Straight

"A smart, bracing production brimming with clever wisecracks, some thought-provoking observations on sexual identity and one very promising newcomer…'Straight' is by no means a balanced dialectic comparing homosexual and heterosexual love...The standout is Mr. Sullivan...He delivers the play’s ribald asides with laserlike timing." Full Review

"Director Andy Sandberg directs this competent cast to believable performances, despite his frustrating choice to stage nearly everything on the couch downstage center...It's hard to think of this as anything more than needless, low-stakes melodrama. In 2016, the off-Broadway audience deserves something far more challenging." Full Review

"If the setup sounds fustier than a '70s issue of 'Blueboy' magazine, playwrights Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola are actually attempting to explore loaded contemporary issues, such as the reductive nature of identity labels and the way some straights fetishize queerness. But these intriguing ideas come through in clunky debate-club dialogue, two-dimensional stereotypes and a surprise-free storyline that makes you yearn for some much-needed drama to come out of the closet." Full Review

"Just as Ben talks a good game when whichever of his two lovers happens to be on hand, the authors work to create a potentially juicy situation, then punts just as it is about to get good...The playwrights are pretty good at bright dialogue...Just as it looks as if the situation must break wide open, however, the authors throw in a twist that earns a gasp from the audience, but which, frustratingly, leaves far too many plot points dangling." Full Review

"Director Andy Sandberg directs with fluid, compact efficiency, keeping the show at a brisk 90 minutes that actually feels longer in a good substantial way without ever wearing out its modest welcome...Ultimately, 'Straight' feels too superficial to really deliver. It has some amusing repartee but the story they've hinted at needs a darker, more nuanced script to mine all of its possibilities…Still, it's blessed with a trio of strong actors who make the most of the material they're given." Full Review

"In a sense, ‘Straight’ is simply another cheating hearts play, with the twist being the same-sex angle. Ben must make a decision, for which we’re forced to wait patiently. Audiences will surely take sides about which partner he chooses...Much of ‘Straight’ is clichéd but Andy Sandberg’s direction keeps it moving, there's some entertaining dialogue, the actors are engaging, there’s a lot of smooching and underwear displaying, and, best of all, it’s over in an intermissionless 85 minutes." Full Review

"A few moments stretch credulity too much...Even in its current form, however, this is a creative and thought-provoking play, an unexpectedly potent spin on what many might (perhaps rightly) consider a superannuated genre. If many stigmas have been removed from our theatre and our society, 'Straight' smacks us in the head and the heart to remind us of the many that still remain—and that, just maybe, exist more in the eyes of the beholders than in the eyes of the beheld." Full Review

"The premise of 'Straight' is an engaging one...However, one longs for deeper understandings of the characters…Under Sandberg’s steady and discerning direction, Epstein and Gavigan do their best to bring believability to their characters...But it is newcomer Thomas E. Sullivan who really excels in this new play…It is worth seeing 'Straight' just to witness this young actor’s prodigious craft…The cast and creative team are to be congratulated on their work evidenced in this important new play." Full Review

"It’s directed with a lot of heart and soul by Andy Sandberg taking us on a twisted journey of emotional and sexual discovery that felt very real and true...Here I guess is where I was impressed. The standard but well-orchestrated setups were all there, none of them that surprising, but all handled in a fresh and emotionally-centered manner that brought me in and engaged me. This isn’t Shakespeare, but it’s not without merit." Full Review

"'Straight' is elegantly written and equally smartly directed by Andy Sandberg...The play works partly because of its appealing and attractive cast...We learn very little about all three other than their interest in football, beer, college, sex and career...'Straight' will either strike you as old-fashioned and dated or right up to the minute depending on your point of view. However, the engaging cast makes this worth the price of admission." Full Review

“'Bisexual' or 'Closeted' might have been a more accurate title for this dramedy. Perhaps the authors were aiming for irony by their choice...There are occasional comments that relate to the status of 20-somethings in today’s America, but the core issue of the play seems a bit dated. Andy Sandberg’s fluid direction moves the action along briskly." Full Review

"'Straight' starts off in typical sitcom/romcom mode...But the co-authors of 'Straight' have something else in mind...The answer is a little didactic...Still, under the unfussy direction of Andy Sandberg, the three-member cast does a fine job of making you feel for each member in this romantic triangle...The choice Ben finally makes caused several people at the performance I attended to cry out in dismay. A play that provokes such a visceral response deserves to be seen." Full Review

"Because of the great cast, it might be tempting to pat the show on the back and move on, but the script is already patting its own back so hard, and so constantly, that one wonders whether there is a sadomasochistic subtext somewhere in there. The play would seem fresh if we were in the year 1983, or any time before 'The Normal Heart' really, for its takes on sexuality and gender are positively medieval...The play spends most of its 90 minutes trying to fit these characters into boxes." Full Review

