School Pictures Off-Broadway Reviews

With Brechtian lightness, Cramer delivers his numbers in a kind of sprechgesang: His eyes are mischievous, and he can often sing randomly loud, rather like a 5-year-old showboating the national anthem. Strumming a ukulele or whacking out a melody on ...

With Brechtian lightness, Cramer delivers his numbers in a kind of sprechgesang: His eyes are mischievous, and he can often sing randomly loud, rather like a 5-year-old showboating the national anthem. Strumming a ukulele or whacking out a melody on a toy piano, Cramer sings about lightly fictionalized students like Leigh, who’s scared her mother will yell at her for getting a C- in science. When the stakes are low, the songs are hilarious. But with children, the stakes are never low.

In a lesson for the audience, chalkboard and all, Cramer unpacks the city’s Gifted and Talented program and standardized testing requirements, revealing the inherent class and social inequities. There’s even a math equation for the audience to so...

In a lesson for the audience, chalkboard and all, Cramer unpacks the city’s Gifted and Talented program and standardized testing requirements, revealing the inherent class and social inequities. There’s even a math equation for the audience to solve. By the end, Cramer humanizes each of those colorful pieces of paper, and their desire to make a lasting impact on the students' lives is so apparent. The woman next to me was in tears.

The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time...

The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time, I didn’t have to spend three years there.

The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time...

The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time, I didn’t have to spend three years there.