'Angry Alan' Off-Broadway review — John Krasinski is mired in modern masculinity
Read our review of Angry Alan off Broadway, a new solo play written by Penelope Skinner and directed by Sam Gold as the premiere show at Studio Seaview.
First things first: No, John Krasinski isn’t Angry Alan, the unseen but pivotal online figure in the title of Penelope Skinner’s all-too-timely and acridly amusing play at Studio Seaview.
Instead, he plays Roger, just an average guy. Well, since getting divorced, losing a job he loved, and watching his self-esteem circle the drain, he’s become Rattled and Rudderless Roger. What’s a guy to do to feel good again?
Roger’s remedy comes thanks to a “red pill moment,” he tells us, gabbing cheerily about how he’s been dosing (megadosing really) on YouTube guru Angry Alan’s content about men’s rights and how women — the “gynocracy” — supposedly have things rigged. Roger dives deep into the movement, reclaiming validation and meaning. His ex-wife, girlfriend, and teenage son all notice.
Between Krasinski’s natural nice-guy, aw-shucks demeanor and the breezy way he shares his story — at times he practically squeals — Roger’s tale of transformation could strike you as harmless and featherlight. It’s not. Angry Alan is determined to shed light on the dangers of misogyny masked as self-help — and to push buttons while it’s at it. Push it does.
That’s par for the course for Skinner, a British playwright whose work often explores themes of gender, power, and identity. In this disarming comedy, she deftly balances light and darkness as she explores high-stakes subjects: modern masculinity, gender politics, and how vulnerability gets exploited and monetized.
She’s got a firm ally in director Sam Gold. His fast-paced staging makes clever use of a revolving set and projected images, mannequins doubling as men (a tidy metaphor, no?), and blood-red, straight-from-a-horror-flick video flashes that neatly underscore the intensity.
Krasinski, famous as the fourth-wall-breaking everyman Jim from The Office and the selfless dad from A Quiet Place, is the reason audiences are packing the show off Broadway, and he’s on his game. Talking a mile a minute for almost an hour and a half, he captures Roger’s conflicts and confusions. He’s so likable he almost makes you feel sympathy for Roger — but just almost.
Angry Alan summary
Angry Alan, which Skinner co-created with Don Mackay, debuted in 2018 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Off-Broadway production marks the show’s New York debut. The plot follows Roger, a middle-aged man whose life feels increasingly out of control — professionally and personally — and he falls under the spell of an online guru, Angry Alan, who peddles misogyny masked as self-help.
What to expect at Angry Alan
If it feels like Roger is talking right to you, that’s the intent. You’re part of this, as Roger addresses the audience directly for nearly the entire 90 minutes. Roger’s clothes (costume design by Qween Jean) and home (scenic design by dots) are designed to make him appear as ordinary as possible, and they do.
What audiences are saying about Angry Alan
With a 93% audience approval score on the review aggregator Show-Score, theatregoers are basically mad about Angry Alan.
“I came to see the show because John Krasinski was in it. And he was absolutely fantastic. But more than that, the play was outstanding – so funny and sad and terrifying, all at the same time.” - Show-Score user Katie_5149 “The show description says it’s about ‘toxic masculinity,” but I’d argue that you are constantly jolted in and out of empathy for each character, leaving you sitting in the discomfort of each one’s semi-problematic search for belonging in their tribe’s ideology.” - Show-Score user Suzie_5158 “An ominous tale of a new online world that isolates and radicalizes us.” - Show-Score user MeganG “Krasinski somehow finds a way to make an unlikable character feel charming. Well-acted, timely story.” - Show-Score user LJW
Read more audience reviews of Angry Alan on Show-Score.
Who should see Angry Alan
- Theatregoers who saw Krasinski in his 2016 Off-Broadway debut as a corporate power in Dry Powder will want to catch his latest role.
- Skinner’s work tends to be topical. Audiences who saw The Village Bike off Broadway in 2014, starring Greta Gerwig and directed by Gold, will want to check out what’s on her mind in this play.
- Fans of plays like John Proctor Is the Villain and Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Class, two current NYC plays that explore masculinity, will likely be drawn to this work.
Learn more about Angry Alan off Broadway
The script, star, and staging of Angry Alan add up to a show that leaves you thinking — and ready to talk about it.
Photo credit: John Krasinski in Angry Alan off Broadway. (Photos by Jonny Cournoyer)
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