CRITIC’S PICK: “...Neugebauer’s direction, which is so smart and swift for most of the play’s substantial length that you feel gripped by storytelling without being strangled by argument.”
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“The sound design, by Bray Poor and Will Pickens, transports audiences into the sweltering discomfort of the South with the overpowering sound of the cicadas that continue throughout the show. ‘Appropriate’ is well worth the buzz.”
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“Neugebauer is doing fine work with the whole ensemble, and Paulson and Stoll provide a supercharged core.”
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"This being a drama firmly grounded in the hallowed miserable-American-family tradition, by the conclusion all the secrets have tumbled out, and the ugly bones of long-held resentments have been picked over. And over, and over—the play runs nearly three hours."
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“...’Appropriate’ provides an ending that’s remarkable in its emotional force and stunning in its stagecraft. Neugebauer, Jacobs-Jenkins and their very fine cast resurrect the spirits of history and leave them abandoned, clamorous, implacable and going nowhere anytime soon.”
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“The story holds together with incredible performances from the entire cast...Racist histories and artifacts are appalling, of course, but it’s the unwillingness to discuss the past that allows these prejudices to fester across generations. These beliefs not only continue to suffocate us as a society but are also wreaking havoc on the lives of families like the Lafayettes every day.”
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“...funny and sophisticated. The jokes are biting and some lines are impressively abrasive. But it edges away from the satire. Neugebauer’s fine direction instead leans into the acid drama of fraught sibling relationships. The play treats each character’s plight with an earnest consideration. There’s a more reflective, tragicomic stance as it considers what happens to families afraid to confront the past.”
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“Clearly relishing their juicy roles, the dream cast has been impeccably directed by Lila Neugebauer, who burnishes the comedy and cruelty to a bright sheen. Her production would not cohere and hurtle as it does without its superbly unified design.”
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