Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon) and Drama Desk Award winner Lila Neugebauer (The Waverly Gallery, 2ST’s Mary Page Marlowe) invite you to one helluva reunion in the darkly comic American family drama, APPROPRIATE.
It’s summer, the cicadas are singing, and the Lafayette family has returned to their late patriarch’s Arkansas home to deal with the remains of his estate. Toni (Paulson), the eldest daughter, hopes they’ll spend the weekend remembering and reconnecting over their beloved father. Bo, her brother, wants to recoup some of the funds he spent caring for Dad at the end of his life. But things take a turn when their estranged brother, Franz, appears late one night, and mysterious objects are discovered among the clutter. Suddenly, long-hidden secrets and buried resentments can’t be contained, and the family is forced to face the ghosts of their past.
Under director Lila Neugebauer, “Appropriate” creates one of the most engaging family dynamics presented on stage. The set, by multi-disciplinary collective dots, is highly effective: Packed full of boxes and trinkets, it’s a breath away from an episode of “Hoarders.” This adds to Toni, Franz and Bo’s feelings of claustrophobia. The intervals between scenes, however, plunge the audience into total darkness, surrounded by the shrill roaring of cicadas, creating an effect that’s more jarring than haunting. Additionally, with a runtime approaching three hours, even the humorous bits that slice through the heaviness of the material can’t save some of the overlong sections and monologues.
If Jacobs-Jenkins has the answers (and one suspects he does), he’s not sharing them. He’s savvy—and gutsy—enough to let his audience decide. In a way, Appropriate is his most traditional play, a deliberate homage to such playwrights as Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, and Tracy Letts, who create the best, most completely unhinged characters. Since the play’s 2014 off-Broadway premiere at Signature Theatre, we’ve seen, among other works, his daring deconstructive Dion Boucicault riff An Octoroon, the modern-day morality play Everybody, and the post-pandemic millennial Big Chill–esque The Comeuppance. Yet it took an epic dysfunctional-family drama in order for Jacobs-Jenkins to finally find his way to Broadway. Seems appropriate, no?
General Rush:
Price: $45
Where: Belasco Theatre box office
When: When the box office opens on the day of the performance.
Limit: Two per customer.
Information: Subject to daily availability. The box office opens Tuesday through Saturday at 10 AM ET and Sunday at 12 PM ET.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $45
Where: rush.telecharge.com
When: 12 AM ET, one day before the performance.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Tickets are subject to availability. Seats may be partial view. Winners will be drawn that same morning at 10 AM ET and then later that afternoon at 3 PM ET.
2014 | Off-Broadway |
Signature Theatre Company Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | Broadway |
Second Stage Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Lila Neugebauer |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Michael Esper |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Sarah Paulson |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play | Jane Cox |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Appropriate |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play | dots |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Bray Poor |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Sarah Paulson |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Corey Stoll |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Lila Neugebauer |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Appropriate |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Lila Neugebauer |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Sarah Paulson |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Appropriate |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | dots |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Dede Ayite |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Lila Neugebauer |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Jane Cox |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Corey Stoll |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Sarah Paulson |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Appropriate |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | dots |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Bray Poor |
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