Underground NYC Reviews and Tickets

"This is a humorous, engaging show with very broad appeal. It brings the phenomenon of online dating to the stage...The three-person cast does a great job of bringing this clever story to life in the theater's intimate space. Their portrayals of the characters are spot-on...'Underground' is an appealing, thoughtful depiction of Internet dating. It is a play that metro-area audiences will surely enjoy."
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"All in all, it is the charming and credible performances of Mr. Jinks and Ms. Sanders, under Kate Tiernan's direction, that make the evening such an enjoyable one. Even without the offbeat events in the stalled tube, the time we've spent with them has been a smile-inducing act of eavesdropping on a pair of amiable, slightly off-kilter characters. We can only wish them well as we exit, taking heed to mind the gap!"
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“Two likeable people, James (Michael Jinks) and Claire (Bebe Sanders) meet online, have dinner in a local pub owned by Steve (Andrew McDonald) and take the Underground home. That's about it. Of course, that's only the basic, very basic, outline. What makes ‘Underground’ a quiet delight is the way van Tricht takes this trite situation and beefs it up with insightful conversation, intriguing situations that border on the fantastic and a clear empathy with her characters.”
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"Van Tricht has some compelling ideas here, but the themes and message are too underdeveloped for the audience to truly feel her vision. This play feels a bit like a first act of a two-act play, or like a play missing a final scene...Despite the play’s brevity, the three-person cast makes the most of the comedic and emotionally charged moments. The set also makes the most of the smallest of 59E59’s spaces."
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"A well-crafted play about loneliness and the evolution (or dissolution) of relationships...Both Michael Jinks playing James and Bebe Sanders as Claire are engaging and so real that it seems as if you have known them for years. Isla van Trich’s dialogue compellingly reinforces the reality and subtlety of the production...With their stellar, relaxed, totally believable performances, Michael Jinks, Bebe Sanders and Andrew McDonald all convince us what is possible."
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"It is a little hard to care about our would-be lovebirds...They smoke, they drink, they flirt awkwardly and the relationship goes nowhere fast, literally, as most of the inaction takes place on a stalled subway train...That said, both Mr. Jinks and Ms. Sanders give solid, believable performances. There is a definite chemistry between them, they are just denied the chance to combust."
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"Comedy careens off drama and realism ricochets off magical realism to spin an interesting and engaging tale...Van Tricht’s characters are believable and well-developed with characteristics and conflicts that contribute to the play’s non-linear plot...Tiernan’s direction moves the action forward perfectly and her attention to detail is remarkable. Despite the theatrical conceits and themes being somewhat commonplace, the actors bring a freshness to the discussion worth experiencing."
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“Some dating practitioners are likely to swipe left for this modest little play…Smartly acted and directed, it captures the world of lonely young urbanites dependent on their phones for the kind of romantic relationships that no longer seem to happen spontaneously. But the familiarity of it all, with its millennials speaking inarticulately articulate small talk, albeit with a few decent laughs and the condiment of magic realism to spice it up a bit, may lead to others swiping right.”
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“James and Claire are both attractive figures, especially as played by the attractive Jinks and Sanders under Kate Tiernan’s crisp direction. Because they are, onlookers will likely hope, as James does, that they’ll click for the longer term. Do they? That’s where minding the gap comes in.”
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“The talented cast was able to make up for this slightly strained script by fleshing out their stereotyped characters and transforming them into real people, with their own delicate tics and intricacies. Michael Jinks and Bebe Sanders have an engaging, watchable chemistry…'Underground' raises some interesting questions about the anonymity of city life, but falls short of developing them to maturation.”
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“Director Kate Tiernan has the action move along the space naturally. The performances are assured...Isla van Tricht's dialogue is a joy to listen to. It is delightfully comic and convincingly captures Claire and James's early relationship self–consciousness…They are suitably sketchy and have a commonness about them that is very apt for this funny story of everyday commuting folk.”
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“Wittily accurate…The actors present us with likable archetypes…The story is slightly spoilt in the last 20 minutes…It doesn’t quite make sense and a simple comedy drama about two people coming together is unnecessarily complicated by the end, as a result. 'Underground' works overall however, because it presents no easy platitudes and doesn’t descend into a rom-com fantasy. Rather it is an intelligent patchwork of good and bad moments."
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“Modest, modern and perceptive...A very well-written romance....Wheeler and Sanders demonstrate an enviable romantic chemistry…Both characters are eminently likable and believable…The only place things come a little unstuck are the more surreal segues…An eminently breezy experience, speckled with beautifully observed and played fragments of human interaction. It's got obvious heart, brains to back it up and captures that elusive, easily forgotten thrill of romance underground.”
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