Name: Brooklyn Laundry
Start: 2024-02-06
End: 2024-04-14
Location: New York City Center

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Brooklyn Laundry - NYC [34683]

NYC Brooklyn Laundry Prod 4 2/12/24

Brooklyn Laundry

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Brooklyn Laundry Feat. Cecily Strong and David Mayas - Landscape

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Cecily Strong stars in John Patrick Shanley's [*Brooklyn Laundry*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/34683-brooklyn-laundry) off Broadway at [New York City Center](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/new-york-city-center) from February 6 to March 24, 2024.

Strong is best known for her 10-plus years as a cast member on *Saturday Night Live*. She performed on the show from 2012 to 2022, making her the longest-tenured female cast member in the sketch comedy show's history. She earned Emmy Award nominations in 2020 and 2021 for her work on *SNL*.

Strong is also known for her lead role as Melissa on the theatre-themed TV series *Schmigadoon!* In 2022, she made her New York stage debut in an Off-Broadway revival of Jane Wagner's *The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe*, a one-woman show.

Cecily Strong - NY

Off Broadway Covid Protocol Update as of 2/1 - Fully vaccinated

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe - NYC

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe - NYC Product Media

If alien life-forms ever&nbsp;come to Earth and require a human representative, take them immediately to Cecily Strong.She's already had the practice, after all, playing Trudy, who is explaining Earth to&nbsp;aliens&nbsp;in Jane Wagner's <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/the-search-for-signs-of-intelligent-life-in-the-universe">The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe</a>&nbsp;at <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/the-shed">The Shed</a>. I'd just as soon nominate Wagner (whose cosmic insights, about life's great importance being found in the small moments,&nbsp;are still captivating 30 years after the play premiered) or Tomlin (who made the play&nbsp;famous on stage and screen after Wagner wrote it for her), but I've only seen Strong perform. So I can only vouch that&nbsp;the seasoned SNL comedienne deftly accomplishes the most basic, yet hardest, job of all: getting us on board with the idea that she really is in tune with something beyond our earthly realm.But the idea is&nbsp;not as hard to get on board with as you'd expect.&nbsp;Aliens, as it turns out, are just like us: Wagner's dialogue&nbsp;characterizes them by&nbsp;an interest in human behavior and a repeated tendency to run&nbsp;late. And they use their mysterious electric force&nbsp;to take Trudy not on an&nbsp;intergalactic adventure, but on a "channel surfing" spree through the&nbsp;lives of various contemporary humans, all played by Strong. Among them are&nbsp;the aptly named Agnus Angst, a troubled, misunderstood&nbsp;teenager whose tantrums you almost feel bad for laughing at; the storytelling prostitutes Brandy and Tina;&nbsp;the jaded, privileged Kate; and&nbsp;Lyn, Edie, and Marge, activists from the early days of the women's movement.The trio's&nbsp;section makes the second half drag a bit, but pay attention&nbsp;nonetheless — blink-and-you'll-miss-them references to the other characters pop up in each person's dialogue. They're perfectly mundane:&nbsp;One character fired another, one is the sperm donor for another couple of characters, one found a note another dropped on the ground. Whether or not you believe that Trudy is really inhabiting all these different people or showing them to aliens,&nbsp;Wagner's (and by extension, Trudy's) thesis, that human lives are all connected in various unknowable ways, is made perfectly satisfying in these moments.Trudy herself acknowledges how "crazy" she sounds when she talks about the aliens and these adventures,&nbsp;but counters, "Goin' crazy was the best thing ever happened to me. ...&nbsp;What is reality anyway? Nothing but a collective hunch. In my view, it's absurdity dressed up in a three-piece business suit," eliciting one of many hearty laughs. Trudy's&nbsp;embrace of "madness" is instantly endearing, due in large part to Strong's effervescence and commitment. But I couldn't help but think: The pandemic turned all we knew about "reality" — what's "normal" and and "acceptable" about day-to-day life — on its head. Maybe I, for one, have already become inclined&nbsp;to embrace a little crazy. Maybe I'm&nbsp;inclined to believe nothing truly is "crazy," and Wagner's play couldn't have come at a better time to support that.Not to mention,&nbsp;The Search for Signs&nbsp;is a love letter to live theatre, too, that couldn't have come at a better time. When&nbsp;else would we believe that an umbrella hat-wearing, homeless, "crazy" woman is a time-traveling mouthpiece for the human condition? When we hear that woman talk about how the aliens behaved when she took them to the theatre. "They said it wasn't the play that gave them goosebumps, it was the audience," she says. "To see a group of strangers sitting in the dark, laughing and crying about the same thing, just knocked them out." Suddenly, nothing about the play, about aliens, about human connection seems crazy at all. The inimitable power of theatre to reinforce our shared life&nbsp;is&nbsp;something that, by simply sitting in a theatre to watch&nbsp;The Search for Signs,&nbsp;we discover&nbsp;to be true.<a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/the-search-for-signs-of-intelligent-life-in-the-universe">The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe&nbsp;is at The Shed through February&nbsp;6, 2022. Get&nbsp;The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe&nbsp;tickets on New York Theatre Guide.</a>Photo credit:&nbsp;Cecily Strong in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. (Photo by Kate Glicksberg, courtesy of The Shed)

