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The Layover

Cult of Love

December 26, 2024

Must you love your immediate family unconditionally if you know they drive you crazy? And must you show up for family gatherings like Christmas if it always evolves into a vicious fighting match? Is love nothing more than propinquity, that is biological closeness? Leslye Headland’s "Cult of Love" produced by Second Stage at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater, a searing comedy-drama, reminds us that most American plays other than Our Town are about dysfunctional families that make various levels of accommodation to their problems. The cast led by Zachary Quinto, Mare Winningham and David Rasche are consummately believable as a family who has seen too many Christmases devolve into shouting matches. [more]

The Layover

September 6, 2016

Following "Bachelorette" and "Assistance," Leslye Headland’s latest play, The Layover, is a taut psychological thriller told in an updated film noir style. Trip Cullman, who has directed all of her New York productions, has made the play a tour de force of tension and unease. As acted by Annie Parisse, Adam Rothenberg, Amelia Workman, John Procaccino and Quincy Dunn-Baker, the tone is marvelously sustained. The only fly in the ointment is the ending which will take you entirely by surprise and may feel unmotivated. [more]