All the Ways To Say I Love You

I caught this tonight and while I adore any chance to see Judith Light onstage, I was mostly disappointed. The play just has very little substance at all. The show ran 1 hour and 8 minutes, and honestly felt long.

Essentially it's a school teacher grappling with an affair. It's a very conversational piece that feels like someone might be telling her friend. The staging is very basic with a very small set in the center of he stage that does not change. There's a few lighting changes, but that is it. Unfortunately, neither the play nor the direction can really elevate this. Judith Light has a few nice moments and its a credit to her wonderful acting skills when I felt this worked, but in the end I was left able to predict every moment and just wondering when it would end. Overall, the $30 tickets are nice, but I can't say I'd recommend this unless you absolutely have to see every play that Light is in. Even then I'd say catch her extraordinary work on Transparent instead.

Was not at all looking forward to the schlep over to the Lortel — for a 55-minute monologue, no less — but am glad I did. As a big fan of Alan Bennett's masterful TALKING HEADS monologues, I'm fully on board with the format, and the Bennett-esque confessional Neil LaBute crafts for his character — crisply and movingly delivered by Judith Light — hits a strong dramatic mark despite the material's simplicity. I can't say I understand why LaBute chose this small story to tell, in this format (the Bennett monologues usually play in pairs or trios — part of a set of portraits), but I found it both engaging and satisfying.

Updated On: 9/9/16 at 11:01 PM

After Eight said: "A trying bore, despite Judith Light's best efforts to inject some life into it. Much chaff, little wheat. I agree entirely with Dave's assessment."

And what was your favorite LaBute show? The one that keeps you lining up for more again and again?

Oh too bad. I was thinking about getting tix. Can you do spoiler text on this forum? Is it dark/edgy? Just curious. I usually like Neil Labute. Probably won't see it. There are too many shows I want to see, so I don't want to spend the money if it's not that great. So I'd love if someone spoiled it for me if you can put it in spoiler text-don't want to spoil for anyone else.