The Receptionist

The Receptionist opened to rave reviews which is now playing at the Manhattan Theater Company.  Fred was out of town so my friend and I went to see it. 

The play runs for 70 minutes, no intermission.  Love that.  Jane Houdyshell plays the receptionist and she is really good.  The play takes place in a basic office setting.  Receptionist answers the phone, appears to be busy and puts people through to voice mail if they aren’t in.  She shares the office with two other people.   The boss and his side kick.  What begins to unfold is that this is no ordinary business.  Then there is a screw up and someone from the central office comes and everything basically goes downhill from there.

Are they Government workers who terrorize people for information?  I have to say that when the play ended my friend and I looked at each other and asked each other, what was that about exactly?  Are we shocked that businesses are facades at times?  Maybe I am a realistic or just cynical but I am never surprised because you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

Perhaps an intriguing play or perhaps not but the actual receptionist, Houdyshell, is fantastic.