Giant) can’t break through Simon’s defensive posture or finish a book she has been trying to write. Simon gets it into his head that Jim (Bryce Pinkham; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Heidi Chronicles) the reclusive man who lives in Apartment 4-B, is really a superhero in disguise. That’s all I will say so I won’t spoil the story. The downbeat book is intelligent and the songs are well-integrated into it. The first act is quite polished, the second act less so. Nevertheless, the show is still emotionally satisfying. The performances by the three principals are very strong. The  four secondary characters are all underdeveloped. The attractive scenic design by Beowulf Boritt (The Scottsboro Boys, Hand to God) has a series of frames gradually receding to a Manhattan skyline. Tal Yarden’s (Network) projections add an important element. Sarah Laux’s (The Band’s Visit) costumes are unobtrusive. Jason Moore’s (The Cher Show, Avenue Q) direction is a bit sluggish on occasion. At times, I was reminded of another recent musical about a troubled teenager and his depressed mother. If you liked Dear Evan Hansen, you might like this too. Just don't go expecting another Next to Normal. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

Straight White Men

B-

Young Jean Lee's family drama with comic overtones was first presented at the Public Theater a few years ago. Its move to Second Stage’s Helen Hayes Theater, with a star-studded new cast, a new creative team and two new characters, marks the first time a female Asian-American playwright has been produced on Broadway. The performance gets off to a very bad start: the theater is filled with the sound of ear-splitting hip-hop accompnied by colored lights flashing on the tinsel curtain. Two non-binary “persons in charge” dressed in festive metallic costumes, trans woman Kate Bornstein and Native-American trans man Ty Defoe, step before the curtain to give a brief lecture on the need for greater acceptance of gender fluidity and diversity. They add that the music was deliberately intended to make most of the audience uncomfortable. The two appear briefly between scenes and at play’s end for no apparent reason. I do not think that their contribution to the play merits their inclusion. When the play proper begins, we are in the family room of a retired, widowed Midwestern engineer Ed (Stephen Payne; Of Mice and Men) whose 40-ish eldest son Matt (Paul Schneider; “Bright Star”) has moved back in with him. Matt’s two younger brothers. Jake (Josh Charles; The Antipodes, “The Good Wife”) and Drew (Armie Hammer; “Call Me by Your Name”), have come home for a family Christmas. Jake is a prosperous banker, recently divorced from his African-American wife. Drew is a successful author and college professor. Although Matt was the brightest and most idealistic of the three and had a Harvard education, he has never found his purpose in life, still has huge college debts, and is presently working in a temp job at a social service organization. The three brothers revert to adolescence with much competitive horseplay. They play a board game called “Privilege” that their late mother had adapted from a Monopoly set to teach them positive values. As they enjoy their Chinese takeout Christmas dinner, Ed relates that, unlike his sons, he always felt the course of his life was laid out for him with a clearly delineated path. Jake and Drew become upset when Matt suddenly begins weeping during dinner. While they deeply care for him, they feel that Matt’s lack of achievement is a betrayal of the advantages he has enjoyed. Their competing diagnoses of his problem and their misguided attempts to shape him up provide both humor and pathos. The play ends on an ambiguous note. The ensemble acting is terrific; while the actors look nothing alike, they show a real chemistry. Payne, a late replacement for Denis Arndt who in turn was a replacement for Tom Skerritt, looks uncannily like Skerritt. The scenic design by Todd Rosenthal (August: Osage County) is appropriately generic. Suttirat Larlarb’s (Of Mice and Men) costumes are spot-on, especially the Christmas pajamas. Faye Driscoll’s choreography and Thomas Schall’s fight direction add a lot to the production. Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, This Is Our Youth) directs with assurance. The title promises too much; the characters are a very specific, atypical subset of straight white maledom. While the play offers much to enjoy, it does not go that deeply into the questions it raises and the ending provides no satisfactory resolution. Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission.

