Steve NYC Reviews and Tickets

"This deliciously well-acted New Group production, which opened under Cynthia Nixon’s assured direction, portrays a group of middle-aged gay New Yorkers...'Steve' also happens to have some of the funniest dialogue in town...But the jokes and the digs always seem to emanate impromptu from clever characters, rather than from a careful and clever playwright...'Steve' earns both its laughs and its tears with uncommon honesty."
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"More dramaturgical swerves of that kind would be welcome in 'Steve,' which is mostly less surprising. It is strikingly similar, to Peter Parnell’s 'Dada Woof Papa Hot'...Generally, however, 'Steve' is jokier and that’s a mixed blessing...The play winds up relying heavily on comic charm... But there are far too many citations; they start to seem like a mask—not for the characters’ feelings but for the play’s unsteadiness in dramatizing them, especially as plot contrivances pile up."
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"Gerrard gets a little hysterical, trying every distracting trick he can think of...They are all neatly done, both in the writing and in performance; Nixon gets lovely, layered work from the cast...The play doesn’t really hang together...As solid as Nixon’s work with the actors is, her staging has a slightly awkward, throw-everything-up-there-and-see-what-sticks quality...That relentlessness, and the narrow scope of the characters’ concerns, does get claustrophobic, even at 90 minutes."
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"The saving grace, to some extent, is that Gerrard and his likeable ensemble, under Cynthia Nixon's direction, do succeed in etching the indelible bonds that are the play's real subject. That's no small feat given that 'Steve' substitutes dialogue for drama and parts for actual characters, coasting by on the writer's facility for humorous banter and clever pop-cultural references. If 'Name That Show' is your idea of a fun party game, you'll find much cause for merriment."
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"'Steve' is an inferior play. It’s an enjoyable 90 minutes, with laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s also mostly meaningless. Funny, but glib…Despite all that drama, it’s nearly impossible to become emotionally invested in any of it, because the tone remains so consistently light. It’s a musicals-loving gay teenager’s fantasy of how actual, adult gay men speak and interact. The cast is strong, but the script is so superficial, that there’s not much they can do with their characters."
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"Neither particularly compelling nor memorable in terms of its storytelling...Great ensemble cast and smooth direction. 'Steve' has flash and humor, not to mention a cabaret-style preshow where the actors gather around a piano and sing classic show tunes."
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"Witty, intelligent, and accessibly experimental...there's something queerly absurdist about this play. We recognize elements of our own lives, but everything is heightened in an almost operatic way...Midlife ennui has never been so simultaneously hilarious and dramatic...All of the performances are excellent...'Steve' is charming, heartfelt, and insightful in its own quirky way...Everything a play should be: entertaining, thematically daring, and fearlessly innovative."
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"An earnest effort that runs on its scattered charms in lieu of a plot…The only time 'Steve' seems to be awake is when the characters banter about Audra McDonald, 'Pacific Overtures,' Kristin Chenoweth and whatnot. The cast is very strong, especially in the dexterity with which McGrath and Cantone realistically play different degrees of flamboyant gay characters without slipping into stereotypes, but while the score is a classic, 'Steve' has book problems."
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"What happens when the marriage battle is won, and gays and lesbians get to deal with ordinary unhappiness. If that sounds like a depressing prospect, it isn't, at least in the case of 'Steve,' which explores such questions with considerable sparkle and hilarity...The entire cast performs expertly under the crack direction of Cynthia Nixon, who once again dazzles with the same mastery of comic timing that she demonstrated last season with 'Rasheeda Speaking.'"
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"When the comedy all but fades away, there is sincere heart to be found beneath the thick armor that's been chipped away...Nixon has coaxed impressive performances out of all of her actors, wisely playing up the personalities for which many of them are already known...everyone will find something to relate to in 'Steve,' as learning the boundaries of our imaginations is a universal experience."
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"The writing is full of offhand quips, bitchy comebacks and many, many, many quotes from musicals and plays, with Sondheim coming in as the clear winner...Directed at breakneck speed, the wry comments, clever references to the entire Sondheim oeuvre and the underlying pathos of these men who know, to quote Elaine Stritch, 'everybody dies,' registers a heartbeat late, but nevertheless, registers deeply."
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"It's exciting that we live in a time when plays about gay people don't have to deal with homophobia and AIDS and can depict the same (boring) problems as straight people, but it's hard to feel that sorry for the characters and their cushy lives and their self-inflicted problems…Even when it's difficult to feel emotionally invested, it's always entertaining to watch the members of the cast interact with each other and interpret Mark Gerrard's snappy dialogue."
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"Mark Gerrard’s smartly written, fast-paced, comedy-drama about gay couples facing life issues like domesticity, cheating, betrayal, and friendship in a rousing and raunchy peek into a world that feels a little frayed at times...Matters rise to a fever pitch, with lots of theater jokes and lines splayed throughout…Applause to Cynthia Nixon who does a fine job directing this uber-talented cast. You’ll laugh, you’ll tear up and I won’t spoil the clever bows!"
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"Gerrard's not-so-rosy picture of gay men finally being able to have it all is certainly timely. But his characters are rather stereotypical and tend to make 'Steve' come off as something of a wannabe update of 'Boys In the Band'...Though I was underwhelmed by the over-reliance on trendy technology, I found the performances excellent."
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“The ensemble cast of 'Steve' explores with remarkable distinction and dignity the vicissitudes in the lives of an extended family…Nixon successfully teases every nuance out of Mark Gerrard’s script…'Steve' is a must see and is a play one could see and appreciate more than once. Mr. Gerrard’s play raises important questions that are enduring and rich in nature and deserve to be 'answered' by everyone interested in significant and rewarding relationships."
