Cameron Kelsall — Theater Critic

There were tissues passed and ovations proffered during the curtain call, but the emotional response felt more perfunctory than earned. Beaches may have “Wind Beneath My Wings,” but there’s little wind in its sails. Tell the management at Joe Allen to make space on the flop wall.

The script, which is set in 1989 for no reason I can discern other than to avoid the topic of social media, takes a condescending and elitist attitude toward Isabelle’s situation. It presents her as a perfect victim while obfuscating the sad reality of abuse, which indiscriminately crosses lines of geography and monetary wealth. Wax suggests that Isabelle especially deserves to be saved—to be uplifted—because of her special talents, not simply because she’s a human being.

Unfortunately, clichés abound throughout this thin exploration of conscious coupledom, directed with regrettably slack rhythms by Katie Posner. The romantic comedy genre is not an endlessly deep well, but it feels as if we’ve encountered every plot point under a more interesting guise before. Jenny (Heléne Yorke), staring down the barrel of another year alone, tries desperately to convince herself that love requires compromise. Adam (Michael Zegen), a prototypical nice guy, pines for a female friend now married to a man of whom he doesn’t approve. In the script, the characters are called simply “Woman” and “Man,” perhaps in a nod to universality—but it also underscores the lack of specificity or personality in much of Battye’s writing.