Job The Play by Max Wolf Friedlich Starring Peter Friedman & Sydney Lemmon Directed by Michael Herwitz Connelly Theater February 5, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Have you ever seen a play and then wanted to tell a friend about it – – – but you just had to bite your tongue to prevent talking about the totally unexpected, yet perfectly prepared for ending. This play was so damn good but the end was the very best part. BUT you knew that if you told them the end, then the whole thing was ruined. That’s the way I feel about seeing Job. The play was terrific, but damn, if I am not tempted to tell you how the whole thing ended . . .
Wounded by Jiggs Burgess Directed by Del Shores P3 Theatre Company February 4, 2024 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
Wounded is one of the rare productions at a Fringe Festival that is a traditional play with a protagonist and a forward moving plot. The story revolves around a “wounded” man, Carrol, who over-compensates with everything (food, affectation, gossip, babble, etc.) to make up for feeling like a nobody. Soon to enter is his high school classmate, Robert, equally “wounded” now an addict, living with the parents – – in his fifties unable to get started in life. The play focuses on how an unhealed past simply feasters and feasters until it damages everything its path.
Jonah written by Rachel Bonds Directed by Danya Taymor Roundabout Theatre Company/Laura Pels Theatre February 2, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Jonah is a quiet, frightening play that covers familiar territory for contemporary theatre with a new and rather fresh approach. Jonah tells the story of Ana who is leading multiple story lines on stage. In one story line, she is a college student that is striking up a beautifully innocent and simple relationship with Jonah – a relationship almost too simple and beautiful to believe that it is actually true. Then 30 minutes into the play we are introduced into another world for Ana in which she is the stepchild of a highly abusive stepdad that regularly and increasingly terrorizes her step- brother. These scenes get more and more brutal until incest and suicide raise their ugly heads.
Russian Troll Farm by Sarah Gancher Directed by Darko Tresnjak Vineyard Theatre February 1, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Russian Troll Farm was an amazing night in the theatre. It far exceeded any expectations I had as I took my seat. Based on an actual Internet Research Agency in Russia – – we follow professional internet trolls working for days at a time to influence American popular opinion, creating the illusion of consensus—or conflict. There are floors for Twitter, for Facebook, memes, fake news, and comments sections. Mis-information is big business indeed! The play focuses specifically on months leading up to the election of Donald Trump and the defeat of Hilary Clinton. Russian Troll Farm imagines the daily lives of these trolls/workers as they invent characters, stage conflicts, and create conspiracies. What happens to your grasp on the truth when your whole job is lying? How does your identity shift when you impersonate Americans for a living?
I would like to offer my list of the TOP TEN BEST PLAYS and the TOP THREE WORST PLAYS that I saw in 2023. This year I was able to take in 27 plays – and I assure you that my list is totally unlike ANY of the various people that review NYC theatre. Please click on the title of the following plays to read the full review:
