The Adding Machine

The Adding Machine
The New Group
The Theater at St. Clement’s
May 14, 2026 

Photo courtesy of The New Group

The New Group production of The Adding Machine is mesmerizing.  Playwright Thomas Bradshaw makes striking revisions to Elmer L. Rice’s landmark 1923 expressionist play.  Director Scott Elliott captures a crisp style, brisk pace, and machine-like rhythm that draws the audience in to the desperation and isolation of the characters.  The cast is riveting. 

Mr. Zero (played by Daphne Rubin-Vega) is stuck.  He has been in the same routine job and bland marriage for twenty-five years.  His wife, Mrs. Zero (played by Jennifer Tilly), expects more from him.  She nags him, but he shows her no emotion.  Mr. Zero bickers with his co-worker, Daisy (played by Sarita Choudhury), while they both fantasize about getting married if Mrs. Zero should die.  When Mr. Zero’s Boss (played by Michael Cyril Creighton) fires him and replaces him with an adding machine, Mr. Zero stabs him to death.  The action takes a sharp turn as Mr. Zero faces the afterlife. 

Jennifer Tilly & Daphne Rubin-Vega
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Jennifer Tilly opens the show with an extensive monologue to her husband while he is asleep.  It is brilliantly delivered.  Ms. Tilly is dark and funny.  She skillfully sets the tone and pace for the rest of the play.  Dahne Rubin-Vega has a grounded presence as Mr. Zero.  This character is complex and carries the most challenging sections of the story.  Ms. Rubin-Vega physically communicates clear subtext in the numerous scenes where she does not speak.  She delivers an outstanding performance.

Daphne Rubin-Vega, Michael Cyril Creighton, & Sarita Choudhury
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Michael Cyril Creighton plays numerous character roles throughout the play.  He is bold and funny.  He often acts as the narrator, glibly connecting the action from one scene to the next.  Sarita Choudhury is enigmatic as Daisy.  Her character has many layers.  Ms. Choudhury differentiates these traits, then unites them in Act II as she makes a daring decision.

The Adding Machine has been extended through May 17.  It is playing at The Theater at St. Clement’s, the new home of The New Group.  This production engages your intellect and challenges your thought process.  Get a ticket before it closes. 

Domenick Danza

Babe

 Babe
The New Group
Pershing Square Signature Center
December 14, 2024 

Photo courtesy of The New Group

The New Group production of Jessica Goldberg’s Babe delivers a powerful punch.  Director Scott Elliot gets to the heart of Ms. Goldberg’s writing.  The pace is steady.  The relationships are strong.  Set in the music industry, the audience gets a glimpse of power structure and how decisions are made.  There is a clear view of how far we’ve evolved over the past forty years, due to sensitivity training and the effort to eliminate toxic work environments.  We also get a clear sense of who pays the price.

Gus (played by Arliss Howard) and Abigail (played by Marisa Tomei) are interviewing Katherine (played by Gracie McGraw) for a position in their management office.  The walls are covered with gold records of the recording artists they represented.  Katherine is young, glib, and assertive.  Gus tells her what he and Abigail had to do back in the day to discover and develop individual artists who made a lasting impact.  At Abigail’s insistence, Katherine is offered the job, but does not rise to the challenge as easily as she anticipated.  After Gus aggressively puts her in her place, Abigail reaches out to her.  They bond over stories of Kat Wonder, a solo artist discovered by Gus.  She was a true friend to Abigail, and Katherine idolizes her.  When Katerine accuses Gus of sexual harassment, the tables turn.  Abigail’s loyalty is put to the test.  She faces the truth of the role she played as Gus’ partner.  Unfortunately, part of that becomes a liability. 

Arliss Howard & Marisa Tomei
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Marisa Tomei delivers a strong performance, physically transforming into the character of Abigail.  She shifts in age as scenes take place in the present as well as decades earlier.  In addition, the character is undergoing cancer treatment.  Ms. Tomei genuinely portrays this wide range of experiences.  It is a visceral performance.  Arliss Howard holds nothing back as Gus.  He is bold and direct.  The character’s confidence is evident in his masculine demeanor.  Gracie McGraw plays both Katherine and Kat Wonder.  She and Ms. Tomei seamlessly transition through these scenes.  They cross timelines and smoothly shift emotion.  Their physicality tells the full story, magnetizing the audience’s interest and intrigue. 

