Babe

Starring: Marisa Tomei, Arliss Howard, Gracie McGraw
Directed by: Scott Elliott
Written by: Jessica Goldberg
Genre: Drama
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A new hire (Gracie McGraw) for a musical production company runs into a culture clash with the main producer (Arliss Howard), a man who is still lives in the past. His faithful, long-suffering assistant (Marisa Tomei) is caught in between.

Review:

Tim: I was fortunate enough to be in New York City in December 2024 and I was able to catch the Off-Broadway production of Babe. The play had a limited run- it was only open from November 20-December 22. I was intrigued by the premise, but mostly for the opportunity to see Marisa Tomei act live. The play was decent, but not great. It had some exceptional highs and more than a few flaws, too. This definitely expanded my theater experience, though, and I'm glad I saw it.

I didn't know much about the play before showing up at The Alice Griffin Jewelbox Theater on West 42nd Street. I've seen a few Off-Broadway shows and I'm always surprised by how small and intimate the venues are. I might have been 7-8 rows back from the stage. The views were perfect. A funny side note- actor Peter Dinklage went to the same production that I did- he was maybe 3 rows ahead of me, and just to the left. Interestingly, this isn't the first time I've been in the same location as Dinklage- I saw him crush his performance in Cyrano several years ago. The venue was intimate and perfect for this relatively short play.

The play itself is interesting- it's about the music industry, but even more so about the different culture and generations clashes between the labeled Baby Boomers and Millennials (generations aren't real, by the way, but I'll use these labels because they are so widely understood). You think about how brutal the music industry must have been decades ago- high pressure, rampant sexism, sexual harassment, proliferation of drugs. It was like a different planet. To survive in those circumstances, you had to be a special person. And, sadly, you liked needed to compromise on your values to an exceptional extent. This is the contrast we see- between two experienced music producers, and a new hire, who has a very different view of what is and isn't acceptable. This is a post-Me-Too movement individual. Younger hires come into the workforce with incredibly lofty expectations and unlike previous generations, they won't back down and conform. They demand change. This is all the context for a boiling brawl that takes place during this play. The contrast in generations changes everyone involved. Writer Jessica Goldberg has a clear perspective and message in play, but I thought she did a nice job of showing a few different sides to the equation. She'll never defend the old ways- this play condemns them strongly. And yet, it's not always quite as black & white as I feared. It was definitely interesting to see this all take place on the stage.

The stage production was solid- there's no set changes, but different areas of the stage are used for different sequences. This is a three-person play and all three actors are on stage the entire time. One is often off to the side, but it's an intimate, unflinching production. There's some new music involved that I believe was written for the production. It's decent, but not award-worthy.

The performances are why I came, though. Marisa Tomei is such an exceptional actress and I love that I got to see her performance on stage. This is a meaty role and she gets to do quite a bit on stage. I wouldn't say I loved the role, but it gave Tomei a chance to showcase her talent. I was thankful for that. She's quite good in the role. I also enjoyed getting to see Arliss Howard, an actor who has been in a ton of films, but rarely ever in a big role. Howard is exceptional here, throwing himself into this relic of a previous time. He hams it up in all the right ways. You laugh at him, you feel anger towards him, sympathy. He elicits a wide range of emotions. I thought Howard was great in that he plays this complex character in a realistic way. At times, he's a monster. But, he has a heart, too. So many people who do terrible things aren't 100% bad, and he shows that with his performance. I did feel a little cheated, that Howard gets a flashier role than Tomei. I do wish her character was just a bit better. I thought Gracie McGraw was decent, but she is pitted against two extremely experienced actors and her relative inexperience shows. She was easily the weakest of the three, despite her best efforts. I didn't love her work here, although yes, it was decent.

It felt like this play did some things well, but it never makes the outsized impact it needed to. I'll occasionally find myself ruminating about something that happened in this play, but it didn't hit as hard as I would have liked. The reviews were lukewarm and I see why. I liked Babe (terrible name, by the way, so forgettable) and I'm ecstatic I got to see Tomei live.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Production, We Recommend:
McNeal, Betrayal, Burn/This