4 / 10
Impressive stagecraft can’t make up for an unconvincing story or characters who seem unlikely to be friends, let alone passionate lovers. It doesn’t help that Barnett appears to be decades younger than the fiftysomething we eventually learn that he is — but we never really buy that he’s chosen this couple as anything but a way station as he hides out from the fraught life he left behind in the Bay Area.
6 / 10
Director-scenic designer Dustin Wills’ production delivers a jaw-dropping effect at the end of Act I as Bruin’s past implodes. Act II pushes the magical realism further, expanding on a rich tradition of using the supernatural to express the unspeakable trauma of the AIDS crisis. In this way, Spinella’s presence is a profound, full-circle moment for American queer theater. His latest role bridges the historical trauma of the epidemic (he originated the roles in Broadway’s Angels in America and the film adaptation of Love! Valour! Compassion!) with contemporary storytelling.
Stephen Spinella has spent decades helping define queer theater through work like ANGELS IN AMERICA. Now, the Tony Award winner is bringing his talents to JEROME, a moving new play that explores love, companionship & survival in the early 1990s.
JEROME, a new play by John J. Caswell Jr., has officially opened at Playwrights Horizons. Directed by Dustin Wills, the production stars Stephen Spinella, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, and Ken Barnett. Critics have released their reviews following opening night.
The upcoming production of Jerome has announced its cast and creative team ahead of its spring 2026 run at The Judith O. Rubin Theater. Learn more about the show here!
