Review of “The Minutes”: The story disappears in Tracy Letts’ thrilling mystery comedy starring Noah Reid making his Broadway debut

Tracy Letts Წ anything It would be one of the hottest new performances on Broadway this season, although recent real-life events haven’t proved it’s as bizarre as it is ridiculous and ultimately captivating. Წ anything – There are 90 in all – it starts with one thing and ends with a completely different way, and each step along the way is conveyed so well that we are too busy to see what lies ahead.

With an impeccable actor, led by Noah Reed Shiite stream Marvelous Broadway star debuts here – Წ anything He combines playwright and actor Letz with himself August: Osage District Directed by Ana D. Shapiro and together they rediscover the quirky and perfect balance of laughter and raucous humor, dark currents and emotional violence that made her the winner of the award. August Unforgettable.

If the new show, which debuts tonight at Broadway Studio 54, doesn’t have a very charming home, albeit a packaged one. AugustYet he is accused of scandalizing the truth as a bureaucrat, a deadly reflection of the pettiness, personal greed, and greatest illusions of any city in the dark heart of American history. And you won’t even see it coming.

The show (comedy, mystery, allegory) takes place in real time at a Big Cherry Town Hall meeting in a small town that can be avoided everywhere. twilight zone (Or maybe not so shy). David Zinn’s stunning set: a perfect retreat for house details, but general government rooms, which claim grandeur while rather arbitrarily displaying the paper plates of local schoolchildren. The Big Cherry Council reopens its closed-door meetings with prayers and a vow of allegiance.

Well, at least sometimes. Exactly what happened at last week’s meeting is a mystery, at least to the rookie idealist Mr. Peel (Reed, who puts the goodwill he has accumulated about himself. Shiite stream Term for excellent effect). Was Peel not present at the last meeting due to the death in the family and his first accidental and then decisive attempt to find out exactly what happened, particularly why Council member Mr. Carp suddenly disappeared? – turns Წ anything From a weird workplace comedy to increasingly terrifying secrets.

And what a job Big Cherry City Hall is full of characters with weird names to fuel any number of sitcoms. She allows herself to play Mary Superba, a strong and vaguely benevolent leader who quickly resolves any discussion that is too tied to certain events; Mr. Hanrat (Danny McCarthy), an enlightened dreamer of prosperity at the helm of a new wheelchair-accessible city landmark that is incredibly disproportionate to the needs of small towns; Mr. Blake (K. Todd Freeman), the only black civil servant who knows how to stand up for himself, even when he hosts a fun festival with martial arts-trained Abraham Lincoln; Mrs Agnes (Blair Brown), an extravagant and brilliant Grande Dame; Mr. Oldfield (funny Austin Pendleton), a council elder whose disagreement equals his confusion; Ms. Mats (Sally Murphy), Nervous Know; Mr. Bradding (Cliff Chamberlain), second bullying officer; Mr. Assalon (Jeff Stell), a dishonest brother of a local sheriff; And Mrs. Johnson (Jesse Mueller), a skilled municipal employee whose good sense of thought and ethics offer a dubious pill of optimism.

When the routine case of a town hall meeting opens, with all its backpacks, personal agenda, pet abuse, and untold stories filled with comic testimony, the mystery of Mr. Carp missing is slowly unraveled. Mr. Karp (played by Lets veteran Ian Barford) brought up the topic of the wave of bicycle thefts and, more specifically, where all the money raised from the rescue bicycle auction went. Apparently, the rude Mr. Assalon and his brother (invisible) sheriff have to explain themselves.

But just when we think secrecy has no greater consequences than senseless transplants and corruption, Mr. Carp reveals that his investigation has taken him to a much, much darker place, leading him to the roots of the Big Cherry foundation. . The name of the village, which was originally played for laughter, is also an insult.

Without spoiling what Mr. Karp found, it’s fair to say Წ anything Recent events in Florida and Texas, where the teaching of history – or, more accurately, the burial of history – have become headlines, seem entirely pre-existing. When the Steppenwolf Theater Company premiered a show in Chicago in 2017, the content certainly felt more fantastic, if not more powerful, than it is now.

It’s also okay to see this without giving a really creepy ending. Წ anything From the satire on worldly corruption and the mysteries of small towns to some accusations about the notion of American self-determination. The lightning and thunderstorms that explode during the performance – lighting design by Brian McDevitt, sound design and original music by Andre Plus – serve to illuminate and disguise, if necessary they lend. Წ anything Agonizing Libra: always rational, easily emotionally hurt, very passionate and perhaps a little too intense.

Yet nothing in comedy prepares us for the strangeness that Rod Rod Sling brings. Წ anything Before its closure. Audiences will most likely be split, which seems quite appropriate given the current real-life scenes at the school board and local government meetings these days. The story never really dies, even if it disappears from time to time.