As you have read, lately I've been grappling with why plays are revived and when. So going into Lobby Hero , the Kenneth Lonergan play receiving a revival at the brand new Helen Hayes Theater (now owned and operated by Second Stage), I couldn't help but ask, "why?" Why revive this now, seventeen years after it ran at Playwrights Horizons? Why did Second Stage make it its maiden voyage on Broadway? Why did it attract stars like Michael Cera and Chris Evans? I'm still not really sure of the answers to those questions. Theater is a living, breathing organism. And the beauty of it is that plays and musicals can be revived over and over again, hopefully with new insight. No two productions will (or should) be alike. So I guess judging by that there's always a reason to revive a play, right? I honestly could've lived forever without seeing Lobby Hero on Broadway, or stage, ever again. It's a fine play that doesn't quite succeed as either a slice of l...
Theater reviews and commentary by Alyssa Maher.