Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Things We Want, well-directed by Jacob C. Mirer and written by Jonathan Marc Sherman, is an ambitious work. The play follows three brothers, all of whom live in the apartment they grew up in, as they rant, belittle each other, and ultimately connive and conspire. Both of their parents are dead, they killed themselves by jumping out the living room window, and this is often a point of dark humor throughout the play.

 As the oldest and “responsible” brother, Teddy, Ryan Link plays the part of someone so desperate they fall for a self help guru. This guru uses simple mathematics to reveal to you your “one true want.” It is this that drives the show, as the title suggests: finding out what these people want. Sty, played by Peter Zerneck, is an alcoholic who ultimately wants sobriety. Jeremy A. Wingle, playing Charlie, thinks he wants his ex-girlfriend back, but what he really wants is simply reciprocated love. But what Charlie doesn’t realize is that his brother Teddy is a slimy jerk who will stop at nothing to get what he thinks he wants. Throw in Charlie’s new girlfriend, Stella (played by Alix Liiv), and you’re in for delicious back stabbing.

The writing is excellent throughout the play, often funny and at many times profound. The staging is also particularly good, making very good use of small, slightly awkward space. Everything about the show works, from the music playing when you enter (Arctic Monkeys, Goo-Goo Dolls) to the touching last moments where Charlie closes, then opens, the window where his parents jumped to their death.

They’re calling Sherman’s work a “comeback from one of America’s great contemporary playwrights” and it’s hard to disagree. With a rocking cast that truly serves the work, and a director with a definite vision, Things We Want has a long future ahead of it.