Reasons to see Reason to be Pretty

I have been urging folks to go see Reasons to be Pretty since it was announced the show was moving to Broadway. I will be deeply disappointed if the play doesn’t receive a large handful of Tony nominations tomorrow morning. It may even make me boycott the entire ceremony.

It is the best new play on Broadway. On second thought, I don’t care what the Tony Awards nominations say and who wins. I don’t care what the box office grosses say, it is the best written new play on Broadway. The changes made between the off-Broadway production and the current production only sharpen the lessons to be learned and deepen the discussion that will undoubtedly occur.

From the moment the play begins you are dropped into Neil LaBute’s world mid-stream. It isn’t a very pretty world, but it is a normal, very real world. One filled with flawed people who are desperately trying to make their way through life without encountering too much unhappiness. Sound familiar? After all isn’t that what we are all really trying to do.

The cast is by far the best ensemble on Broadway – and what a surprise – not a celebrity among them.

Tom Sadowski is giving the most truthful, real and endearing performance in New York. His performance as Greg should be required study for every grad student studying acting. I remember being struck by Tom’s talent when I saw the show Off-Broadway, at that time I didn’t know his work. I wasn’t really worried that the performance wouldn’t transfer well, but you never know…delighted to say, Tom’s performance is even better in the current incarnation. His performance is flawless. You feel as if you know Greg, maybe you went to college with him or grew up on the same street as him. You want to leap on stage and pinch him when he makes a stupid mistake or comment and you want to hug him because you can see the pain his loneliness causes. Near the end of the play, after a journey of self-discovery, he makes a self-sacrificing decision that breaks your heart as much as it breaks Greg’s.

Marin Ireland and Steven Pasquale are both astounding. They are replacements from the off-Broadway company. I know both of these talented actors personally and have worked with them. I was in awe of the rawness of Marin’s Stephanie. The agony and fury of her insecurity was heart-wrenching. She took Stephanie to an entirely different level leaving me heartbroken that she and Greg couldn’t be together. Steven Pasquale who is one of the kindest and nicest actors I have ever had the honor to meet, plays Kent, one of the biggest assholes ever to be on a stage. Kent isn’t just a chauvinistic pig, he is downright emotionally abusive and manipulative to everyone else in his world. Piper Perabo has turned a part that off-Broadway was a bit two dimensional into a fully-fleshed out character that made me ache for her when she finally admits who her husband Kent really is. She rounds out this fabulous quartet.

Terry Kinney’s direction is superb and his design team did an amazing job. The production design transferred more or less intact (with a bit more automation). The lighting and sound assault the audience in perfect tempo with the narrative of the play.

I beg you go see this play. Buy your tickets here and NOW.

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