'The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe' review — Cecily Strong delivers an out-of-this-world performance

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is at The Shed through February 6, 2022. Get The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Review | New York Theatre Guide

The Shed is a multipurpose arts space located in the Hudson Yards area of Manhattan. Since the venue opened on April 5, 2019, it has showcased a wide range of theatrical performances, visual art displays, and other pop culture-centered events.

The complex includes the 500-seat Griffin Theatre and two levels of exhibition space. A retractable shell built into the architecture creates The McCourt, a space for large-scale shows, installations, and events. The building was commissioned as part of the creation of the Hudson Yards area at large, which has been designated for cultural use.

## How to get to The Shed off Broadway

The Shed is closest to the 34th Street - Hudson Yards subway stop on the 7 line. The closest bus stops are 11 Av./W 29 St. on the M12 line and 10 Av./ W 30 St. on the M11 line.

## Restaurants near The Shed

The Shed has an in-house bar and eatery called Cedric's, which serves drinks and bites in the venue's lobby. Other popular restaurants near The Shed in NYC include Mercado Little Spain, Jib's (seafood), and Kahlo (Mexican). Near The Shed in the Hudson Yards complex is also a shopping center with multiple eateries inside.

The Shed - NY

The Shed

Architect Harry P. Knowles designed New York City Center, which was built by Clinton and Russell in 1923 for the Shriners under the name of The Mecca Temple. Amid the financial crash of 1929, the building became city property after the Shriners were unable to keep up with tax payments.

Former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and New York City Council President Newbold Morris decided to convert the temple into Manhattan’s first performing arts center. The building opened as a theatre in December 1943.

New York City Center is known for its annual Encores! productions since 1994, which restage seldom revived American musicals in concert or semi-staged incarnations. The venue received a Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre in 2000.

Since its launch, New York City Center has become one of the city’s prime venues for dance.

In addition to the 2,557-seat mainstage, the facility houses two smaller theatres — Stage I and Stage II, where Manhattan Theatre Club has hosted its Off-Broadway productions since 1984 — and four studios.

## How to get to New York City Center

New York City Center is closest to the 57th Street station on the N, Q, R, and W lines and the 7th Avenue station on the E, B, and D lines. The nearest bus stops are 6 Av./W 55 St. on the Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q20 lines; and 6 Av./56 St. on the Q10, Q12, and Q24 lines.

## Restaurants near New York City Center

Popular restaurants near New York City Center include Redeye Grill (American), Pazza Notte (Italian), Estiatorio Milos (Greek), Rue 57 (French), and Benihana (Japanese).

New York City Center - NY

New York City Center

Cecily Strong Headshot

David Zayas stars in John Patrick Shanley's [*Brooklyn Laundry*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/34683-brooklyn-laundry) off Broadway at [New York City Center](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/new-york-city-center) from February 6 to March 24, 2024.

Zayas earned a Tony Award nomination in 2023 for starring in the Broadway premiere of Martyna Majok's Pulitzer Prize-winning play *Cost of Living*. He has also been involved with the Off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company since 1992.

He is best known, however, for his screen roles, including Angel Batista on *Dexter*, Enrique Morales on *Oz*, and Don Salvatore Maroni on *Gotham*.

David Zayas - NY

MTC Friedman

Cost of Living on Broadway - NYC 

Cost of Living on Broadway

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Martyna Majok’s [*Cost of Living*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25892-cost-of-living-tickets) follows shifting relationships between two disabled adults and their caregivers. The play arrives on Broadway four years after being awarded a Pulitzer Prize, an honor that is both a badge (bragging rights to an exclusive club) and baggage (escalated expectations). That’s the cost of winning.

