7 / 10
Eric Ting directs with a subtle hand. He lets his actors and the script do the work. Only the moments featuring Death get a little showy, with Amith Chandrashaker’s design of a solo spotlight on the actor and Palmer Hefferan’s sound design, which suddenly overlays the voices with echoes. The special effects are definitely not needed.
6 / 10
As the play progresses, we come to feel the weight of their lives and regrets, and understand the intricacy of their connections with one another. At the same time, however, there are some baffling choices for the production that undermine our ability to engage with the play. When Death takes over each character, the voices are not the actors’ natural instrument, but speech that is electronically amplified and distorted, with an echo effect, rendering these monologues occasionally indecipherable, and always annoying. (Wouldn’t the change of lighting have been sufficient to clue us in?)
Check out photos from opening night of Signature Theatre's off-Broadway premiere of MacArthur Fellow Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' The Comeuppance directed by Eric Ting.
Signature Theatre will extend the world premiere production of MacArthur Fellow Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' The Comeuppance by two weeks. Concluding Jacobs-Jenkins' Premiere Residency—and Signature's 2022-2023 season of personal and profound works from its Resident writers—The Comeuppance, which began performances May 16, now runs through July 9
Read the reviews for The Comeuppance at Signature Theatre.
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Palmer Hefferan |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Caleb Eberhardt |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Eric Ting |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | The Comeuppance |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Director | Eric Ting |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Ensemble | The Comeuppance |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lighting Design | Amith Chandrashaker |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Play | Branden Jacobs-Jenkins |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Sound Design | Palmer Hefferan |
