'New Born' Off-Broadway review — a podcast-like series of stories

Read our review of New Born off Broadway, a trio of monologues written by Ella Hickson and performed by Hugh Jackman, Sepideh Moafi, and Marianna Gailus.

Summary

• New Born is a trio of monologues about reimagining one's life performed by Hugh Jackman; Sepideh Moafi; and Marianna Gailus
• Each monologue is strong on its own but the three don't cohere with each other
• Gailus's monologue is the standout of the three
• New Born will be recorded and released on Audible at a later date

Though the marketing copy for New Born claims that the characters’ stories “connect them across centuries and continents,” they have nothing to do with each other. Ella Hickson's trio of monologues, running off Broadway play at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, boasts a tenuous-at-best theme of reimagining and reawakening one’s life with something like a newborn baby or romance or idea. The actors hover around at the beginning of the show and in the transitions between monologues, handing each other water bottles and hanging near the wings until they can slip away. Director Ian Rickson’s choice is one born more of convenience than of artistry.

Each of Hickson’s monologues is thoughtful enough to hold the audience’s attention on its own, even if the resolutions are sometimes thinly developed. Sepideh Moafi (The Pitt) is intriguing enough as an artist and new mother, an agent of quiet chaos who has convinced herself, through the relative apathy of being on her phone all the time, that she is not in charge of her own choices. She falls under the spell of a sophisticated and wealthy English singer (Moafi morphs into her with an arched posh accent) who tries to entice the protagonist to cheat on her doting husband.

The woman’s middling conclusion that each partner in a marriage is allowed their privacy feels a bit disingenuous: We don’t know enough about her husband or their relationship to believe this secrecy is earned, though the guilt-laden veneer of the monologue certainly suggests he is a good man. The story then shifts back into the woman’s inaction, her addiction to scrolling her phone, in an attempt to tie together narrative beats that are not on firm ground.

Hugh Jackman is endearing as a “tree surgeon” who falls in love with a client, struggles with sexual attraction to her after they have a child, and then gets karmic treatment from his new partner after a devastating injury. Jackman is the biggest name, the obvious draw, and it’s no secret that he’s capable of handling any role thrown his way.

But compared to the stakes of the second story, performed by Marianna Gailus, Moafi's and Jackman’s monologues feel inconsequential, full of quotidian complaints about love that flounder in the face of real dramatic tension. Gailus plays a young pioneer woman in Wyoming, caught between the upward economic mobility of marriage and her disdain for her beau’s peers. In the face of violence, she chooses bravery and solidarity, refusing to buckle under the pressure of the burgeoning Ku Klux Klan.

Some of her observations have the benefit of hindsight that would not befall a character in the moment, such as her mother’s conclusion that Wyoming only granted women’s suffrage to outnumber the Black vote. But Gailus’s stony resolution and the life-changing drama of her story make Moafi’s monologue forgettable and Jackman’s unimportant.

This lack of cohesion is, in a way, not the fault of the playwright. Hickson delivers three solid stories; that they don’t perfectly fit together doesn’t really matter when you consider that they were designed to be audio-first, as are all the plays produced at the Minetta Lane under Audible’s ownership. But the idea that New Born offers an experience you can't get from just downloading the monologues onto your phone is pitiable. Perhaps, like the lovelorn and lost characters, I shouldn’t have expected more.

New Born summary

New Born is a series of three monologues that each tell a separate story. In the first, Sepideh Moafi is a mother and artist who has a chance encounter with a mega-celebrity, kickstarting a spiral of secrecy and shame that threatens both her marriage and her sense of self.

In the second, Marianna Gailus is a young, poor woman working on the Wyoming frontier when a young Black boy at her workplace disappears, setting into motion a chain of violence and retribution.

In the final monologue, Hugh Jackman is a tree surgeon who falls in love with a woman who wants to save the old tree in her yard by any means necessary. Their romance soon faces the challenges of parenthood, disability, and sexual power dynamics.

What to expect at New Born

New Born runs approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes without an intermission. The show discusses infidelity, alcohol consumption, racism, violence against women, and pregnancy. The play also features a graphic description of an improvised medical procedure. New Born also uses lighting and sound to depict a car accident.

Each monologue is approximately 40 minutes long. Audience members who arrive late will be asked to remain at the back of the house until the break between monologues.

What audiences are saying about New Born

Audiences at early performances of New Born have shared mixed-to-positive responses on online forums like the Mezzanine app.

• “Sepideh Moafi is a star and I hope she gets more stage roles.” - Mezzanine user Mason
• Erich Schmidt writes on Mezzanine that “all three [performers] were quite affecting,” with particular praise for Marianna Gailus.
• Mezzanine user Isabella Chilcutt calls New Born a “very poignant and emotional series of monologues.”

Who should see New Born

• Fans of HBO Max’s The Pitt will recognize star Sepideh Moafi, who trades in her scrubs for New Born.
• Theatregoers who have enjoyed director Ian Rickson’s other works in repertory this spring at Minetta Lane won’t want to miss this final installment, following Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and the currently running What Happened Was....
• While Hugh Jackman is the biggest name on stage at Minetta Lane, New Born cast member Marianna Gailus also drew considerable attention last season as the standby for Andrew Scott in the one-person Vanya off Broadway.

Learn more about New Born off Broadway

Despite my cynicism, New Born is by no means an unenjoyable time at the theatre. Each actor is talented, and each monologue is well-written. If this assessment and the casting are enough to entice you to buy a ticket, go forth with joy; if not, Audible will deliver you the content online soon enough.

Learn more and get New Born tickets on New York Theatre Guide. New Born is at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre through June 8.

Photo credit: New Born off Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)