Per an announcement yesterday, the premiere production of Melissa James Gibson's new play
This Off-Broadway at
Playwrights Horizons has been extended by two weeks and will now close on January 3. The production was originally slated to star Parker Posey until she
backed out after contracting Lyme disease. One of
The L's future culture heavyweights,
Louis Cancelmi, portrays a semi-stereotypical Frenchman in the show, and though we'd like to think that our endorsement of this fine young actor played some role in the decision to extend, it probably has more to do with
Charles Isherwood's glowing review in the
Times. This (heh!) is the money quote:
Ms. Gibson graduates into the theatrical big leagues with this beautifully conceived, confidently executed and wholly accessible work, which is not just her finest to date but also the best new play to open Off Broadway this fall.
As you'll learn tomorrow, though, not everybody is into
This. One of
The L's theater critics takes the play to task in the issue that hits stands tomorrow, and basically dismisses the play as a puffy, empty-headed bit of hackneyed playwriting. Ruh-roh!
(photo credit: Joan Marcus)