Review Roundup: AND THEN THE RODEO BURNED DOWN at Ars Nova

Ars Nova's And Then The Rodeo Burned Down has officially opened Off-Broadway. The show marks the first Off-Broadway production of playwriting and performing duo Xhloe and Natasha. Directed with Tom Costello, And Then The Rodeo Burned Down continues at Ars Nova through July 2. 

The rodeo is the best place in the world. Why would anybody burn it down? Dale, a rodeo clown with a big dream (and a mischievous shadow), certainly wouldn't. After all, Dale wants to be a cowboy. So, if we're going to find out who burned the rodeo down, we'll have to finish the play. And now there's fire involved? That sounds expensive. See what the critics are saying...

Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times: The conceit starts tripping on its own feet when it devolves into rope-a-dope role-playing where you’re unsure who’s who and who wants what. And yet, and yet. … There is a genuine artistic sensibility in this show, which Xhloe and Natasha directed with Tom Costello. Every time I became a little frustrated with its tilting into whimsy, that feeling was superseded by a surreal bit of slapstick or the perfect music cue at the perfect time from the well-curated playlist, which includes the likes of “Ring of Fire” and “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise.”

Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater: One might argue that this comic routine is an oblique effort to be part of the show’s effort to comment on masculinity. But there are more direct ways, some of them non-verbal. A couple of times, Xhloe as Dale wipes his nose with his knuckle. This simple, precisely observed gesture winds up illuminating the entire macho culture of the American West.

Matthew Wexler, 1 Minute Critic: The show’s central joke—”we can’t afford to keep the lights on,” “we can’t afford a cliché,” “we can’t afford a B-plot”—turns theatrical poverty into a philosophical argument about who decides what art is worth. It’s a mindf*ck in the best possible way.

Amelia Merrill, New York Theatre Guide: The charm of the show's latter half lies in an overlapping monologue about paying your dues to be able to afford — with both your reputation and your literal wallet — the art you want to make. This screed will hit home for many in the audience, though it may feel different for the onstage duo than it did in 2022, when they were struggling to debut Rodeo at the postponed Fringe; since then, they’ve performed it at Netflix’s comedy festival in Los Angeles. In an era when clown is elbowing its way into the mainstream, Xhloe and Natasha are cartwheeling right to the front.

Average Rating: 82.5%