“Jonah,” or the “Slippery” Show I’m Trying To Hold On To

Plus, a couple more shows that I’m looking forward to that you might want to see, too!

Happy Friday! Are you thinking, wow, Zoe, two Substacks in a week?? We can thank my grandfather for that, partly because he was wondering where my newsletter was, partly because he and my grandmother took me to see the show I’m writing about today, “Jonah.”

• How I found out about it: Roundabout Theater Company’s website, which I was exploring to look at when “Doubt” was running (another show I want to see this season!). I watched the little trailer on their website and still had no idea what it was about. 

• Why I went: My grandparents. They are long-time Roundabout members, they had “points” with Roundabout they could use to get tickets, and this show was getting good reviews.

• How I got tickets: The aforementioned points that my grandparents used to get tickets! Otherwise, I would have used HipTix, Roundabout’s under 40 program. You can use the code HIPTIX to get $30 ticket seats before March 10 — hurry, because when I just checked, they were limited!

Most reviews of “Jonah” use the word “slippery” to describe Roundabout’s newest play. Although unconventional and confusing, it’s one of the best ways to explain just what this illusive show is: a fluid movement through time, following a young woman, Ana, as she slides through time and relationships with three different men. 

“Jonah” starts with Ana (Gabby Beans), a lively, confident, curious teenager at a boarding school who has just met Jonah (Hagan Oliveras), an awkward boy who is clearly head over heels for Ana. If you were to put their conversations into music, it’d sound like a perfectly realistic soundtrack to teenage conversations. It is playful and exciting and both of their voices fly up at the end of their sentences. It’s clear they’re both self-aware and nervous in their own ways, but so invested in one another that boundaries fall down quickly anyway.

Suddenly, just as the sexual tension between the two of them turns into something more, Jonah leaves the stage suddenly, and is replaced with Danny (Samuel H. Levine). We don’t have a clear idea of what situation we’re in — which is true for most of the show — but we can piece together that Ana and Danny are family, in some way, that they’re in an abusive household, and there’s also some sexual energy present. Samuel H. Levine is creepy, scary, and caring at the same time. The content warnings for the show are mostly for the sections of the play with Danny in them, which I would recommend reading, especially if you’re going to the play with your grandparents. I didn’t expect to see Samuel H. Levine’s naked butt while sitting next to my grandmother. (I must note — this is also the second time I’ve seen Samuel H. Levine’s naked body on stage, thanks to the 2018 play “The Inheritance,” where there was full-front nudity. Samuel, you are a great actor, but we must stop meeting like this). 

Finally, we change scenes and time again, and suddenly Ana is out and living on her own, this time working at a writer’s conference, where we meet Steven (John Zdrojeski). Steven is a huge fan of Ana, who has published a highly renowned book, with themes we learn about over the course of their conversations. These scenes with Steven are the most didactic and straight-forward, but I loved how John Zdrojeski played so goofy, awkward, curious, and natural. 

After we’ve met all the players, the show continues to slide around. One moment, we’re at the conference, then we’re in Ana’s freshman year of college, and she’s seeing Danny, then we’re back at the conference, then we’re at boarding school with Jonah, then suddenly Ana is a senior in college and fighting with Danny. We never know exactly where we are, but it’s OK — we’re focusing on the characters in front of us, especially Ana, and how she grows and changes, but also how she also holds onto the past. Gabby Beans’ performance is one of the most stunning I’ve seen, especially in a role that feels incredibly challenging. She is constantly shifting between younger and older versions of one character. It is masterful to hear her glide through the language of a piece that slips and slides, to watch as the set around her changes and doesn’t, as her costuming changes and doesn’t. In the most subtle, but most important ways, Ana does and doesn’t change, and Gabby Beans somehow shows us all of that. 

My one critique of “Jonah” is how explanatory its ending is. For so much of the show, we are sliding around in the dark (can you tell why critics say “slippery” yet?). It feels as if the show jumps from one scene and time period right before we understand what was just happening in the last scene and time period. This feeling of trying to catch up and make sense isn’t frustrating or confusing, but rather entracing and mystifying. We’re given just enough information to understand the dynamics at play, and instead can focus on the show’s beautiful, poetically conversational writing and the sometimes devastating, sometimes heartwarming relationships in front of us. Yet at the end of the show, all of this is taken away and replaced with a very frank, direct conversation about Ana’s life that explains essentially everything that’s happened during the show.

While I think this conversation was still intriguing and interesting to listen to — and very naturally acted, for a somewhat unnatural device — I wonder what it would have been like to leave the show a little more open-ended. My curiosity and willingness to just follow Ana wherever she was taking us is what really engaged me, and I would have liked to hold on to it a little bit longer.

“Jonah” is a show that will stick with me, even though you feel like you’re trying to grasp onto something and watching it slip away.

What’s Next? Upcoming Shows

Last month, I attempted to brain dump all of the shows I was excited to see this season in one Substack post. It’s an infamously crowded Broadway season (which The New York Times did a very informative round up of yesterday), but there’s also a lot Off-Broadway that I’m interested in seeing! Since then, here’s a few more shows I’m thinking of getting tickets to or have plans to see.

“Sunset Baby”

This is a highly-reviewed revival that just opened at Signature Theatre! This is also the theater that my incredible friend Emily works at, and I’m very excited to see the product of what’s been keeping her in midtown. You can read Emily’s review of the show on her Substack. 

You can get tickets directly at Signature Theatre’s website; the cheapest seats are $40 and $50, without fees. They also have a free membership program for specific community members that waives the fees for all tickets.

“The Ally”

I first heard about The Public Theater’s new show while reading a playbill before a show, which is my favorite kind of marketing. Written by the playwright who wrote “The Band’s Visit,” this show covers highly-relevant political discourse about Israel and Palestine, police violence, and racism. It also stars Josh Radnor (of “How I Met Your Mother” fame). After a “Prayer for a French Republic” — which I saw right after “Jonah” and will write about soon — I’m really interested in seeing more work that speaks openly and directly about current events. 

Tickets are selling out quickly! You can get them directly at The Public’s website. I believe they’re capped at $70. 

“Oh, Mary!”

Comedian Cole Escola’s Off-Broadway debut is a HIT! This show follows Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, in the weeks leading to his assassination. Apparently it’s incredibly hilarious and popular — the show just announced an extension yesterday and those new tickets are already going quickly! 

I’m hoping to win tickets on the TodayTix digital rush, which opens at 9 a.m. every day and costs $43 if you win. Cross your fingers for me.

“Teeth”

I mentioned this in the aforementioned Substack, but I can’t emphasize how excited I am to see this show. “Teeth” is based on the horror film of the same name, and follows an evangelical Christian teen with a vagina that has teeth. Plus, Michael R. Jackson, who wrote “A Strange Loop,” wrote the book and lyrics. And, I just watched a promotional video which features the cast singing the lyrics, “teeth, teeth, teeth, TEETH,” over and over again. How could I not be excited?

I’m ushering this one thanks to Emily, who was very on it when usher spots opened a month ago. While usher spots have since filled up, Playwrights Horizons does young and student memberships for people under 35 and students! You can get a ticket for every show for $20 if you’re under 35, and $10 if you’re a student.

What am I missing?? It’s a wild theater season, and I’m ready to spend lots of my free time at more shows!