A Small Fire 2011

The old showbiz adage about always leavin' 'em wanting more isn't always the best advice, as exemplified Adam Bock's fascinating, understated and, in the end, frustratingly incomplete, A Small Fire.  In his usual fashion, especially when teamed up, as he is here, with director Tripp Cullman, Bock takes us on an engrossing journey just beyond the outer edges of reality.  There is some extraordinary scene work, both in his writing and in the collaborative efforts of the director and his two superlative leads, Michele Pawk and Reed Birney.  But while the 80-minute production satisfies in so many ways, the text also leaves out too many delicious details.

On January 6, Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) presented the World Premiere of A SMALL FIRE, a new play by Obie Award winner Adam Bock (The Drunken City at PH, The Receptionist, The Thugs, Swimming in the Shallows). Directed by Trip Cullman (Adam Bock's The Drunken City at PH and Swimming in the Shallows, plus Bachelorette, Some Men, The Last Sunday in June, the recent Edgewise, Adam Rapp's upcoming The Hallway Trilogy) the limited engagement will play through Sunday, January 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).