Lobby Hero

B+

Second Stage has acquired and renovated the Helen Hayes Theater, now called just The Hayes Theater, as a Broadway home for plays by living American playwrights.  As their first offering, they have chosen to revive Kenneth Lonergan’s (This Is Our Youth, The Waverly Gallery) 2001 dramedy about four blue-collar New Yorkers in 1999. Jeff (Michael Cera; This Is Our Youth) is a sad sack security guard who has the night shift in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building. William (Brian Tyree Henry; The Book of Mormon, The Fortress of Solitude) is his boss, an African-American with a strict moral code, who has tried to mentor Jeff. Bill (Chris Evans; "Captain America") is an arrogant policeman who frequently interrupts work for a visit to a lady on the 22nd floor. Dawn (Bel Powley; Arcadia, "A Royal Night Out") is his admiring partner, a rookie still in her probationary period on the force, whom he shamefully manipulates. William is faced with a moral dilemma when his brother, accused of murder, asks him to be his alibi. Lying is against his morals, but he is reluctant to expose his brother to an incompetent lawyer and a hostile justice system. Smitten by Dawn, Jeff disabuses her of false notions about Bill, causing a rift in the partners’ relationship. When Jeff learns about William’s attempt to save his brother, he must decide whether to be a good friend or a good citizen. Lonergan has a wonderful ear for dialogue and the fine cast serves him well. The first act provides a good introduction to the characters and their conflicting goals. The second act is a bit of a letdown as the actions become a bit formulaic. The three supporting actors are excellent. Although Evans is primarily known as a comic book superhero in film and Powley’s stage experience has been primarily in England, they both seem perfectly at home playing New Yorkers. I have some reservations about Cera. The role of Jeff lies too snugly within his comfort zone and he does not bring anything fresh to it. David Rockwell’s (She Loves Me, Kinky Boots) revolving set provides the essentials of a lobby and the street outside. Paloma Young’s (Peter and the Starcatcher, Bandstand) costumes look like the appropriate uniforms of the period. Trip Cullman (Six Degrees of Separation, Punk Rock) directs with assurance. I wish that Cera brought more freshness to the role and that the second act were more satisfying. Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy and the production provides an auspicious launch for Second Stage’s Broadway expansion. Running time: two hours 25 minutes, including intermission.

A few words about The Hayes Theater: David Rockwell’s interior is generally attractive although I was less than captivated by the very blue pointillist version of a tapestry adorning the walls. I am happy to report that the legroom, at least in center orchestra, is an improvement over Second Stage’s Terry Kiser Theater. Unfortunately, the armrests once again seem to be unusually narrow, so that you feel too close to the person next to you. The stage is rather high, so I do not recommend sitting in the first few rows.

A Parallelogram

A-

The folks at Second Stage Theater seem to be working their way through Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s backlist. Last season they brought Tracy Letts’s 2003 work The Man from Nebraska to town with (to me at least) middling results. Their latest import from Chicago is this 2010 dark comedy by Bruce Norris (The Pain and the Itch, Clybourne Park, Domesticated and The Qualms). I can happily report that the results are much better this time around. It’s hard to describe the play without giving too much away. Think Twilight Zone and Groundhog Day blended with a witty play about relationships. Although there are metaphysical elements involved in the premise, don’t let that worry you. You don’t need to understand them to enjoy the play. There is also a debate over free will vs. determinism and an attempt to answer the question of how we would behave if we knew the future. Did I mention that the play is also very funny? Bee (Celia Keenan-Bolger; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Oldest Boy) is a depressive woman in her 30s living with a somewhat older man, the maddeningly self-absorbed Jay (Stephen Kunken; Enron, Frost/Nixon, Rx, The Apple Family Plays, Nikolai and the Others), who has left his wife and children for her. The characters played by Anita Gillette (Chapter Two, The Big Meal, “30 Rock”) are identified as Bee 2, Bee 3 and Bee 4. Is one of them an older version of Bee, unseen by the other characters, who foretells Bee’s future and has a remote control that allows her to rewind time or even fast forward to the future or is she just a manifestation of some medical problem? Last but not least is JJ (Juan Castano), the Latino lawn boy who develops a rapport with Bee. The production is first-rate: the cast is uniformly excellent, the direction by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, Grey Gardens) is sharp and the clever set by Rachel Hauck (Animal, Latin History for Morons) transforms wondrously. Jeff Mahshie’s (Next to Normal, She Loves Me) costumes are apt. The play has more to appeal to the intellect and the funny bone than to the heart. It runs a bit long too. But it you want to see a quirky example of superb stagecraft, I highly recommend it. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission. 

