Initiative Off-Broadway Reviews

Initiative is stitched through with moments like these, like colorful patches on a heavy pall, little saving throws against the dark. Depending on when you were born and how much time you’ve spent rolling dice in basements, it might take you back, but its real achievement, bracing and compassionate, lies in its encouragement to keep walking forward.

A five-hour play is certainly a tall order for most theatregoers. But for those willing to challenge their own attention spans, Initiative makes for a soft, pensive, introspective day at the theatre. Much like bingeing a miniseries in one afternoon, Else and Emma Rosa Went offer audiences the chance to watch four years of high school unfold on a stage, gloriously messy and precarious and rewarding.

Initiative isn’t flawless. The roles of Tony and Ty are underwritten, and a climactic tragedy seems contrived. And yes, the marathon running time—a rarity amid the current vogue for short, intermissionless works—can feel indulgent and overwhelming. But in a way, that's appropriate: Growing up can feel that way, too. It's a pleasure to get to know Initiative’s appealing characters so fully, and to wonder what might happen to them after the end of the play. Two of them, at least, seem to have made good: They went on to create this ambitious, empathetic, singular theatrical experience.

I can’t say enough about the seamless performances, said to be the product of years of development work with director and writer. Not only is the cast – the majority of whom are in their 30s – fully believable as high schoolers, but I swear you can track their maturing over four years in subtle alterations of voice, gesture and carriage. It’s ensemble playing at its finest, and the best argument for funding permanent companies, not to mention establishing an American national theater, I’ve encountered in a long time.