At first, this story is about making it in the music industry.  As events unfold and the past is revealed, the play becomes about power, who has it and how they hold onto it.  When accountability lands, it’s not always fair. 

Babe is playing at Pershing Square Signature Center through December 22.  The performances of this cast are worth seeing.    

Domenick Danza

The Seven Year Disappear

 The Seven Year Disappear
The New Group
Pershing Square Signature Center
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
February 24, 2024 

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Jordan Seavey’s The Seven Year Disappear is mind blowing.  The New Group production is masterfully conceived.  Director Scott Elliott found a style and pace for the play that viscerally conveys the nature of the relationship of the two main characters.  The ending delivers an unexpected satisfaction that leaves the audience in a state of amazement.

Miriam (played by Cynthia Nixon) is a performance artist.  She is managed by her son, Naphtali (played by Taylor Trensch).  He just got her a commission from MoMA.  She is thrilled, and gets to work right away.  Miriam disappears the day of the MoMA announcement.  Naphtali is in a state of panic.  He starts drinking again.  He hires an investigator.  He turns to his mother’s previous manager, Wolfgang, who has not heard from her.  Naphtali realizes the disappearance is all part of Miriam’s new piece.  He turns his back on the art world, and starts working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  Seven years later, as he is getting his life together, Miriam returns, expecting Naphtali to be part of the final phase of her seven year project. 

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Cynthia Nixon and Taylor Trensch deliver fascinating performances.  In addition to Miriam, Ms. Nixon plays numerous roles (Wolfgang and other friends and connections of Naphtali).  Her transitions are seamless.  The style in which it is written demands you listen carefully in order to find out who these characters are and how they relate to Naphtali and the disappearance of his mother.  Ms. Nixon is bold, daring, and commanding in each of these roles.  She grabs your attention, spikes your curiosity, and lures you into the journey.  

Taylor Trensch & Cynthia Nixon
Photo courtesy of The New Group

The character of Naphtali is complicated.  He is lost and searching, more for himself than for his mother.  Mr. Trensch peels back layers one by one to reveal a vulnerable core.  You are as uncertain as he is as to the reality of his situation, upbringing, and future.  At the end, it all lands in a place of knowing and a sense of calm.

Playwright Jordan Seavey has crafted a unique piece of theatre.  The scenes are out of order, causing the audience to piece the events together.  The play is carefully structured to provide details that answer the questions as they flood your mind.  This continuous reveal creates a forward moving action that keeps you fully engaged in the characters and their story. 

The Seven Year Disappear is playing at Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre through March 31.  It is mesmerizing and powerful.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

Peace for Mary Frances

Peace for Mary Frances

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

June 16, 2018

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Lily Thorne’s play, Peace for Mary Frances, chronicles the end of life journey and the toll it takes on a family.  The New Group production is sensitive and realistic.  Director Lila Neugebauer builds on the conflict in the family dynamic that is deeply embedded in Ms. Thorne’s complex characters.  Secrets are revealed and emotions collide, yet the main character finds her peace.

Mary Frances (played by Lois Smith) is nearing ninety years of age and requires oxygen and constant care, which she receives from her daughter, Fanny (played by Johanna Day).  Her other daughter, Alice (played by J. Smith-Cameron) believes that Fanny is incapable of caring for their mother.  When the doctor finds fluid in her lungs, Mary Frances, who wishes to pass peacefully in her sleep, chooses hospice care.  Alice convinces her mother to pay her living expenses so she can move in and supervise her care around the clock.  Their brother, Eddie (played by Paul Lazar), visits once a week to maintain his mother’s finances.  His sisters are angered when they find out their mother has been paying him to do this.  Adding to the stress of the situation is the presence of Alice’s two adult daughters (played by Heather Burns and Natalie Gold).  Their memories of their grandmother are loving, which differs from the angst in the relationship between Mary Frances and her daughters.  Mary Frances has visions of her dead husband, mother, and father-in-law as she makes her peace, yet she leaves behind a family in turmoil.

Lois Smith & J. Smith-Cameron
Photo courtesy of The New Group

The play has a slow and steady pace, especially in the second act.  Fueling the action is the conflict between the two sisters.  J. Smith-Cameron and Johanna Day go at each other full force in these roles.  The history of their relationship and the stress of the situation cause their emotions to flare up in an instant.  Their portrayal of this vulnerability is truthful and genuine.  Lois Smith is warm, brave, and gutsy as Mary Frances.  The way she treats her children reflects a lifetime of experiences and forgiveness, but includes, as she says, never forgetting.  She embraces her grandchildren and looks longingly into the eyes of her great grandbaby, maintaining a connection to life up to the very end.

