Posted: 4/15/26 at 10:39pm
Caught this this afternoon and aside from at least one phone going off in every single scene, I overall quite enjoyed it.
The production is truly nothing special. Kail brings out no new colors, he has no take on the material, it is competently staged, the transitions are nice but don't amount to much. I think he was a poor match for the material (and probably most material, he's not much of a director, is he?) particularly given the cast. It would have been nice to see a director of color come at this material and perhaps find ways to make it say something about mental health/academics in communities of color.
But the performances are largely the reason this works.
I found Ayo to be quite good, she is still a bit inexperienced onstage and there are times she can pull back and the impact would probably be greater. But I found her compelling and she was able to balance the humor with the darkness inherent in the role. Her scenes with Kara Young are where the play really soars. I don't know if I sensed much sexual chemistry between her and Jin Ha, but their scenes together were well done as well.
Kara Young is a great actress and delivers a great performance. And yet, I think she was actually rather miscast. She has such an earthy, grounded energy to her that I don't know if I entirely bought her as the uptight, well-to-do sister. She acquits herself well because she knows how to find her way into the material, but at times I felt like I was watching 2 Catherines onstage vs. a Catherine and a Claire.
Jin Ha was a charming and adorable, very likable. His performance can lean a bit "theatre-y" at times, but in a way I found overall worked.
Cheadle was good, but perhaps not great. I think there was a gravitas or intensity that was lacking. I longed to see glimpses of this mad genius, someone who perhaps lashed out or pushed his daughter in harsher ways. But Cheadle seemed intent on playing him as likable through and through. A valid read, but I wanted a few more layers to it.
Overall, it's a treat to see this play onstage, though I wish the production matched the work of the performers. Would love to see Edebiri continue doing theatre every once in a while.
