8 / 10
Respect for the dead, and for the people who lost them, is an element that “The Vessel,” at 59E59 Theaters, gets very right. Directed by Peter Charney, this play is not looking to exploit tragedy or to depict suicide. Rather, it is interested in the devastation to witnesses and bystanders when preventable deaths occur in public spaces.
6 / 10
But one leaves “The Vessel” with the impression that the playwright felt required to put together a 90-minute play, but didn’t know how to fill it. So we get Viggo awkwardly flirting with Missy, which goes nowhere, and dissertations on dolphins, and on how pasture-raised chickens are better than merely cage-free chickens, and various long rants, and moments of stunned silence that are meant to be poignant. Only the one-named Sofonyas has the acting chops consistently to make the best of these digressions.
59E59 Theaters is presenting the world premiere of The Vessel, written by Brendan George. See what the critics are saying about the production in BroadwayWorld's REview Roundup.
Sofonyas, Anastasia Locke, and Will Ingram make their Off-Broadway debuts in THE VESSEL, a new play by Brendan George inspired by Hudson Yards' controversial art installation, directed by Peter Charney at 59E59 Theaters.