Johanna Day, J. Smith-Cameron, & Heather Burns
Photo courtesy of The New Group

The set, designed by Dane Laffrey, is a split level masterpiece, showing the living room, kitchen, and back porch on stage right, and Mary France’s bedroom about a half a flight up on stage left.  It is constructed as if one wall of the house opened up so the audience could peer in on this family in crisis.  Lighting designer Tyler Micoleau makes brilliant use of track lighting, chandeliers, and table lamps to enhance the realism and sense of peeking in on the lives of the characters.

Lily Thorne’s play successfully reveals the stark truths of facing the end of life, its stress, fears, and deeply embedded emotion.  Peace for Mary Frances closed on June 17. 

Domenick Danza

Evening at the Talk House

Evening at the Talk House

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

February 4, 2017

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Evening at the Talk House, by Wallace Shawn, is a haunting and disturbing theatrical encounter.  The New Group production, under the direction of Scott Elliott, engages the audience with a visceral and thought provoking experience.  The play starts off as an easy going reunion of old theatre buddies and gradually turns into a truthful revelation of the darker side of human survival.  What at first seems like a funny retelling of events quickly becomes honest confessions of the reality of these characters’ existence.

The play opens with an extended monologue by Robert (played by Matthew Broderick).  He tells of how he was recently contacted by Ted (played by John Epperson), who wrote the music for his play Midnight in a Clearing with Moon and Starts ten years earlier.  Ted and Robert plan a reunion of those involved in the original production at their old hang out, The Talk House.  While reminiscing, they welcome on uninvited guest, Dick (played by the playwright Wallace Shawn).  He is an old acquaintance of all involved, and an occasional boarder at The Talk House.  Dick was recently brutally beaten by a group of strangers.  Disturbing connections are uncovered as two guests confess they have been earning extra money “targeting,” which is when they quietly plan the murders of people who are out to “cause harm.”

The cast of The Talk House
photo courtesy of The New Group

The stellar cast is an amazingly strong ensemble.  Matthew Broderick, Jill Eikenberry, John Epperson, Larry Pine, Wallace Shawn, Claudia Shear, Annapurna Sriram, and Michael Tucker work tightly to create an open and welcoming environment with deep, hidden truths.  They mingle with the audience before the show begins, setting them up for a relaxing, nonchalant experience that abruptly transforms.  One of the most subtle and powerful effects is that the actors do not seem to be wearing microphones.  The air has a quiet calm that proficiently shifts from placid to eerie as the play evolves.

Playwright Wallace Shawn

Scott Elliot has directed this production with gradual shifts in mood and tone that, when juxtaposed against the jarring revelations in Mr. Shawn’s script, create effective discomfort and an element of disbelief.  As the story progresses and additional facts are revealed about mysterious and sudden deaths of people the characters know, you question how such realities can be occurring in this comfortable and warm environment.  You become more disturbed as you realize these are the truths of the world of the play, and you have been an intimate part of it.

Evening at the Talk House is playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center through March 12.

Domenick Danza

Steve

Steve

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

November 7, 2015

Photo courtesy of The New Group

The New Group’s production of  Steve, the new play by Mark Gerrard, is now running at The Pershing Square Signature Center.  The play is a witty and honest look at the transformation of values of a group of friends as they move past middle age and into the next phase of their lives with a renewed sense of themselves.

Steven, Carrie, and Matt have been best friends since they were singing waiters and aspiring Broadway performer in their youth.  At Steven’s forty-seventh birthday dinner, he discovers that Stephen, his partner of fifteen years, has been sexting Brian, Matt’s boyfriend.  Facing the truth of his betrayal is difficult since Stephen and Steven have an eight year old son to think about, and are grappling with Carrie’s battle with cancer.  All the characters are forced to face the reality of growing older while they hold onto their idealistic and carefree musical theatre piano bar youth. 

The cast of Steve
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Under the direction of Cynthia Nixon, the cast is a strong ensemble.  She has given the actors the creative space to develop true and honest relationships. Matt McGrath, as Steven, unearths the fears that come when you realize life is not turning out as planned.  Malcolm Gets, as his partner Stephen, realistically portrays how certainty can turns into insecurity in a mere moment.  Ashlie Atkinson, as Carries, is biting, funny, cold and heartwarming… all at the same time.  Mario Cantone, as Matt, and Jerry Dixon, as Brian, have high energy and great chemistry which keep the action building.  The bond of friendships between the five characters is viscerally understood through their timing.  It is impeccable, warm, and comfortable.