"Epstein, Gavigan, and Sullivan handle the controversial material with ease, and although there is no offense meant here, it is sure to polarize. The provocative work would prove more effective without the dippy musical interludes that minimize it to the level of an after-school special. Still, it accomplishes important objectives of theater, which are to create dialogue and perceive other’s lives through a lens other than our own." Full Review

"Depending on your point of view, Ben is either a free spirit who won’t be bridled by traditional, black-and-white ideas of sexuality or someone who lies to others, and possibly to himself, about his true longings...Jake Epstein, Jenna Gavigan, and Thomas E. Sullivan are game as the lusty trio and there are some well argued ideas, but the tone was too cute and then too pseudo-profound for me to 'bi' into it." Full Review

"A tender exploration of the pros and cons of being bisexual in a contemporary society that often insists you can only be one or the other...What’s wrong with 'Straight' is there’s a lot of talk about things like genetic engineering and Socrates’ bisexuality, but the talk is stiff as a Yankee spinster’s corset and not always believable...It’s sensitively written and well played by an excellent threesome (no pun intended), but 'Straight does' not entirely convince." Full Review

"The problem I had with 'Straight' is not that the scenario reminded me precisely of what my husband and I went through when we met, but that was in 1979 and the play takes place now, almost 40 years later...The writing gets a bit choppy here and there. A pivotal point of the narrative strains credulity. The script could have gone off the rails into an unintentional, millennial 'Design for Living,' but the playwrights have their hands firmly gripped on the wheel of traditional melodrama." Full Review

"A surprisingly honest play that refuses to offer simple answers to complex questions…‘Straight’ is a remarkably well acted piece of theater…’Straight’ covers this seemingly familiar ground wonderfully. It is a combination of smart writing, great sound, and fantastic acting by the ensemble. It races by in 90 minutes without feeling rushed or hurried. 'Straight' simply feels honest, and that is tough to pull off." Full Review

"Did the writers intend 'Straight' to be a comedy or a serious drama? There was a lot of forced laughter for the first few minutes but it soon subsided. Eventually, my audience wanted to take the play seriously but Ben isn't deeply enough written for a successful serious play. However, comedy needs funny lines and these are rare in 'Straight'." Full Review

"The play is smart, with some super-clever lines, and the cast is appealing. Jake Epstein gives a charged, multi-layered performance, gradually building upon emotion...Sullivan is an actor to watch...Jenna Gavigan as Emily, turns in an effective if not inspiring performance, but then, she is offered way less meaty material. The 90-minute piece is deftly directed by Andy Sandberg, who keeps the actors moving about seamlessly, and treats the intimate moments with respect." Full Review

"A compelling, affecting new play by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola...'Straight' is a little clunky in passages...The acting is a little tentative in parts...'Straight' is an important play: it reminds us that while contemporary sexuality is far less culturally rigid--or dangerous--than it was even a decade ago, coming to terms with oneself is not automatically easier or less terrifying as a result." Full Review

"With little to draw upon, Gavigan produces a warm and heartfelt performance, especially with a jaw-dropping last-ditch plot twist that could polarize skeptics...But neither Gavigan nor Epstein holds a candle to Thomas E. Sullivan now making his off-Broadway debut...Canny, cringe-worthy, and yet discerning, with a hint of shrewd mischief, this 90-minute production achieves what some of the best theater aims for, pondering the profound and without providing any straight resolutions." Full Review

"'Straight' is a first-rate comic drama about wrestling with sexuality and being torn between two worlds. Here labels, however inadequate, are a very big deal. Could it have been written 20 years ago? Sure. But in the capable hands of director Andy Sandberg and a terrific cast, the well-worn subject feels as potent and relevant as ever...This tight-as-a-drum production is well cast, with actors teasing out emotional depths from what could be cookie-cutter characters." Full Review

"'Straight' is beautifully written, brilliantly directed by Andy Sandberg, and superbly acted by the trio of Jake Epstein, Jenna Gavigan and Thomas E. Sullivan...My one criticism of this drama is that I would have preferred to see more time with the three characters on stage together...But I quibble, for the overall effect of 'Straight' is stunning in its power and nuance...New Yorkers, there is no excuse of not ordering your tickets to 'Straight'." Full Review

"'Straight' features one of the finest acting debuts of the season. Recent Tisch grad Thomas Sullivan plays Chris, the youngest member of a disoriented love triangle. The show itself is solid – a fun, smart take on modern love – and Sullivan elevates it whenever he’s onstage." Full Review