"The combined wit and non-wisdom of these fallible (i.e. human) beings offers a fascinating reflection on those shaky internal compasses we call moral instincts. As to the ethical quandaries and quagmires in which these people are mired, they feel even more pointedly and sadly relevant than they did when 'Lobby Hero' was first performed...The performances here all so grounded that you never doubt their characters’ authenticity or sincerity."
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"Uses Cera’s ineffectual persona to deft comic effect, even as it smartly explores weighty questions of spinelessness and courage...The social issues that 'Lobby Hero' touches on—sexual harrassment, racial bias in the justice system, the blue wall of silence—are as topical now as when it premiered, but the play's lens is rigorously trained on the personal."
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"A substantial and mostly satisfying revival...The soul of this production belongs to Jeff’s self-help-peddling African-American 'captain' and would-be mentor, William, infused by Brian Tyree Henry with a rawness and flow that completely re-centers the morality play...The play seems to have spent the last seventeen years waiting for the right cast, and this time it gets halfway there...Lonergan writes with warmth, wit and spontaneity, but 'Lobby Hero' is one of his more schematic pieces."
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"The true star of the show is Mr. Henry, who is calm, solid and touchingly troubled...Mr. Evans is almost as good as the crooked cop, but Mr. Cera is a bit too easily jokey, while Ms. Powley’s broad-brush performance steers near the shoals of caricature...Mr. Lonergan’s play is more than sufficiently well wrought to withstand a moderate amount of miscalculation, whether directorial or otherwise, and Messrs. Henry and Evans are so fine that the flaws hardly matter."
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"No gimmick event, its no-weak-link casting anything but a stunt – strong enough, in fact, to merit serious Tony consideration. A fine and funny drama when it debuted Off Broadway in 2001, the play hasn’t so much aged as grown into itself and the world around it...'Lobby Hero' is mostly talk, and there are passages when plotting demands far too much from conversation, even conversation as clever as the stuff Lonergan concocts...Evans is the revelation here."
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"Evans’s deft performance is one of the pluses of this fine-tuned show...Lonergan specializes in flawed sad sacks and self-sabotagers. He has an all-too-rare gift of perfect pitch when it comes to dialogue. The cast, guided by director Trip Cullman, make the most of the script and skillfully navigate the play’s plot and tonal twists...Cera never pushes for a laugh, they just roll out, like waves. His presence makes the play funnier, sadder and sweeter. He is the show’s MVP — if not its hero."
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"The play looks both kindly and critically upon the kind of characters Lonergan loves to write: working-class stiffs, generally decent people who are unexpectedly challenged by issues of ethics...Helmer Trip Cullman does his best work with small, tight ensembles like this one, so there’s no slack in the emotional tension and no escape from the sticky web that even nice people get tangled up in when they tell lies – especially the lies they tell themselves."
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"'Lobby Hero' is a textured consideration of more or less honest characters dealing with sticky moral questions, its dramatic pulse and its needling humor underscored by a rich vein of melancholy...A very fine production — with strong casting, sensitive direction from Trip Cullman and dynamic physical design by David Rockwell...What makes 'Lobby Hero' so engrossing is that nobody is entirely right or wrong and the moral questions at stake are never simply black or white."
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