Ernest Shackleton Loves Me

D

After runs in Seattle, New Brunswick (NJ) and Boston, this oddity has made its way to Second Stage’s Terry Kiser Theatre. Its bona fides include a score by Brendan Milburn (music) and Val Vigoda (lyrics), two of the creators of the delightful 2006 musical Striking 12; a book by Joe DiPietro, Tony winner for Memphis, and direction by Obie winner Lisa Peterson. Val Vigoda  (GrooveLily, Trans-SIberian Orchestra) is a hardworking performer, who plays an electric violin in addition to acting and singing. Wade McCollum (Wicked) is an appealing actor with a strong voice and lots of presence. The dubious concept for the show is that a sleep-deprived single mother in Brooklyn whose baby daddy has abandoned her and whose job as a composer for video games is not going well, records a dating video on “Cupid’s Leftovers” that is answered by the famous polar explorer of a century ago. For reasons unclear to me, Shackleton is inspired by her and she becomes the muse that sees him through his travails. She, in turns, learns courage from him. As someone who was deeply moved by the story of Shackleton and the brave crew of the Endurance, I was distressed to see this story misappropriated for so frivolous a purpose. To project film clips and stills from their expedition to prop up this silly show is almost a desecration. Perhaps a younger audience unfamiliar with his story and with a taste for electronic music will find the show more congenial. I found it a pointless waste of time. Incidentally, Second Stage Theatre seems to be distancing itself from this production; their name does not appear in the Playbill. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Notes from the Field *** B-

Anna Deavere Smith’s latest foray into “first person documentary storytelling,” now at Second Stage Theatre, is about the failure of our education and criminal justice systems, which have created a school-to-prison pipeline for youth from poor communities. As she did so memorably in “Fires in the Mirror” and “Twilight: Los Angeles,” she impersonates a diverse array of people related to an event or social problem and brings us their own words verbatim. Before the evening begins, a grim series of statistics about racial inequities in our schools and so-called justice system is projected on six large panels, putting me in a funk before Ms. Smith even reached the stage. The 18 scenes of excerpts from interviews and speeches that followed were intercut with photographs and video clips of some of the most egregious examples of racial bias in recent years. Some of the moments were painful to relive. Much attention is devoted to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. The sermon at Gray’s funeral is one of the most powerful sections of the evening. Stockton and Klamath, CA and Columbia, SC are the locales of some other important pieces. Although there is an attempt to shed a ray of hope at the end of the evening, I did not find it convincing or comforting. The scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez and projections by Elaine McCarthy are effective. Some of Ann Hould-Ward’s costume choices are peculiar: I have no idea why Smith’s slacks in the first act had worn-through patches or why she was barefoot. For some stretches of the evening, bassist Marcus Shelby is onstage with Ms. Smith, to little effect. Some of the dialects and intonations came across as artificial: I have never heard anyone say “impurr” instead of “impair.” The material lacked a clear arc and some of the excerpts should have been trimmed. Leonard Foglia directed. While most of the audience responded enthusiastically, several people near me did not return after intermission. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including intermission.

