Sarah Downs

In Seagull: True Story, currently playing at the Public Theater, writer Eli Rarey; and creator/director Alexander Molochnikov welcome us into the wild and wooly world of their imaginations, in a smart, “Cabaret”-esque, autobiographical absurdity where art and life collide at lightning speed. It goes from dog and pony show to fractured fairy tale, in a searingly nihilistic evocation of ‘plus ça change.’ Seagull: True Story is mostly bedlam — and I kinda love it.

In the end, though, two hours of verse does begin to wear thin. Clever, yes, but a difficult flex to maintain for a long period of time. Two other elements that, frankly, annoyed me are the jarring, industrial honking sound that accompanied some of the scene changes, accomplishing God knows what, and the rather distaff closing musical number, which comes out of nowhere. It blunts the effect of the play’s conclusion. Nevertheless, Tartuffe is a clever show with an excellent cast and high production values, and some moments of true hilarity.