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"Equal parts funny and sad, and so steeped in musical theater references that one could be forgiven for suspecting that the title is in part in homage to Stephen Sondheim…'Steve' doesn’t blaze new ground; it can be seen as 'Love! Valour! Compassion!: The Next Generation…' The banter is entertaining, even when it’s a tad too good to be true-to-life."
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"Where 'Steve' succeeds is in its innovative theatrical convention, which explores what we want to say versus what we really say in our lives...'Steve' is tender and brassy, and perhaps sometimes too shrill for its own good. The musical theater references can become exhausting and are reinforced by an unnecessary pre show consisting of a cast sing-a-long...It casts a thin veneer over the play, which otherwise delivers plenty of heart and humanity."
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"First, the good news...It’s funny, sweet, sentimental, likable, charming, and touching. It’s also wonderfully performed by a terrific ensemble, musically appealing, and delightfully directed by Cynthia Nixon. The bad news is that it’s clichéd, thinly and unoriginally plotted, and its characters egregiously stereotypical."
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"The play wore out its welcome long before its 90 minutes had passed…Any attempt at meaningful communication is short-circuited by turning either to show-queen bitchiness or raunch...The capable cast does their best to animate characters that aren’t well-developed…Director Cynthia Nixon plays a weak hand well."
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"Gerrard gives us what we might call a show tune approach, which is at once less realistic and more rambunctiously funny...A musical-comedy-stuffed contemporary comedy might sound as if it's going to be precious or forced, or both. Not 'Steve,' which above all is wickedly funny."
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"The dialogue, as I said, is deceptive in its depth. The performances are seamless. Cynthia Nixon‘s direction is every bit a match for Gerrard’s slight of hand. She directs our attention and our eye with the delicate touch of a brain surgeon...It is productions like this that remind you why you go to the theatre. When all the pistons are firing, it is a magic act of the First Order. Bravo all around."
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“It’s only the beginning of some very tedious playwriting...'Steve' makes a not-profound statement about communication in the age of iPhones and texting...The acting suits the sitcom situations...In 'Steve,' since the stage is already filled with gay male characters, that sidekick role has been assigned to a wisecracking lesbian dying of cancer. She doesn’t make it to the final bathetic scene. Nowadays, lesbians have the best timing."
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"Gerrard's take on the gay dads story is generally playful, with all of the characters making unabashedly campy references that wouldn't have been out of place in the uber-gay play 'Boys in the Band' and punctuating their remarks with show tunes. In fact, the cast is onstage singing when the audience enters the theater. It's as though Gerrard wants to make it clear that gay men don't have to give up all the things that were a part of their old pre-marriage culture."
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"'Steve' may be the ultimate theater-geek’s tragicomedy. It is written by gifted New York newcomer Mark Gerrard, with an outstanding cast directed with enormous joy, verbal virtuosity and emotional understanding...Buoyant and sad, stylized and real, this is a find."
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"Mark Gerrard’s campy and thoughtful new comedy...The play’s plot points are not quite highly original, nor do they yield many surprises— then again, neither does life much of the time...Gerrard excels at capturing intimacy among friends: the jokes, slights, shared histories, and secret languages…Under the direction of Cynthia Nixon the banter proceeds at a steady clip and the tenderness and frustrations of kinship are deeply felt."
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"The rickety 'Steve' feels stale, a 'gay play' from another era…Minimal attention seems to have been given to plot and structure, leaving the director, actress Cynthia Nixon, pretty much adrift…The actors in 'Steve' are appealing and they work hard. If only what they'd been given to say and do were more interesting."
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"'Steve' contains entertaining if generally predictable situations… An accomplished cast plows through snappy, sitcom-like dialogue and familiar scenes, creating characters we may like but don't necessarily believe in…Despite the feeling that we've seen a lot of this before, there are plenty of laughs in 'Steve' along with a few genuinely poignant moments."
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"Don’t let the lightness of show tunes lull you into thinking this will be a happy-go-lucky show — there are moments of intense anger, fragility, and tenderness...The number of laugh-out-loud moments are too numerous to count. This show was such a surprise delight that I immediately called a good friend upon leaving the theater to tell him he just HAD to see it before it closed. I am so grateful I took a chance on this one."
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"Director Cynthia Nixon draws charming performances from an adroitly cast ensemble...When it’s cooking, the script delivers a potent cocktail of devastating wit and rueful reflection on the ravages of time. Structurally, though, it feels a bit lopsided...In its current draft, 'Steve' is certainly worthwhile: an evening spent in good company. With a bit of revision, it could be much more."
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"Nixon artfully mixes the tragic with the comedy. She sensitively stages a tender and humorous seaside scene with McGrath clutching the urn with his friend’s ashes, as he works to rekindle his failed relationship, while others are hooking up in the woods...For anyone who treasures their friendships, especially with the passage of time, 'Steve' explores, with raw honesty and spiffy dialogue, the value of having a history with people who ultimately have your back, yet hold nothing back."
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"For while the play itself enjoyably glides along with chuckles aplenty, even with the fairly obvious musical theatre references, it never quite reaches the gleeful heights of genuine laugh-out-loud-humor. Similarly Carrie’s cancer and the schisms in Steven and Stephen’s relationship are handled with a levity that goes little beyond the surface. What’s left are some occasionally clever jokes and some light food for thought with hints of poignancy. "
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