The Loved Ones Off-Broadway Reviews

That’s right—ashes flying. It’s a strangely slapstick moment in a play otherwise built on sincerity and moments of genuine contemplation. At one point, Nell, when talking to Orla, who’s there to mark the six-month anniversary of Robin’s dea...

That’s right—ashes flying. It’s a strangely slapstick moment in a play otherwise built on sincerity and moments of genuine contemplation. At one point, Nell, when talking to Orla, who’s there to mark the six-month anniversary of Robin’s death, remarks almost off-handedly: “The world is not made for grieving people.” If you’ve ever felt on the verge of being swallowed up by your own grief, you know what she means. When all you feel is numbing sadness, stultifying happiness seems to be everywhere you turn.

But clever playwright that she is, she does anything but march out the clichés. Instead, she graciously offers the opposite, something as rare as lilacs in November. What Murray discloses is a play about four thoughtful, intelligent, understanding, ...

But clever playwright that she is, she does anything but march out the clichés. Instead, she graciously offers the opposite, something as rare as lilacs in November. What Murray discloses is a play about four thoughtful, intelligent, understanding, accepting women dealing so close to easily with each other as makes no matter.

The Loved Ones stands on more secure ground when the focus remains on Nell. Plunkett radiates an Earth mother rootedness that keeps drawing your focus even as she scrambles to process the news that Gabby delivers and to buy herself some time on what ...

The Loved Ones stands on more secure ground when the focus remains on Nell. Plunkett radiates an Earth mother rootedness that keeps drawing your focus even as she scrambles to process the news that Gabby delivers and to buy herself some time on what to do with it. Time is the one commodity that all four women seem eager to manipulate — to reverse, to slow down, to speed through. But managing time proves as daunting a challenge as navigating the jagged cliffs of mourning.=