Smart People **

I really wanted to like Lydia Diamond’s play at Second Stage. It isn’t often that we get a chance to witness four attractive intellectuals with Harvard ties talking about the important issue of racism in America. It’s even more unusual when the discussion is punctuated by lots of humor and simulated sex. Nevertheless, I found the play somewhat unsatisfying. Diamond’s structure uses a lot of short, fragmentary scenes, often for one character addressing an unseen second person. Some of these scenes, e.g. Brian (Joshua Jackson), a white neuroscience professor criticizing his students; Valerie (Tessa Thompson), a black actress reading for an audition; Jackson (Mahershala Ali), a surgical resident arguing with his superior; Ginny (Anne Son), a shopaholic Asian-American psychologist browbeating a salesperson, are amusing, but the fragments do not fit together all that well. The whole is somehow less than the sum of its parts. The center of attention is the fallout from a research study by Brian demonstrating that whites are hard-wired to react negatively to blacks. Ginny points out that Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics are usually left on the sidelines in a discussion of race. It is unclear whether Jackson’s problems with authority are more rooted in racism or in his hot temper. I felt that the sex scenes and the gratuitous brief male frontal nudity were thrown in to grab the audience’s attention between didactic moments. The action begins in 2007 and ends with the inauguration of Obama in January 2009. While there is one scene about campaigning for Obama, the significance of his election did not seem related organically to the rest of the play. The stunningly attractive cast make their characters lively. Among the characters, I thought that Ginny was by far the most interesting and found myself wishing that the play had been focused on her. Ricardo Hernandez’s streamlined minimalist set was efficient if not visually interesting. The projections by Zachary G. Borovay seemed generic, contributing little to the production. Paul Tazewell’s costumes suit the characters well. The direction by Kenny Leon seemed a bit slack. I do give the playwright credit for writing a play that is likely to provoke lively discussion. Running time: one hour, 55 minutes including intermission.

Invisible Thread ***

After a successful run last year at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge where it was titled “Witness Uganda,” this energetic, ambitious, inspirational musical is now raising the roof at Second Stage Theatre, where it is in previews. Co-authors Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews are founders of the Uganda Project, a charity that pays the educational expenses of ten Ugandan students each year. When Griffin (Jeremy Pope from “Choir Boy” filling in for Matthews at my performance), an unemployed black New York actor, is kicked out of his church choir for being gay, he decides to do something meaningful with his life and signs up as a volunteer to build a school in a Ugandan village. Why a gay man would pick one of the world’s most virulently homophobic countries as a place to volunteer is never explained. His Jewish lover Ryan (Corey Mach), a songwriter, unexpectedly joins him there. The compound Griffin lives in belongs to the unseen Pastor Jim. It is run by the stern Joy (Adeola Role) assisted by her younger brother Jacob (Michael Luwoye, a wonderful actor but, in my opinion, too massive and mature for this role). Jacob befriends Griffin, who, he hopes, will take him back to New York. When Griffin learns that the school-building project is a scam that will only benefit Pastor Jim, he quits and decides to teach a small group of teenage AIDS orphans that he meets. When their improvised school mysteriously burns down, Griffin takes them to a safe village far from Pastor Jim and pays to enroll them in school. When he and Ryan return to New York, they struggle to raise money to support the students. They get the bright idea of doing a benefit concert to raise money. The present musical gradually emerged from their efforts. They learn some hard lessons about the difficulty of matching the help offered with the help needed. The songs run the gamut from generic ballads to rousing African-infused numbers. The show’s title is the title of one of the less interesting songs (“There is a long invisible thread that wraps around my heart and wraps around your head…”). An orchestra of nine supply the music. The appealing cast is very good. Nicolette Robinson (“Brooklynite”) is a standout. The lively choreography is by Sergio Trujillo assisted by Darrell Grand Moultrie. Tom Pye’s simple uncluttered set is enhanced by Peter Nigrini’s projections. ESosa's costumes are colorful. Director Diane Paulus pulls it all together with panache. I hope that they adjust the amplification so that the big numbers are not ear-splitting. The audience was appreciative. Running time: 2 hours 5 minutes including intermission.

The Way We Get By **

Neil LaBute’s new two-hander, now in previews at Second Stage, represents somewhat of a new direction for him — misogyny and misanthropy are nowhere to be seen and love is in the air. Doug (Thomas Sadoski) and Beth (Amanda Seyfried) have shared a night of lust after hooking up at a party. The morning after is awkward as they attempt to determine what the future holds for their relationship. We learn that they are not strangers and the nature of their past relationship presents an obstacle to any future one. A greater problem is the inability of one of them to commit. Doug, a socially awkward motor-mouth, would become annoying very fast if he were not played by the superb Sadoski, who, I think, is one of the finest younger actors on the New York stage. Seyfried has a less showy — dare I say underwritten — role. I felt that her inability to make a stronger impression was primarily a problem with the script. She does have lovely breasts though. I am curious whether Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”), who was originally announced for the role, could have done more with it. Much of the dialogue seemed artificial. The play became repetitive after a while and ended with a ridiculous scene that diminished what preceded it. Neil Patel’s apartment set is spot-on as are Emily Rebholz’s costumes. Leigh Silverman’s direction does not call attention to itself. I admire LaBute for trying something different and thank him for providing a juicy role for Sadoski. Other than his performance, there wasn’t much to admire. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Lips Together, Teeth Apart **