Over 110 unbroken minutes this lean, perceptive, and beautifully acted drama explores several provocative themes including connection and isolation as well as privilege and class. The main focus is people in need — and not just the two individuals who use wheelchairs, but the able-bodied attendants as well. All four face challenges and hurdles of every stripe. That’s the point — that’s the cost of living.

The action unspools over nine scenes, and Wilson Chin’s spare, revolving set provides a smooth and seamless showcase in this Manhattan Theatre Club production. The play starts in a bar a week before Christmas. “That’s gonna be hard,” Eddie (David Zayas), an out-of-work long-haul truck driver, tells an unseen character in a lengthy — a bit too windy, actually — monologue. Holiday cheer isn’t in Eddie’s wheelhouse. He’s alone, suffering, untethered. 

The plot rewinds to September and the sleek New Jersey apartment where John (Gregg Mozgala), a Princeton grad student, lives. He’s got a Harvard degree and wealth. He wraps himself up in the comfort they afford just like he does in his plush cashmere sweaters. John has cerebral palsy and requires help for daily hygiene tasks. 

Jess (Kara Young), meets with John to apply to be his caretaker. She’s working-class with a sick immigrant mother and a Princeton degree that’s led nowhere careerwise for her. She slings drinks in bars. John says her job would be “to wash me. My hair. Teeth… You’d keep me handsome.” She gets the gig. She’s desperate for money for reasons that emerge.

The story transitions to the rundown home of Ani (Katy Sullivan), Eddie’s estranged wife. A catastrophic accident shattered her spinal cord and left her a quadriplegic above-the-knee amputee. She’s bitter, and rightly so, with a salty tongue and no time for self-pity. Despite having a girlfriend, Eddie insists on caring for Ani. He’s motivated by financial and emotional reasons. 

As the months move forward, each pair grows closer. In back-to-back scenes, Jess washes John as he strips, and she helps him into his shower. It’s an intimate arrangement, but it plays out with a sense of equal mutual respect — or so it seems. At Ani’s place, Eddie bathes his ex. He talks about playing the piano as a kid. “Twenty-almost-one years,” she says. “You never told me that.” In a moment of acute tenderness that reveals Majok’s sensitive and creative mind, Eddie plays Ani’s arm like a keyboard. Moments later, things take a harrowing turn that jolts them — and the audience — back to reality.

It’s easy to root for these couples — not necessarily in a romantic sense but simply in terms of human connection. Guided by director Jo Bonney, the actors don’t strike a false note — even when the script gets spotty. Although the fate of Eddie and Ani’s relationship is all too believable, that’s less the case for John and Jess. While John’s lack of generosity is obvious, Jess getting sucker-punched by misreading her boss undercuts her character’s keen intelligence. 

How the couples’ story strands finally twine together requires a leap of faith. In the end, convenient plot turns can’t undo the play’s bracing originality. Majok wisely doesn’t sugarcoat realities in sentimentality, but she also leaves the door ajar for an optimistic glimmer. That feels right. After all, what’s the cost of hope?

[*Cost of Living* is at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre until October 30. Get *Cost of Living* tickets at New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25892-cost-of-living-tickets)

*Photo credit: David Zayas and Katy Sullivan in Cost of Living. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)*

'Cost of Living' review — a beautifully acted drama about connection and class

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre originally opened on December 7, 1925 as the Biltmore Theatre. Herbert J. Krapp designed the building for impresario Irwin Chanin. Its inaugural production was *Easy Come Easy Go*. 

From 1952 to 1962, CBS used the theatre for television and radio broadcasting purposes. In 1963, it reopened as a traditional theatre with Neil Simon's *Barefoot in the Park*.

In 1987, the theatre closed following an arson attack and sat vacant for 14 years. In 2001, Manhattan Theatre Club took over the venue and reopened the performance space in 2003 after renovations. MTC renamed it the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4, 2008, to honor the Broadway publicist.

## How to get to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is closest to the 50th Street subway stop on the C and E line. The closest bus stops are 8 Av/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M34A-SBS line.

## Restaurants near the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is located across the street from three popular pre- and post-show restaurants: Trattoria Trecolori (Italian), Glass House Tavern (American), and Friedman's (American). Also nearby are the Irish pubs Mean Fiddler and Playwrights Celtic Pub, as well as Restaurant Row, the stretch of 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues lined with eateries.

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Manhattan Theatre Club - NY

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

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