Jessie Mueller, Noah Reid, Jeff Still, Tracy Letts, and Cliff Chamberlain. I’m glad the playwright tries something new here, even if the fireworks don’t go off as planned.Napoleon pondered, “What is history but a fable agreed upon?” And Winston Churchill has been credited with the adage, “History is written by the winners.” Both insightful observations are underscored in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts’ The Minutes, now playing a limited Broadway engagement at Studio 54. “August: Osage County,” “Bug” and “Linda Vista” all flirted with issues, but didn’t go there like his latest does. Shapiro, is a more pointedly political play from Letts than usual. Carp (Ian Barford), whose chair mysteriously sits empty for much of the hour and a half. The secret of that document, we quickly learn, lies with Mr. Jeremy DanielĪnd Noah Reid of “Schitt’s Creek” ( who replaced Armie Hammer) sticks in everybody’s craw as a doe-eyed, but not-so-gullible new member of the council, who was absent from the last meeting and keeps demanding to see the minutes. The hilarious actor’s outbursts and erratic pacing are perfection. Oldfield can barely hear and harps on his need for a better parking place. Hanratty.įunniest of all is Austin Pendleton, whose Mr. Matz, is played by Sally Murphy and Danny McCarthy as schlub-next-door Mr. Assalone the germaphobe who’s probably a cat lady, Ms.

Breeding Jeff Still is the chronically mispronounced Mr. Blake, who has a hilarious plan to bring money to the city the always excellent Blair Brown is the vindictive Ms. Tony-award winner Jessie Mueller is the stoic clerk K. (Nothing is scarier than the ferocious Letts calling a meeting to order.) He and nine others sit behind microphones airing petty grievances that spiral into seriousness. Letts - who’s America’s finest playwright/actor combo since Sam Shepard - appears in his play as the strict, rule-obsessed Mayor Superba. Mayor Superba (Tracy Letts, center) leads the city council meeting, alongside Mr. Nonetheless the journey there is a mighty enjoyable one, filled with crackling dialogue, strong-willed Steppenwolf Theater performances and Letts’ compelling argument: that even the most minuscule of historical accounts, like say a meeting’s minutes, are essential to understanding what happened in the past. While the conclusion admirably indicts the behavior of tony, solid-blue suburbs, it concerns an issue that America has grappled with for centuries.Īdding to the old-hat vibe, the controversial final moment (one queasy woman ran out of the theater) believes that it’s bolder and more thought-provoking than it really is. And the truth is more obvious than we had hoped. Our high wears off, however, once we get our answer near the end of the play. The long-lasting uncertainty of what genre “The Minutes” is makes Letts’ work, which opened Sunday night at Studio 54, a supremely clever piece of writing. Our theories of what’s actually going on at this city council meeting in the town of Big Cherry run the gamut: murder, aliens, cult worship, or just an old fashioned Broadway comedy.

The minutes broadway cast