A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx
Under the permissive direction of Garfield-Szita—who also designed the costumes—the cast comes across more as members of a sitcom than a serious drama, not helped by Morgenstein’s dependence on shtick and clichés. The actors work hard to find some emotional resonance in their dialogue, particularly Kusher, O’Brien and Roche who occasionally rise above their lines. Bell Wolff as Gladys is in a world of her own. Her voice is a colorful instrument that takes Tomato into an almost surreal place. Morgenstein does have a good feel for what drives each of his characters. A sweet scene on a fire escape between Eleanor and Sammy shows that the playwright can be subtle and incisive. [more]