'Dilaria' Off-Broadway review — snappy and sexy show about social media obsession
Read our review of Dilaria off Broadway, written by Julia Randall, directed by Alex Keegan, and starring Ella Stiller, Chiara Aurelia, and Christopher Briney.
Julia Randall’s Dilaria is snappy, sexy, and pop culture-forward. The play, premiering at DR2 Theatre, features two angry, social media-obsessed young women who are trapped in an abusive relationship of their own design and desperate to both gain and eschew peer approval. On page, it is perfect, but onstage, something is missing.
Dilaria, which is appropriately named after its self-obsessed protagonist (a fantastically anxious and compulsive Ella Stiller), feels thin, trying too hard to meet the moment of plays about girls and young women brimming with righteous anger and a penchant for violence. Though you know exactly where Dilaria is going, its climax does not feel earned. Perhaps this is because Dilaria’s hookup Noah (Christopher Briney) is too much of a plot device, self-aware beyond his years and able to read Dilaria’s twisted relationship with her best friend Georgia (Chiara Aurelia) like a therapist.
Aurelia’s wooden delivery softens over time as Georgia finds her footing, but as much as she insists that Dilaria is actually a bully who derives pity and side-eye from their peers, we have no proof beyond the walls of scenic designer Frank J Oliva’s perfectly stock-photo-esque bedroom. Which biased and battered friend should we believe? Randall doesn’t explore this tension, instead racing to a finish that lets a pathologically ill narcissist engage in self-reflection and growth faster than a Chia Pet.
David Anzuelo’s fight sequence is tight but lightning-speed, not allowing enough time for the audience to absorb the final twist. Director Alex Keegan keeps the production focused and fun, but Dilaria doesn’t compare to the plays it is trying to emulate.
Dilaria summary
The play follows Dilaria (Stiller), a wealthy Midwest transplant scrolling social media in her New York apartment. She is preoccupied by death — that of her father, but mostly what her own might look like — and is intrigued and annoyed to see how much attention a newly deceased former classmate receives online. Between playing hard-to-get with her “fuck buddy” Noah (Briney) and belittling her best (or only) friend Georgia (Aurelia), Dilaria plans a spectacle that will guarantee that no one forgets her.
What to expect at Dilaria
Diliaria has a run time of approximately 90 minutes and is performed without an intermission. The play features explicit discussions of sex and drug use as well as mentions of death, murder, suicide, and self-harm. Dilaria features simulated onstage violence.
Who should see Dilaria
- If you enjoyed Maiden Voyage at The Flea last season, you’ll want to check out off-Broadway aficionado Keegan’s latest directorial venture.
- Fans of the HBO Max’s Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That won’t want to miss season 3 cast member Stiller’s off-Broadway debut.
- Summer in the city brings a new season of theatre: Fans of Freefrom’s Cruel Summer will want to catch star Aurelia (before she heads to John Proctor Is the Villian on Broadway), and fans of Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty will want to see star Briney before the final season drops next month.
Learn more about Dilaria off Broadway
The premiere production of Randall’s play throws a wrench into the discourse about parasocial relationships maintained through social media personae.
Photo credit: Dilaria off Broadway. (Photos by Emilio Madrid)
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