Going back to OP's original statement - I think that he may feel this way because City of Conversation is SOOOO far and ahead of nearly anything else playing right now. When it ended on Saturday night, the person sitting to my left said, "Now, THATS theater!" And I was shocked at how much better it was and how much more engrossed I was throughout the performance than anything else I've seen lately. I'd say its the best thing I've seen this season with Cabaret a close second (and I've seen pretty much everything except Bridges, Beautiful and Hedwig).