Stewart F. Lane's backstage comedy In the Wings centers on two young actors and the move that changes both their lives forever. Jeremy Dobrish directed the piece, which stars Lisa Datz, Josh Prince, Marilyn Sokol, Brian Henderson and Peter Scolari. In the Wings opened on September 28 at the Promenade Theatre. Did it fly with drama critics?
Here is a sampling of what they had to say:
William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "Lane is a Tony-winning producer Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage aux Folles and part-time playwright. Based on the evidence here, Lane should stick to producing. He has attempted to write a romantic comedy/farce/backstage play. It fails as all three… The playwright goes to remarkably tacky lengths to get laughs… and still doesn't get them… Even the intentionally rotten musical numbers from I Married a Communist aren't funny. Perhaps that's because the clueless comedy surrounding them is just as amateurish."
Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times: "In the Wings, a new comedy by Stewart F. Lane at the Promenade Theater, has enough clichés in it to drown the best actor. Yet Marilyn Sokol, portraying the biggest cliché of them all, the meddling Jewish mother, manages to draw genuine laughs, and lots of them. She's not around long enough to salvage the proceedings, but the skill is something to admire… Lisa Datz and Josh Prince are the young actors playing the young actors, and both have undeniable stage appeal, but the broad comedy, such as it is, in the script offers them no challenges."
