Written by Richard Greenberg
Directed by David Grindley
Synopsis: It is the Catskill Mountains in the early 1960s, and Lily Adler and her mother Eva are spending the summer across the lake from a bustling hotel where comics entertain and buffets overflow. When a handsome young stranger enters their world, the emotionally fragile Lily finds herself falling in love. But once her imperious mother learns of their relationship, lies are exposed, alliances are forged and Lily's one chance to escape her mother's control may be lost forever.
NEW YORK TIMES:
"Out of such innately inactive types Mr. Greenberg has woven a drama that crackles with friction and a muted suspense, stoked by the throb of stifled desires. "
Read the whole review HERE.
NEW YORK POST:
"But there's too much talk, too little action. "
Read the whole review HERE.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:
"This second-act revelation is a welcome jolt to Greenberg’s thoughtful but slow-moving play, which begins like a slight romantic comedy. But like its five characters, who aren’t easy to read, this late-blooming play has more serious intentions. "
Read the whole review HERE.
THEATERMANIA:
"Theatergoers would be hard-pressed these days to find a play as emotionally and thematically complex as Richard Greenberg's The American Plan, now being given an excellent revival by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater under David Grindley's taut direction"
Read the whole review HERE.
VARIETY:
"If the play's themes don't crystallize as swiftly or satisfyingly as they should, it's nonetheless an absorbing reflection on relationships carved out of disappointment and resignation in an era immediately before nonconformity became a more available option."
Read the whole review HERE.
NEWSDAY:
""American Plan" doesn't add up to much more than a social study about the oppression of a wide assortment of tyrannies. And the production, directed by David Grindley ("Journey's End"), doesn't always help us sort out the unknowable from the unbelievable in these complicated people. "
Read the whole review HERE.
NY1:
""The American Plan" is a peculiar little play that attempts to explore the underside of our impulses in a world beyond our control. Playwright Richard Greenberg, who's known for coating his works with an intellectual gloss, certainly delivers on that front. And yet despite some fine performances, in the end "The American Plan" fails to live up to its intriguing premise. "
Read the whole review HERE.
BACKSTAGE:
"Well, either I didn't fully appreciate Greenberg's vision or this production's director, David Grindley, has dug deeper into the play's depths. This new Plan is a stronger, more insightful one."
Read the whole review HERE.
amNY:
"With incredible clarity, Lily Rabe displays Lily’s quirkiness, fragility, anger and overwhelming desire to escape from her mother’s clutches. Her transcendent performance is definitely the most compelling reason to check out “The American Plan.” "
Read the whole review HERE.
