The Layover
Closed 1h 30m
The Layover
69

The Layover NYC Reviews and Tickets

69%
(144 Ratings)
Positive
56%
Mixed
33%
Negative
11%
Members say
Great acting, Disappointing, Absorbing, Great staging, Entertaining

About the Show

Second Stage Theatre presents Leslye Headland's new play about strangers connecting during an unanticipated layover.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (144)

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509 Reviews | 336 Followers
82
Great acting, Quirky, Entertaining, Dark, Absorbing

See it if You want to see a diverting and entertaining show. All of the performances were excellent.

Don't see it if You want to see a light comedic show. This is pretty is pretty serious and depressing although there are laughs along the way.

Nic
561 Reviews | 102 Followers
82
Ambitious, Involving, Indulgent, Disappointing, Disjointed

See it if you don't mind a promising, engaging play being somewhat derailed at the 11th hour by a perplexing lack of coherence between start & finish.

Don't see it if you would mind that. I don't regret seeing it, as it holds the audience's interest & is performed well. It's just frustrating on the whole.

88 Reviews | 19 Followers
81
Clever, Great acting

See it if like good acting and an intriguing plot. It certainly is engaging although the resolution leaves food for thought.

Don't see it if you are not engaged by situations which create a bit of mystery and suspense as the play progresses.

216 Reviews | 223 Followers
81
Absorbing, Entertaining, Great acting, Thought-provoking, Intense

See it if Two strangers, leading unfulfilling and dull lives, meet, one creates a fantasy life, is exposed, and they fall in love. Surprise ending.

Don't see it if are tired of the rich boy meets poor girl living their dull lives, fall in love, meet up and...... I will not spoil the ending, sorry.

777 Reviews | 249 Followers
80
Original, Profound, Challenging, Hilarious, Satirical

See it if You like dark comedy and dramatic irony. The writer pokes fun at people doing ridiculous things to take a break from their commitments.

Don't see it if You don't like satirical relationship scenes. The play rambles a bit, but is mostly witty while posing serious questions.

79 Reviews | 20 Followers
79
Absorbing, Great acting, Thought-provoking

See it if You are looking for a drama about how people relate to one another and the need to escape everyday lives

Don't see it if You want something upbeat, happy and family positive.

524 Reviews | 133 Followers
79
Absorbing thriller with lame ending

See it if Had me on the edge of my seat at times. Complicated set was effective. Sexy chemistry between Rothenberg and Parisse - her last perf, tho

Don't see it if Cliched ending spoiled the fun -- and Headland's twisty imagination. Overlapping scenes of two families mostly worked. Overall, a good play

118 Reviews | 26 Followers
78
Great acting, Entertaining, Clever

See it if You appreciate the interesting work at second stage.

Don't see it if You are really good at guessing the end of detective novels.

Critic Reviews (26)

BroadwayWorld
August 26th, 2016

"There's the thrill of meeting an attractive stranger, the hint of an erotic encounter that develops more into sexual mind games, and, most effectively of all, crackling good dialogue that keeps the characters on their toes...The first third of her 90-minute play is by far the best…If the muddy remainder of 'The Layover' never lives up to the intrigue of its setup, Cullman's slick production is swift and well-played. But alas, some one-night stands are best ended after one night."
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Lighting & Sound America
August 29th, 2016

"The darker and more twisted the action becomes, the more 'The Layover' loses interest...As suspense builds, then dissipates, 'The Layover' feels like an aimless walk on the wild side, a clinical study of psychosexual dysfunction that doesn't convince and never compels...Headland is a clever writer...But she never gives us a plausible reason for getting involved in Shellie and Dex's dangerous dance. They are at their most intriguing when we know nothing about them."
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Talkin' Broadway
August 25th, 2016

"Her blackest and probing work yet...She plumbs this scenario for all its confused morality and emotions...Cullman has rendered this with terrifying clarity, emphasizing both the passionate heat and the chilling dangers that result from the assignation and its aftermath...Rothenberg and Parisse are perfect in their roles...If this play occasionally wants to be too droningly talky for its own good, it's difficult to imagine much better questions than the ones Headland so arrestingly asks."
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TheaterScene.net
September 8th, 2016

“Leslye Headland’s latest play, ‘The Layover’, is a taut psychological thriller told in an updated film noir style. Trip Cullman, who has directed all of her New York productions, has made the play a tour de force of tension and unease. As acted by Annie Parisse, Adam Rothenberg, Amelia Workman, John Procaccino and Quincy Dunn-Baker, the tone is marvelously sustained. The only fly in the ointment is the ending which will take you entirely by surprise and may feel unmotivated.”
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CurtainUp
September 1st, 2016

"Ms. Headland has applied her knack for smart and often funny dialogue to her own twisty 'Strangers On the Train' spin-off...'Layover' becomes flat-footed once the initial interchanges predictably evolve from strangers-on-the-plane chatter into a bedroom scene. It does regain its footing at the tense beginning of the final scene, but not long enough to avoid a too contrived, unsatisfying crash landing...That said, the entire cast is outstanding."
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Theater Pizzazz
August 25th, 2016

"Thank God for chemistry. As embodied by Annie Parisse and Adam Rothenberg in 'The Layover,' it keeps Leslye Headland’s puzzling play at a more than comfortable cruising altitude...Then chemistry gives way to physics, and what goes up must come down. But does it have to come down with such a crashing thud?...For the first three scenes, writer, director, and actors shine. It’s all simple and direct. But throw a couple of more characters into the mix and watch out."
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Front Row Center
September 1st, 2016

"The first half of this play is filled with intrigue. Once Shellie and Dex turn up in their own lives, the intrigue falls flat as a pancake...The script spreads the story so wide that it is difficult to keep track of the proceedings...Ms. Headland tosses in layers of plot twists that spin out of control and take way too long to become so. We are left exhausted and orphaned. And not believing 99% of what we just saw."
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Front Mezz Junkies
August 25th, 2016

"The film noir concept has a driving force, playing with our, and their desire to believe in the fantasies of another that are concocted based on first impressions and storytelling…But sadly, Headland loses sight of where to take this, and how far to run with it. Parisse is brilliant in the last scene…But ultimately the play falters here...We are left feeling the same as Dex, disappointed and confused, wondering how all of this lead to this final mise en scene."
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