Review Roundup: JEROME Opens at Playwrights Horizons

Jerome opens tonight at Playwrights Horizons' The Judith O. Rubin Theater. Written by John J. Caswell Jr. and directed by Dustin Wills, Jerome will play from May 14 through June 21, 2026. Read the reviews!

Jerome, a ghost town in the secluded Arizona backcountry, is home to Con and Doane, an aging gay couple who’ve built a quiet life far from the chaos of cities and other people—until a stranger arrives, fleeing his damaged past, and falls into their arms. Set at the height of the AIDS epidemic, John J. Caswell, Jr.’s new play is a story of survival, even in the harshest of deserts.

Stephen Spinella (Broadway and Playwrights: James Joyce's The Dead; Broadway: Spring Awakening, Our Town), who won two Tony Awards for originating the role of Prior Walter in Angels in America, plays Con. Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Broadway: The Skin of Our Teeth; Off-Broadway: Prince Faggot, Hamlet) plays Doane. Ken Barnett (Broadway: Wonderful Town; Off-Broadway: Novenas for a Lost Hospital; TV: Mozart in the Jungle) plays Bruin.

The creative team is Dustin Wills (Scenic Design), Rodrigo Muñoz (Costume Design), Barbara Samuels (Lighting Design), Leah Gelpe (Sound Design), Matt Carlin (Props), Kasson Marroquin (Production Stage Manager), Tyler Crow (Assistant Stage Manager), and Alldaffer & Donadio Casting (Casting).

Kyle Turner, New York Theatre Guide: There’s a nostalgia evident in the show and in the cast’s performances, and as their relationship and health drama unfolds, it borders on honorific. Yet the tactility of these characters’ lives struggles to materialize despite solid performances and a fine text.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: Impressive stagecraft can’t make up for an unconvincing story or characters who seem unlikely to be friends, let alone passionate lovers. It doesn’t help that Barnett appears to be decades younger than the fiftysomething we eventually learn that he is — but we never really buy that he’s chosen this couple as anything but a way station as he hides out from the fraught life he left behind in the Bay Area.

Jerry Portwood, 1 Minute Critic: Director-scenic designer Dustin Wills’ production delivers a jaw-dropping effect at the end of Act I as Bruin’s past implodes. Act II pushes the magical realism further, expanding on a rich tradition of using the supernatural to express the unspeakable trauma of the AIDS crisis. In this way, Spinella’s presence is a profound, full-circle moment for American queer theater. His latest role bridges the historical trauma of the epidemic (he originated the roles in Broadway’s Angels in America and the film adaptation of Love! Valour! Compassion!) with contemporary storytelling.

Average Rating: 56.7%