Don't You F**king Say a Word

"Though the play attempts to dissect the relationship between two men in an interesting way, Bragen's writing ultimately lacks depth and doesn't end up saying very much after all. Acting choices, pacing and thematics are all appropriate thanks to Lee Sunday Evans' seamless direction, but it's the script itself which is the production's biggest hurdle." Full Review

"A fun, if a little unfocused, look at 21st century friendships…The whiplash involved in trying to follow the story could have been mitigated through different staging choices…Perhaps Bragen hoped the action would feel something like the tennis ball, volleying back and forth, but it didn’t work as a storytelling tool…The show ultimately lacks a climax…Still, 'DYFSAW' offers a fun evening and manages to raise questions in an interesting way without trying to serve up all the answers." Full Review

"The best thing about Bragen's new play is that it lets us spend some time with Jennifer Lim and Jeanine Serralles...This isn't much material for a play, but the two ladies help keep one's attention focused...When the big incident finally happens...it hardly seems to justify the lengthy buildup. Somewhere along the line, you start to notice that the play's format isn't hilarious enough for full-on satire...Still, under the solid direction of Evans, Lim and Serralles keep things watchable." Full Review

"Tautly directed by Lee Sunday Evans, and featuring an excellent cast, the play examines in minute detail the relationship between Brian and Russ...It’s quite flattering to Brian and Russ — and rather unlikely — that Leslie and Kate, who have lives of their own, would be so fascinated by these events...The play suggests that the tennis court is where the true self is revealed, but Mr. Bragen doesn’t go deep enough to accomplish that, or to make us feel invested in the question." Full Review

"The play's about the rivalry between the two men, but that's easily dispensed with...How to fill the rest of the show's eighty minutes? This vacuum is the play's main trouble...Though the play doesn't go particularly deep, it does offer us this adorable actors' doubles match as recompense...This is a play best enjoyed as an experts' warm-up. The cast boasts four very fine Off-Broadway performers, and they amplify the moments of connection within the otherwise slight piece." Full Review

"The scenes flash forward and back (which can be wearying) as the rage builds and tempers flare...The problem is that this scenario becomes all too repetitive and after a while goes nowhere...The stage is simply designed with a line down the center, replicating a tennis court, where Brian and Russ frequently pose, in still motion, executing a serve or backhand. Directed by Lee Sunday Evans, the competent ensemble gives pause to relationships of all kinds! Watch the balls fly!" Full Review

"The play unfortunately doesn’t take off until two thirds of the way through when all four characters actually sit, make eye contact and are able to communicate realistically. Only then does the relentless spewing of dialogue settle into a natural rhythm allowing the actors to drop in some meaning for the audience to care...Director Lee Sunday Evans sharply serves the first half of the play." Full Review

"Never quite recovers from a slow start, even if the interest level increases as its intermission-free 80 minutes approaches a conclusion...The action suffers from sometimes excessive foreshadowing...'Word' would have benefited from being less cerebral and more impassioned...All four actors are clearly eminently capable, so perhaps its format is what prevents the production from realizing its potential." Full Review

“'Don't You Fxxking Say a Word' adds another to the growing list of play titles potentially unprintable in family newspapers; that, I'm afraid, is about the most controversial thing about it. It's dressed up with some structurally clever tinsel, gets a briskly inventive staging from Lee Sunday Evans, and enjoys the presence of four expert actors, but what should be over in forty-five minutes takes about twice that long to bring the curtain down.” Full Review

"The narrative comes through clearly, thanks to Evans’s staging...There is nary a moment in the whole show where the heat of competition doesn’t burn palpably...The problem with the play—and it’s a big one—is that the two women never talk about anything beyond their boyfriends…While the male characters are made out to be the assholes, it’s the female ones who get it worst by not being defined at all...It’s a shame that Kate and Leslie are never allowed onto the court themselves." Full Review