In the 5,000 years they’ve been married, George and Maggie Antrobus have survived wars, plagues, floods, and everything in between. Now they're running low on food – and a massive glacier is headed toward their New Jersey home. An epic, timely comedy about the endurance of human spirit, Thornton Wilder’s THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH follows one “everyfamily” through the great struggles and triumphs of the human experience. Led by innovative director Lileana Blain-Cruz in a production that speaks directly to our current moment, this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic with additional material by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a profound reminder that life is always worth living – no matter how difficult things get.
With its visual appeal and committed cast, the pessimistic asides are hardly necessary. Beans, who brings to mind Endora from "Bewitched," begins a smidge too campy, but turns out one of the season's funnier performances. Meredith and Roslyn Ruff, as Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus, ground the zaniness with moral authority. And, playing the Antrobus' son, Henry, Julian Robertson's PTSD-inflected performance in Act 3 is affecting.But golly, this set. "Our Town," with its ladders and chairs, looks like a very poor cousin, indeed.
Thornton Wilder's allegorical play "The Skin of Our Teeth" is bizarre, abstract and convoluted; it's not to be taken seriously. Or so Sabina (Gabby Beans) tells the audience at Lincoln Center Theater's Broadway revival of the 1942 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Thornton Wilder. But don't listen to her: There are definitely things to take seriously here, as the themes of this 80-year-old work, courageously but unevenly directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, remain relevant and vital to be reckoned with by contemporary audiences.
Videos
TICKET CENTRAL
Recommended For You