The Minutes
Written by Tracy Letts
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Cort Theatre
March 11, 2020
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5

All of the advertising says that you are going to get a big surprise and twist at the end of this production – and granted you do, and, obviously, I am not going to spill the beans here.  The problem I have with this big moment is that it was rather predictable 40 minutes into the show.  You weren’t able to predict how visual this surprise was going to be – but you knew how the tables were going to get changed and the absent councilman was going to figure into the mix.

Apart from the “surprise” it is a solid show.  The wheelings and dealings of a small city council and its petty intrigues and truly wacky characters fills the 90 minutes nicely.  Austin Pendleton, truly provided for me some of the riches laughs of this entire trip to NYC for Spring Break.  His timing and off-track comments really hit perfectly.

I enjoyed the rather non-PC approach of this play as they discuss what others would consider sensitive issues in an unapologetically honest tone.  It got some good gasps from this mighty liberal audience.

The take aways I got from this play are two-fold:  1.  Don’t overhype the end of your show or it is bound to dissapoint, and 2. Please look over the history of that man-on-the-horse-statue that so many small towns feature.  His story might be “of a concern.”