Particle.news
Download on the App Store

The Receptionist Returns Off Broadway at Second Stage

Critics say the brisk revival favors polish over menace.

Overview

  • The Second Stage production opened Thursday at the Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage and is set to run through May 24.
  • Katie Finneran stars as Beverly with Mallori Johnson, Nael Nacer and Will Pullen in a staging directed by Sarah Benson.
  • Coverage highlights a mid-play visit from a Central Office emissary that shifts the piece from office comedy to unease without giving away the turn.
  • Reviewers say the 75–80 minute length and upbeat tone dilute the play’s darker allegory about post‑9/11 complicity in institutional harm.
  • Designers earn strong notice for creating a crisp, sterile world, with sets by dots, costumes by Enver Chakartash, and precise sound and lighting by Bray Poor and Stacey Derosier.