I wish I had been able to keep thoughts of the original production of Terrence McNally’s 1991 play out of my head while I watched this revival, now in previews at Second Stage. However, the memory of Christine Baranski, Swoosie Kurtz, Nathan Lane and Anthony Heald performing parts that (with the exception of Kurtz) were written for them was too strong to suppress. Their superb performances went a long way to minimize the play’s faults. Furthermore, at a time when AIDS was front and center in the nation’s consciousness, the play had a much greater resonance than it has today. It is not so much an AIDS play as a play about how straight people related to gays, at least in 1991. In a time of Ebola panic and gay marriage, its concerns seem almost quaint now. Sally and Sam Truman (America Ferrera and Michael Chernus) have invited Sam’s sister Chloe (Tracee Chimo) and her husband John (Austin Lysy) to join them for 4th of July weekend at the Fire Island Pines home that Sally has just inherited from her brother, recently deceased from AIDS. Although Sally loved her brother, she could not really deal with his homosexuality. The two couples are perfectly happy to enjoy the fruits of his labors as long as they stay out of the pool, which they fear might give them AIDS, and don’t get too friendly with the gay neighbors. At some point in the play each character addresses the audience to reveal his or her personal demons, including serious illness, low self-image, guilt over adultery, fear of miscarriage and fear of parenthood. The personalities of the two couples are so mismatched that it is difficult to imagine why they married. The play marks time for much of the first two acts, wasting moments on lame running jokes such as Sally’s inability to remember movie titles correctly and Chloe’s changing clothes constantly. At the end of the second intermission, there were more than a few empty seats in the theater. McNally finally raises the stakes in the final act, but then allows the tension to dissipate once more. Since “Bad Jews,” Chimo has become the go-to actress to play overbearing. Chernus lends a lot of humanity to his character and Lysy hits the right notes in a difficult role. Surprisingly, it is Ferrera, whom I have much admired in the past, who is the weak link here. Alexander Dodge’s set and Esosa’s costumes are attractive. Peter DuBois’s direction seemed a bit unfocused. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes, including two intermissions.

Sex with Strangers ***

When strong sexual attraction clashes with literary incompatibility, which will win out? How does a young person deal with the acute anxiety of being temporarily without access to the internet? How can we ever really know someone? These are some of the questions posed by Laura Eason’s entertaining two-character play at Second Stage. Olivia is a near-40 novelist turned teacher who was so traumatized by her first book’s lukewarm reception many years ago that she refuses to show anyone the manuscript of her second novel. Ethan is a 28-year-old hunk who has chronicled his sexual exploits in the blog after which the play is named and turned them into two e-books that spent 5 years on the Times best-seller list. They meet on a stormy winter night at a remote Michigan b&b where they both have come to work, Olivia on her novel and Ethan on the screenplay for his first book. This set-up has more than a touch of sitcom about it, but a sitcom with good dialog and literary ambitions. Fortunately for us, Olivia and Ethan are played by Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) and Billy Magnussen (Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike), two very appealing actors who have palpable chemistry. They have sex on the table, on the couch, in the bed — and that’s just in Act One. They are less compatible out of the sack. Ethan has read and admired Olivia’s first novel and pushes her to resume her writing career with his help. He longs to get past the image of his previous books and write something serious. Olivia cannot help wondering whether the bad boy persona in Ethan’s books is just a character or the actual person. Complications arise in the second act, many of them arising from the perils of the publishing world in the digital age. We have to take it on faith that both are talented writers. Andromache Chalfant’s sets are fine, particularly her set for Olivia’s apartment. Esosa’s costumes befit their characters. David Schwimmer’s direction is assured, although I did feel the sex scenes were longer than necessary. I found the characters to be more like constructs than real people, but the committed acting allayed my qualms. As summer entertainment, the play hits the mark as long as you don’t examine it too closely. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.

