Eric Bogosian

Humpty Dumpty

April 7, 2025

Eric Bogosian’s "Humpty Dumpty" was first written 25 years ago and premiered at the McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, in 2002. At that time the idea of quarantining due to a local or national disaster seemed a fantasy. However, since then, we have all lived through the Covid Pandemic and what was inconceivable became our daily existence. Not only does Bogosian’s play seem tame now, it also seems predictable and dated. Director Ella Jane New does not help the script much by allowing the vapid characters to all seem one dimensional. Possibly with a satiric approach or powerhouse performances, the play might have something new to say to us as its entitled people show their true colors. [more]

Drinking in America

March 26, 2023

Some critics would say Eric Bogosian’s "Drinking in America" is dated, but that’s very much up for argument. The script given to critics for the new production at the Minetta Lane Theatre is marked “Tweaked Drinking In America Script For Audible,” all in caps actually. In all fairness, some of the “current references” particularly with regard to in-demand actor names bandied about in the scene entitled “Wired” are names clearly from another age. That could have easily been “tweaked,” if they really wanted to do that. References to Quaaludes in the scene “Our Gang” reek of history rather than current usage, but then again, is there an easy 2023 replacement for Quaaludes, a drug that was taken off the market around the time the play was first produced? Aside from those references, the twelve scenes that comprise the play remain shockingly topical for our era. [more]

1+1

March 12, 2023

Eric Bogosian’s latest play to reach New York is his 2008 "1+1" which feels like a made for television movie written without taking into consideration the #MeToo movement that has occurred since then. While its Hollywood milieu of pornography, drugs, and easy money exists, this seems like a rather simplistic view of it all. Director Matt Okin, founder of The Black Box theater company of Englewood, N.J. which has coproduced the play now at the SoHo Playhouse, has done the actors no service allowing for a kind of soap opera acting. The minimalist production values undercut the discussion of the perks and glitz of the film world. [more]

BROADWAY’S 2006 Fall/Winter Season

January 27, 2007

The White Way barely had time to recover from last season’s exciting Tony race when Martin Short roused the sleeping giant with his manic ode to himself, Fame Becomes Me. [more]