What: A new two-hander from Matthew Freeman about a meeting between a fundraiser for the ACLU and a wealthy donor who has been reconsidering her contributions based on what she perceives as shifting priorities incompatible with the organization's core mission.
And? The main crux here is the generational (and ultimately cultural) divide between a Boomer liberal and a Gen Z leftie, both believing passionately in the mission of the organization but at odds for the priorities of advocacy within that. And it's not that it's an uninteresting topic--the question of past fights won or lost weighed against current battles still in the trenches is one worth exploring. But it's not explored in the most interesting manner here. There's not a tremendous amount of insight offered for the full lives of either character outside the broad sketches of their demographic. There's tension in how fundraiser Tanner has to shape their responses to donor Greta, cognizant the entire time that hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the line for how this conversation concludes. But it's not really enough when I'm not invested in the characters, and neither side of the argument is going to effectively win over an audience member on the other side of the debate. There's some empathy to be gained, in understanding how each character believes what they believe (and very fine performances from Marilu Henner and especially Shannon Purser), but it's not enough and ultimately just feels like I'm reading a well-structured (and respectful) comments section.
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| Marilu Henner as Greta and Shannon Purser as Tanner. Photo by Joan Marcus. |
10/21/26: Bitcoin Bad Boy
What: As part of Chain Theatre's Factory Series, Inferno presents Ben Schiller's sequel to the 2024 Happenstance. Newly released crypto-coder Charlie must decide between embracing the more lucrative and corrupt side of cryptocurrency or insist on transparency and freedom.
And? full review here
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| Foreground: Gianna Hoffman as Sallie. Background: Jack Orrico as Dan and Gloria Sangirardi Jung as Barbara. Photo courtesy of the production. |
10/22/26: Fish
What: Melis Aker's play about a teenage girl who, trying to bypass her mother's efforts to see if her brother was recruited into a terrorist organization, begins catfishing ISIS members into sending her money.
And? The unfolding narrative is interesting, even if the performances are, by and large, not subtle (and the accent work unfortunately inconsistent). Emma Finckel's scenic design, the shiny tile panels of a swimming pool that turn strikingly modular depending on scene location, is excellent, simple, and smart.
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| Yasmin Ranz-Lind as Karya. Photo by Joan Marcus. |
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