Little Miss Sunshine ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
William Finn and James Lapine, whose previous collaborations include "Falsettos" and "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," have turned this quirky 2006 indie film into a musical now in previews at Second Stage. To take on a film that owed so much of its success to its perfect casting and one that has become somewhat of a cult classic, was an act of bravery. To their credit, they have captured both the satire and the pathos in this story of a really dysfunctional family from Albuquerque for whom the American dream has turned sour.  Frazzled wife Sheryl (Stephanie J. Block), feckless husband Richard (Will Erat, for Will Swenson), silent son Dwayne (Logan Rowland), 7-year-old daughter and would-be beauty contestant Olive (Hannah Nordberg), Sheryl's suicidal brother Frank (Rory O'Malley) and Grandpa (a surprisingly delightful David Rasche) are all vividly portrayed. (Understudy Erat is so unlike Swenson in appearance that it put a different spin on the character.) To my surprise, the characters in the musical seemed less cartoonish and more sympathetic than in the film. Finn's music, while not memorable, is easy on the ear and Lapine's book has some nice touches. Beowulf Boritt's unit set extends a map of the southwestern U.S. over most of the theater ceiling. Michele Lynch's choreography is clever. Jennifer Caprio's costumes are a treat. Lapine also directed. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes; no intermission.

A question: What was the last musical you saw that was not based on a film or book?

Nobody Loves You **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
As I have found much to admire in Itamar Moses's past work (Bach at Leipzig, The Four of Us, Completeness), I was looking forward to the current show now in previews at Second Stage. This musical send-up of the "reality" television show for which the play is named has a book by Moses, music by Gaby Alter and lyrics by both. The production is blessed with a talented, energetic cast that is impossible not to like. Unfortunately, the performances are better than the material. The satire is bland and the music is instantly forgettable. The book has occasional flashes of wit, but they are too few. Heath Calvert is marvelous as the reality show's vapid MC. Leslie Kritzer and Rory O'Malley are triple threats with three distinctive roles each. O'Malley is especially hilarious as a flamboyantly gay fan, a Lothario and a nerd. Bryan Fenkart and Aleque Reid are respectable as the lead couple. Roe Hartrampf, Autumn Hurlbert and Lauren Molina all shine as the other contestants. I only wish that they had more to work with. Mark Wendland's set is simple but effective. Jessica Pabst's costumes are terrific. Michelle Tattenbaum's direction keeps things moving briskly. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

The Tutors **

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In Erica Lipez's new play at Second Stage Uptown, we meet Joe, Toby and Heidi, friends since college and now roommates, struggling with very little success to make a go of their Facebook-wanabee website. Toby (Keith Nobbs) and Heidi (Audrey Dollar) put in lonely hours running the website while outside man Joe (Matt Dellapina) allegedly tries to line up investors. To support themselves, Joe and Toby tutor wealthy high school students, while Heidi edits admission essays online. She has fantasies about Kwan (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a client from Hong Kong, whom she turns into an imaginary confidant and lover. And then the real Kwan shows up. Last but not least is Milo (Chris Perfetti), a spoiled rich kid who disrupts the status quo when he blackmails his way into their lives. The situations are intriguing, the characters are vivid, the cast is excellent, but the play seemed like it needed more work. The ending is particularly flat. Rachel Hauck's set captures the feel of an apartment shared by three young people. Heidi's messy bedroom speaks volumes about her. Jessica Jahn's costumes are inconspicuously appropriate. Thomas Kail's direction is assured. The play has its flaws, but it reveals a talent to watch. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes with intermission.

