Directed by Beth Gasser
Reviewed by Jess Wind
Cast: Thomas Smith, Natasha Thompson
Plays again:
Friday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 26 at 2:40 p.m.
A New York Minute seeks to criticize the day planner and the life that comes with every minute planned out. Set in a comfortable apartment, the show opens with Harry going about his day. We are then dropped into a blackout where we hear the unmistakable sounds of the New York subway system grinding to a halt. Then we meet Mel, struggling with the guilt she feels over Harry’s suicide. The show first allows the audience to grieve with Mel, but that is juxtaposed with Harry’s return as a ghost. His light-hearted banter and cheeriness subverts the tone of the opening sequence. Eventually, the audience is laughing and then participating in the game-show like sequence that seeks to help Mel through her emotions. A New York Minute takes the audience through a range of emotions, all the while underscoring the idea that we should be living our lives differently. Throw out the day planner; don’t let life live you.
Memorable Lines:
“The world beyond your own reality —the game nobody wants to play.”
