Here’s the game… Phones Out. Face Up. Volume High. Every text, every email, every call must be shared aloud. That’s what a group of long-time friends gather to play on the night of the eclipse. With the cocktails flowing among grownups who refuse to grow up, outrageous secrets and skeletons begin to emerge… SHIT. MEET. FAN. Are they ready for the ensuing chaos? Are you?
The mayhem unfolds in real time in this World Premiere uproarious new satire written and directed by Tony Award nominee ROBERT O’HARA (SLAVE PLAY, MCC’S BLKS, BOOTYCANDY).
Most of what’s revealed lacks any real bite. O’Hara can be acidic; he’s not afraid to let characters get down and dirty. But while the couples here excoriate each other, they don’t go far enough, and the problems they’re hashing out don’t ignite. Only Tramell Tillman’s Logan, the lone Black man among his privileged white friends, has a grievance worth spending time on.
O’Hara doesn’t seem all that interested in these characters’ relationships. They are simply the métier to present this thesis on white privilege and toxic masculinity—two topics I am very interested. But the delivery of the material makes it hard to hear the message he’s getting at. Reading the play afterwards I think some powerful moments got totally lost on stage. O’Hara keeps throwing this high-pitched bitchy-toned chum into the water to stir up these non-stop shark fights. But the constant sharpness undercuts the real human nature at issue.
2024 | Off-Broadway |
MCC Theater World Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
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