THE NAP is an odd bird at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.  The first extended and endless scene is taken up with exposition, explaining the game rules of Snooker, the family connections to come into play and the meaning of the title (The Nap of a snooker table – the patterns of the billiard felt – makes going direction of the table easy and opposing it creates variations and unpredictability).  Got it?

Written by Richard Bean and directed by Daniel Sullivan, the play drags and zig-zags too often.  The characters are vivid and eccentric but too often two dimensional.  The plot is ultimately predictable, regardless of the red herrings thrown out liberally.  There are many laugh lines though some seem forced, like the Mrs. Malapropisms of the popular Alexandra Billings.  John Ellison Conlee is terrific as the clueless and confused dad (especially with movie plot comparisons which run thin pretty quickly) and Ben Schnetzer is the compelling and attractive lead.  Not going to say I didn’t laugh, I did, but I regretted it just as often. A thin and light frothy broth that has little real grounding, even when actual Snooker play is incorporated.

As always you can find more on http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes

SHOW DISCOUNTS CURRENTLY OFFERED THROUGH MY BLOG:

Tickets are now on sale for the Players Theatre Short Play Festival at 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village that includes my script THE RIDE DOWN MOUNT SCARY.  It is directed by Pamela Wilson and features Carly Ruda, Eric Diamond, Maggie Hunter and Christopher Delacruz.  My play is featured in the third week of the festival on October 25, 26 & 27 at 7 PM and October 28 at 3 PM. You can buy tickets in advance at www.shortplaynyc.com.  If you use the discount code CAST the usual $30 ticket magically becomes $20.  Hope to see you there.  

We are thrilled to be partnering with MY PARSIFAL CONDUCTOR, the world premiere, Off-Broadway play written by multiple EMMY Award-Winning Allan Leicht, directed by Robert Kalfin and produced by The Directors Company by special arrangement with Ted Snowden, featuring Eddie Korbich as Richard Wagner, Claire Brownell as Cosima Wagner and Geoffrey Cantor as Hermann Levi. MY PARSIFAL CONDUCTOR is a comedic spin on real-life events of famous composer Richard Wagner (“Vagner”) and the Jewish conductor that brought his final masterpiece to life.  We are happy to share a special discount offer for up to 52% off for our loyal followers.  Visit: https://myparsifalconductor.com/, call (866) 811-4111 or visit the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA 10 West 64th Street New York, NY 10023, and use code “PMPCMKT” for performance 9/25 – 10/10 and “MPCMKT” for performances 10/12 – 11/3.  Enjoy the show!