Sam doesn’t get out much. Actually, he doesn’t get out at all, opting instead for the safety of his house in the company of his things—his many, many things. But when a notice from the government arrives alerting Sam that he must clean up his property or face eviction, he’s forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two.
Danny DeVito returns to Roundabout Theatre Company in I Need That, starring alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito, and Ray Anthony Thomas in a deeply human new comedy from playwright Theresa Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, the team behind Bernhardt/Hamlet.
The most interesting moments of this good-natured but threadbare comedy, which Rebeck wrote during the pandemic lockdown, touch on the relationship between physical objects and memory. To Sam, each knickknack is a time machine to a meaningful moment; his inability to let go of the past is a major factor in whether or not, in the end, he can bring himself to take out the garbage. DeVito is a star for a reason: His vulnerable, hilarious performance is a certifiable gem. If only this treasure weren’t so often lost in the piles that surround it.
In Theresa Rebeck’s I Need That — which makes its 100-minute run time feel as stretched out as the waistband of an old pair of sweatpants — Danny DeVito is Character B, or Sam. His daughter, Lucy DeVito, is also his daughter onstage, a.k.a. Character A, or Amelia. Sam, a big fan of old sweatpants, isn’t quite a hoarder, but he’s close. He doesn’t go outside, his house is bursting with heaps and heaps of “junk” (according to Amelia) or “treasure” (according to him), and it’s bad enough that the neighbors have called the authorities. “The fire department is coming,” says Amelia anxiously, as she says everything, “and they’re going to condemn the place and tell the health department to throw you out if you don’t do something.” A says, “Clean up!” B says, “No!” In the words of Mortal Kombat: “Fight.”
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| 2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Danny DeVito |
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