Review: THE WORLD TO COME at Woolly Mammoth

The World to Come, a world-premiere co-production by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Theater J, delivers powerful, honest performances and an intriguing story in an extraordinary, deeply touching production that shouldn’t be missed.

Inside the SeaBreeze Hebrew Home for the Aging, with its mid-century modern furniture and avocado-tinted walls, life persists in ordinary rituals. Fanny, Barbara, Ruth, and Hal bicker over games, knit and craft, nurse grudges and remain bound through the large and small things life doles out. But outside, something unnamed urgently presses closer. Nurses appear and disappear with increasing layers of personal protective equipment. Strange prophecies surface. Even an unrelenting raven and wild ostrich make appearances.

Ali Viterbi’s powerful new play is both dystopian and spiritual. It is of trial and transformation. The apocalypse becomes intimate. The unraveling of the world unfolds not in fire and brimstone but in a placid community room with groovy furniture, a pink crocheted afghan, photos on the piano and friends who refuse to stop loving one another.

Director Howard Shalwitz, Woolly Mammoth’s artistic director emeritus, has assembled a powerhouse cast, many of whom have shared D.C. stages for decades. These are artists at the height of their craft. Shalwitz draws out honesty, vulnerability and bravery, shaping a production that feels both intimate and epic. He trusts his strong ensemble and polished text to reveal the depth, context and emotional stakes (with a little bit of wacky thrown in for fun – it is, after all, on Woolly’s stage). The play reminds us that friendship can be shelter, humor can be rebellion, and presence itself can be a kind of salvation.

The group calls itself the “Supper Club,” monopolizing SeaBreeze’s communal room to the irritation of others. Ruth (Claudia J. Arenas), the newest member, is vivacious and curious. She draws the others out. Ruth, the widow of a rabbi, has vast knowledge of the Torah, and she wistfully agrees when the others say perhaps it was she who should have been a rabbi.

It is no surprise Ruth caught the eye of curmudgeonly Hal (Michael Russotto), who first suggested she join the club. In time, Hal and Ruth form a stronger bond, and it is a delight to watch the relationship grow and give light and life to the two amid the darkening political times. Russotto is a bold and brave actor who peels away Hal’s gruff exterior to expose the vulnerabilities of aging and the giddiness of new love.

Fanny (Naomi Jacobson) is fierce and forceful, stubborn and bossy – a blunt Holocaust survivor whose resilience anchors the group. Jacobson’s performance is riveting, her toughness masking a deep compassion.

Barbara (portrayed by the assured Brigid Cleary) speaks with delight about her husband Jerry and her young grandkids, eagerly anticipating a visit. We soon learn there are no visits and Barbara’s cognition is slipping. While outsiders may see Barbara as a dotty hausfrau, her friends proudly celebrate her Ph.D. in nuclear physics and appreciate how her scientific know-how helps the group adapt to mounting challenges.

One of the most memorable and touching scenes is a flashback of newlywed Barbara in her bikini in the purple sands of Big Sur delighting and making plans with her new husband. Cleary’s young Barbara is effervescent, bubbling with hope and love. Ro Boddie plays Jerry, a solid young man clearly in love and eager to build their life together. The bond – between the actors and between characters Barbara and Jerry – is intense and enchanting. Projections by Kelly Colburn add to the magic of this scene.

Boddie also plays an array of nurses, and each is distinct. Through the progression of nurses and their changes in care, the tightening of information, the deprivation, and the fear, we learn of the worsening environment outside the walls of SeaBreeze.

Misha Kachman’s scenic design is key to our understanding of this world. The community room seems familiar with its corduroy upholstery and acoustic tile ceiling but then we note evolving changes -- a cinderblock wall has replaced the views of the palm trees, records and magazines and other connections to the outside world disappear. The tiled ceiling is used to great effect with designer Kelly Colburn’s projections. Chunks of roof break away, and we can see flashes of nearby conflict.  

Colin K. Bills’ lighting design moves us from the sun-washed community room early in the production to a darker room in a world in conflict and deprivation. Sarah O’Halloran’s sound also evolves – sprightly music to dance to amid the game-playing, to the caws of ravens, to the distant sounds of skirmishes. The costumes designed by Ivania Stack have a vast range from Barbara’s flowing scarfs, Hal’s Kelly Green polyester tracksuit, Ruth’s nod to a more hippie vibe, Barbara’s polka dot retro bathing suit and the nurses’ PPE.

How fortunate to have two strong DC theaters – Theater J and Woolly Mammoth – join together to take the gamble on a new work and bring to the stage the world premiere of The World to Come. This powerful, quirky, disquieting and tender work of playwright Ali Viterbi, winner of the 2019 National Jewish Playwriting Contest, plays to the strengths of both theatres with its bold and courageous voice, its deep religious underpinnings and its focus on community. And how extraordinary that the cast includes so many of DC’s strongest and most interesting artists as actors or designers. Draw a Venn diagram of key components of a powerful show and The World to Come is dead center in the overlapping circles.

This play asks: What if the “world to come” isn’t some distant afterlife or imagined future, but the fleeting present we share? The World to Come is a world to share, a play to ponder and experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to see theater at its most compelling.

Running Time: 2:20 (including one intermission)

The World to Come, a world premiere by Ali Viterbi and directed by Howard Shalwitz, is presented by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, produced in partnership with Theater J. It is performed at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D Street NW, Washington, DC. The production runs through March 1, 2026, with performances on Wednesdays through Sundays at 8 PM, Wednesdays at noon, and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 PM (with a 2 PM curtain on Sunday, February 8). For tickets and schedule, accessible performance information, special events, attendance policies and further information visit the company's website.

Cast: Claudia J. Arenas (Ruth), Ro Boddie (Nurse), Brigid Cleary (Barbara), Naomi Jacobson (Fanny), Michael Russotto (Hal)

Creative Team: Ali Viterbi (Playwright), Howard Shalwitz (Director), Colin K. Bills (Lighting Designer), Kelly Colburn (Projection Designer), Sonia Fernandez (Dramaturg), Misha Kachman (Scenic Designer), Ksenya Litvak (Puppet Designer), Katie McDonald (Dialect and Vocal Coach), Sarah O'Halloran (Sound Designer), Lauren Pekel (Stage Manager), Lorraine Ressegger-Slone (Intimacy and Violence Choreographer), Ivania Stack (Costume Designer)