Playwright Mark Gerrard and Director Cynthia Nixon
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Playwright Mark Gerrard has created five real characters that are facing their present challenges and fears and asking questions about their futures.  His musical theatre quotes and snarky pokes not only serve as comic relief, but more importantly, are reminiscent, tender, and caring moments between good friends.  The play is structured with musical theatre songs that emotionally and physically transition scenes as well as effectively frame the action.  These are the details that illustrate Mr. Gerrard’s extreme skill and unique style.  It is great writing!

If you spent your younger days in a piano bar dreaming of being a chorus boy on Broadway and hoping to meet the love of your life, go see this show.  If you are facing the reality of turning fifty, which may include some level of disappointment in your achievements, go see this show.  No matter who you are, go see this show!  It will remind you to keep your sense of humor while moving through the uncertainties of life.

  

Domenick Danza

The Spoils

The Spoils

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

May 31, 2015

Photo courtesy of The New Group

When I saw the listing on TDF for The Spoils, written by and starring Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and co-starring Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory), I knew I had to see it.  The play far exceeds any expectations that the advertised names create.  The script is intriguing and challenging.  The characters are full, real and complex.  The relationships are genuine, compelling and relatable.  The world of this play rings true on a personal level as well as holds strong relevance on a broader scale.  

In the opening scene, Kalyan (Kunal Nayyar) asks his girlfriend, Reshma (Annapurna Sriram) if she thinks it is better to tell someone a truth that will hurt their feelings and possibly destroy what they have that is going smoothly in their life, or leave well enough alone by withholding information.  As a playwright, Jesse Eisenberg explores this concept when the main character, Ben, who he portrays, does just that to the people to whom he is closely connected.  The term “closely connected” refers to Ben’s roommate Kalyan, his girlfriend Reshma, Ben’s grade school crush Sarah (Erin Darke), and her fiancé Ted (Michael Zegen).  Since Ben has managed to alienate himself from all social, professional, and creative contacts (he considers himself a filmmaker), these four characters are not necessarily defined by this term within his isolated existence.   It gets ugly and uncomfortable when Ben starts revealing some “truths” he has kept to himself.  What exactly is the truth and what purpose does it serve anyway? 

Jesse Eisenberg and Kunal Nayyar in The Spoils
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Scott Elliot’s directing is superb.  The two and a half hour play is tight and controlled.  Each of the five cast members is excellent.  They create authentic and realistic relationships based on genuine emotion, whether it’s compassion, generosity, jealousy, love, lust, loathing, or any strange and complex combination.  The depths of the characters are revealed throughout the play, but not fully exposed until the last moments.  Thank you Jesse Eisenberg for this prolific, unpredictable, and riveting journey of a play.

Michael Zegen, Jesse Eisenberg and Erin Darke in The Spoils
Phots courtesy of The New Group

On a personal note:  In the second act, Kalyan tells Ben about a job interview he went on which was unpleasant and humiliating.  His possible future employer berated his comments so that he felt like everything he said was the wrong answer.  Kalyan’s qualifications, education, and intelligence are clearly built up throughout the play.  The integrity of his interviewer is clearly questionable in the way he tells the story.  I had a similar experience last week.  Kalyan only had Ben to turn to, who filled up his head with “truths” that magnified the point of view of his interviewer.  Ben then continues to tear down Kalyan and illustrates how he created the alienated situation he thrives on.  I, on the other hand, was lucky enough to immediately call my friend Julia who gave me a more positive perspective.  A few questions come to mind:  Which “truth” is real?  Is it the one that serves you and keeps you moving forward with verve and self-confidence?  Or, is it the one that the person in power holds over you?  This brings up the basis of Ben and Kalyan’s relationship.  Ben kicks Kalyan when he is down in order to lift himself up.  Which “truth” is best for Ben and Kalyan to face? Will “truths” that Kalyan holds back from Ben affect him as deeply as the ones Ben reveals to Kalyan?  Does the question Kalyan asks in the opening of the play have a different answer based on the circumstances?  

Go see The New Group’s production of Jesse Eisenberg’s The Spoils at The Pershing Square Signature Center.  It runs through June 28.  The truth is… you’re gonna love it! 

 

 Domenick Danza