The Receptionist ★★★★

By The Recs RDC - Randall David Cook 2 months ago

‘The Receptionist’: Something’s Wrong at the Office

Anyone who worked in an office in the ‘90s will recognize — and likely sigh at — the humdrum setting of The Receptionist, Adam Bock’s dark comedy with serious bite. The water cooler, the fax and shredding machines, the personality-free décor, the pass-around birthday card: all duly accounted for, and accurate, thanks to the great set design by dots. Nonetheless, despite all the advances in technology that have changed many aspects of office-life culture, this revival, produced by 2nd Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center, returns to New York stages twenty years after its premiere, more timely than ever. 

Katie Finneran plays Beverly Wilkins, the titular receptionist whose desk is front and center in the northeast office of an unnamed company, and she stays busy answering the phone, usually transferring the calls she receives to her co-worker Lorraine (Mallori Johnson), who’s perpetually late because she keeps missing her bus, and her boss, Mr. Raymond (Nael Nacer), who unusually hasn’t yet shown up when the play begins.

Images by Joan Marcus

It’s not all work for Beverly though. A huge chunk of her time — and the first half of the play —is actually spent gossiping with friends on the phone, chatting with Lorraine about her narcissist ex-boyfriend, and greeting unexpected arrivals, including Mr. Dart (Will Pullen), the charming and handsome representative from the central office who shows up wanting to talk with Mr. Raymond and asks to wait when told he’s not yet arrived.

Not until halfway through this brisk 80-minute play does Mr. Raymond finally show up at the office, and when he does, one line of dialogue changes the color of the play entirely, a verbal slap informing the audience that the play is not what they thought it was.

From that surge of theatrical adrenaline, everything changes for the three office workers. To say more would be to ruin Bock’s purposeful twist, so on that matter no more will be said. But as for the overall work, a price is paid for Bock’s sharply observed realism. Because he dedicates so much time to the trivialities of a normal office day, when upheavals occur, the audience doesn’t know enough about the characters to have strong feelings about their destinies. We care, but not as deeply as we would if the characters were more fully developed.

Under Sarah Benson’s assured direction, the excellent cast fills their respective characters with as much life as they can. Johnson captures Lorraine’s youthful frustrations beautifully, and as Beverly, Finneran is thoroughly captivating, a woman doing her best until her best is deemed not good enough. 

Small talk with devastating consequences.  

★★★★ 4 stars

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