The Comeuppance
Closing: June 25, 2023The Comeuppance - 2023 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
480 West 42nd Street (between Dyer and 10th Avenues) New York, NY 10036
In Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ world premiere of The Comeuppance, the latest from “one of this country's most original and illuminating writers” (The New York Times), a self-proclaimed “Multi-Ethnic Reject Group” reconvenes for the first time in years to pregame for their twentieth high school reunion. They refamiliarize themselves with new versions of old selves over drinks, other substances, and a not-so-innocent truth-telling game. From the start, Death looms over and speaks through them, describing their disquieting and darkly comedic fates. The Comeuppance marks Jacobs-Jenkins’ prolific decade as a Signature Premiere Resident playwright.
The Comeuppance - 2023 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Comeuppance
'The Comeuppance' review — old friends, and death, reunite
7 / 10
Jacobs-Jenkins’s characters employ an ironic device when one believes another is “harshing the buzz” or “rambling”: They pretend to kill each other, snapping their necks and stabbing one another when someone’s joke gets old or they’re too stoned to know how long they’ve been talking. No one took this approach to Jacobs-Jenkins’s script, though director Eric Ting cut at least 10 minutes of runtime before press performances. Though its dialogue is sharp and its characters memorable, The Comeuppance tries to hold down too many conversations at once, stretching an arm into every pot.
Death Comes to the Reunion in The Comeuppance
8 / 10
Three years of solitary writing time turns out to be productive. Seemingly every playwright produced lately has been thinking about the pandemic, as well as its accompanying loneliness, many different stabs at generational angst, dollops of horror, and addiction (more of those later this week). You see gestures and ideas repeated, many different attempts to get at similar feelings. Then you get to a play like The Comeuppance, which channels and condenses what’s been floating in the ether and brings it all to earth. Here’s a drama where Branden Jacobs-Jenkins both sums up and reconfigures the present moment.
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by Chloe Rabinowitz - June 9, 2023
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.
by Stephi Wild - June 8, 2023
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
by Chloe Rabinowitz - June 6, 2023
Read the reviews for The Comeuppance at Signature Theatre.
The Comeuppance History
Other Productions of The Comeuppance
| 2023 | Off-Broadway |
Signature Theatre Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
The Comeuppance - 2023 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
| 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 |
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