Appropriate
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
2nd Stage Theatre at Helen Hayes Theater
February 15, 2024
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

Appropriate was a very difficult play to sit through- particularly the first act.  I cannot remember the last play that I have seen in which there was so much yelling and non-stop, unrelenting anger.  From the first moment to the Act 1 curtain, every single character was raging about something.  And the problem when everything is yelled out – nothing is angry – and where do you go from there.  We, the audience, take yelling as the norm so when you really DO want to yell or highlight and attack we don’t even notice it – you have already used that ammunition.  Granted, Sara Paulson is a truly gifted actress and a powerhouse on stage.  She has a charisma on stage that is very rare – but even she became a leader in the anger campaign and spent Act 1, and, unfortunately, most of Act 2 angry and yelling away.