Marc Miller

With a title like Chinese Republicans, you're bound to wonder what the heck you're in for. But Alex Lin's new play at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels is, in fact, about Chinese Republicans, a very specific sub-variety of them. And, for the most part, save a couple of regrettable playwrighting missteps, they're an engaging crew–the sort of people you don't normally encounter onstage and probably know little about.

The press rep at Irish Repertory Theatre, always helpful and cheery, seemed even more effusive than usual, as if she were about to hand out tickets to a winner. She wasn't wrong. The Honey Trap, Irish Rep's New York premiere of Leo McGann's drama, is a finely wrought, deeply emotional account of a difficult moment in Irish history (aren't they all?), anchored by a stellar lead performance, and culminating in one of the tensest scenes I've seen on a stage in years.

They're likable characters, they tell beguiling spooky little yarns. But what large truths are being revealed, what is there beyond a pleasant slice-of-life nod to the traditions of Irish storytelling? In those elements, it lacks weirwithal.

Hold Me in the Water is romantic, touching and funny, and as the commitment-level conflicts in the relationship arise, we feel genuine concern. Near the end, Haddad poses to the audience some questions that, in their pointedness and provocativeness, amount to something of a coup de théâtre. Essentially, in many permutations, he asks: Could you love a disabled person? And for many the answer will be, yes, I could, if they were as cute and charming as Ryan J. Haddad. That's admittedly a tall order.