Ron Fassler

The persistent pain and suffering of the Russian people never knowing who to trust become comedic fodder in this peculiar production presented by Signature Theatre. The laughs for which it vies are more strained than natural and only its ninety-minute length separates it from being a wholly leaden experience.

Playwright Anyanwu (who also directs here) is no stranger to the New York stage, with Last of the Love Letters (2021), Good Grief (2018), and The Homecoming Queen (2018) among her credits. And Leroy and Lucy, about legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson, had its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2024. Her writing is sparse and clean, and she understands the art of inflicting tiny cuts with a scalpel, as opposed to hacking away with a kitchen knife. These two disparate half-siblings who once shared a drunk, abusive and now deceased father, have lost touch for reasons that are only hinted at. That can sometimes feel selfish, leaving an audience to want more of the story, but what Anyanwu is going after is something different. It’s not the specifics that matter, only the pain and hurt of abandonment.

Problematic or not, by the finish of The Least Problematic Woman in the World, you will understand Dylan Mulvaney better by empathetically entering the world in which she lives. It’s a very entertaining way to spend 75 minutes.

It’s not easy charging major prices for something audiences are used to paying less for in a comedy club or watching cozily on their sofa as a Netflix or HBO special. So, Ross has his work cut out for him. What he has smartly done is build a show around his personal story, taking a page from Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays, a Broadway hit in 2004 and revived briefly in 2013. With the amount of anguish and trauma in Ross’s life, he could easily turn maudlin, but that’s not the way the guy is wired.

To the question of whether Heathers, initially released as a film in 1989 and presented as a musical in 2014 can still work with audiences again in 2025, the answer is yes. It’s all about getting off on the right foot, which Fickman and company admirably achieve. From the moment the first lyrics are delivered, more shouted than sung (“Freak! Slut! Burn-Out! Bug-Eyes! Poser! Hard Ass!”), you’re in for a bit of time travel that’s well worth the trip.

There are no earth-shaking revelations or forced “aha!” moments for the couple. They know each other too well for that. What makes it interesting is its tautness over a ninety-minute playing time that offers a connection with these two good folks in a meaningful way that transcends their daily, ordinary existences.

Jesse Berger’s direction is sure-fire, and all the performances are good, though Mark Linn-Baker’s Argan could have been a bit more menacing to my taste. Known for a certain cuddliness, he misses the tyrant at the center of the character, which makes it feel like a missed opportunity to provide more tension to heighten the stakes. Emilie Kouatchou is charmingly vivacious as Angélique and Sarah Stiles makes a meal of the randy Toinette’s unflappability. When she’s called upon to sing, she fills the small New World Stage with her large voice.

That Lia Romeo has put two sixty-somethings front and center is commendable for a younger playwright to concern herself with and that Adrienne Campbell-Holt has led excellent actors like Melissa Gilbert and Mark Moses to sterling performances is worthy of excessive praise. What Still offers is food for thought that makes for a fine meal, especially for those hungry enough (and willing enough) to bite into something substantial.