Cielo Gazard

I don’t begrudge directors for taking their artistic liberties. But unjustified choices like this come across as uninspired, especially when the play tries so hard to tell the audience that it’s 1972. There are too many references to historical events, like when the hostaged bank tellers talk about Bella Abzug or when the cops and the FBI agents quarrel about New York City being on the brink of bankruptcy. When we enter the theater, a neon red sign indicating the date — Aug. 22, 1972 — is all we can see on stage. We know when and where we are. We don’t need it spoonfed with every cultural reference.