Ed Harris

Other Desert Cities

October 27, 2026

If "Other Desert Cities" has one silver lining, it's the play's uncanny ability to attract the type of star power that blinds audiences to a mundane narrative. For its Broadway debut fifteen years ago, Jon Robin Baitz's mix of leaden one-liners and soapy seriousness enticed a talented cast that included Stockard Channing and Judith Light. It was a rewarding seduction: critical and commercial success led to a handful of Tony Award nominations, with a nod for Channing and a win for Light. Thanks to this outsized success, we are now beset by director John Benjamin Hickey's revival, which strands us with a new set of popular faces, each undoubtedly hoping that a similar oasis of acclaim will emerge from the same dry dramatic well. [more]

Good for Otto

March 12, 2018

Except for the frustration level of the characters, there does not seem to be a movement towards change or catharsis which may partly explain why the play seems so long. Harris and Madigan retain their cool as therapists throughout until almost the end when they can’t hold in their emotions any more. The most dramatic story is that of 12-year-old Frannie beautifully and realistically played by young Rileigh McDonald. However, as written the role of her foster mother played by Rhea Perlman is a one-note tale and doesn’t give her much wiggle room to make it her own. [more]

Buried Child

March 13, 2016

After a twenty year hiatus from the New York theater scene, Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Buried Child" is back in the Big Apple but in a more intimate setting. This latest iteration of the dramatic classic sees its return to the world of Off-Broadway, with a limited engagement at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Loaded with a powerhouse cast led by Ed Harris, the latest from the The New Group is a fresh take on an American classic. [more]

Fool for Love

October 13, 2015

This is the fault of director Daniel Aukin who also staged it at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Besides obtaining just competent performances from his cast, he has chosen a shallow high-tech approach in staging this small-scale but profound masterpiece by a writer at the peak of his powers in a Broadway theater rather then creatively reimagining it with meaningful aesthetic simplicity. [more]