Water by the Spoonful ***

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Being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama raised high expectations for Quiara Alegria Hudes' drama now in previews at Second Stage. By and large, these expectations were met. Even though the play did not fully win me over, I can easily understand why it was selected for the Pulitzer. Its ambition and complexity are admirable. In the first act, there are alternating scenes with two different sets of characters. A pair of Puerto Rican-American cousins, Elliot (Armando Riesco), an ex-Marine who was injured in Iraq, and Yaz (Zabryna Guevara), who teaches music at Swarthmore, are dealing with the illness of a relative. When the scene shifts, we meet Chutes and Ladders (Frankie Faison), Orangutan (Sue Jean Kim) and Fountainhead (Bill Heck) who, we gradually realize, are in a chat room for crack addicts moderated by Haikumom a/k/a Odessa (Liza Colon-Zayas). Ryan Shams also appears in three small roles. The connection between the two groups is not revealed until just before intermission. During the second act, their relationships develop and shift as they confront or avoid their personal demons. Some of these relationships are less than convincing.  Davis McCallum's assured direction handles the rapid changes of scene and characters smoothly. Neil Patel's scenic design is dominated by an abstract backdrop suggesting an aerial view of a rock garden. (Is this a trend? The set for "The Great God Pan" was also a scene from nature.) This play is the second in a trilogy in which Elliot plays a central role. I am sorry not to have seen the first one, but I look forward to catching the final one before too long. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.

Dogfight ***

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The latest entry in the seemingly endless parade of movie to musical adaptations is this production now in previews at Second Stage. The source is a 1991 movie starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor that did not do well at the box office. This dogfight has nothing to do with aerial combat; it is the name of a cruel game played by a group of marines in San Francisco on the night before they ship out for Vietnam in 1963. They pool their money to throw a party at which the guy bringing the ugliest date wins the game and the cash. Their dates are obviously not in on the joke. Eddie Birdlace (Derek Klena) meets Rose (Lindsay Mendez), a waitress in a coffee shop, and invites her to the party. As they say, complications arise. The ensemble cast of 11 is uniformly strong; Josh Segarra as Boland, the lead Marine, and Annaleigh Ashford as Marcie, the prostitute, are standouts. The music and lyrics, jointly credited to Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, are mostly quite good and well-integrated into the book. The first act is tightly knit and satisfying. Alas, Peter Duchan's book loses momentum after intermission and never fully recovers. David Zinn's set design and costumes are admirable. What Christopher Gattelli, this year's "go-to" choreographer, offers is more stylized movement than dancing, but it is nonetheless effective. Joe Mantello's direction, except for the doldrums midway through act two, holds everything together well. I hope they work out the second act problems, because the show has much to offer. Among the many things that it gets right is showing the gap between Vietnam veterans' expectations for their welcome home and the one they actually received. Running time: 2 hours including intermission. Note: Most of the audience was under 35, a refreshing change from the usual.

Asuncion *

Jesse Eisenberg's comedy, now at the Cherry Lane in a Rattlestick production, is the third play by a young actor turned playwright that I have seen since June. The others were Zach Braff's "All New People" at Second Stage and Zoe Kazan's "We Live Here" at Manhattan Theatre Club. Of the three, Zach Braff was the most successful. His play was no masterpiece, but was at least a guilty pleasure. The Kazan play landed with a thud. Now along comes Eisenberg's play, which falls somewhere in between. Unlike the other two actor/playwrights, who did not appear in their plays, Eisenberg wrote the showiest role for himself. He plays Edgar, a wildly frenetic self-styled journalist, a hanger-on in an upstate college town, who never stops talking and whose capacity for self-delusion and misunderstanding is limitless. He shares the apartment of Vinny (Justin Bartha, who starred in Braff's play), his former teaching assistant in a Black Studies course, whom he worships and who treats him like his manservant. Edgar's older brother Stuart (Remy Auburgonois) makes a surprise visit from New York with his new Filipina bride Asuncion (Camille Mana) in tow and asks them to let her stay with them for the weekend without explaining why. The disequilibrium brought on by her presence drives the action. The character of Edgar is written so broadly that he is almost a cartoon character. For a few minutes, it was fun to see Eisenberg's Edgar, but it became tiresome very quickly. Bartha captures both the charm and the sinister edge to Vinny. Mana makes the best of an ill-defined role. There are some funny lines along the way, but not enough to hide the play's substantial flaws. John McDermott's set is appropriately seedy for a walk-up off-campus apartment and Jessica Pabst's costumes are fine. Kip Fagan's direction is blameless.

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes plus intermission