Off-Broadway’s successful Second Stage is now also on Broadway with a $64 million renovation of the Helen Hayes Theater. Never before have I seen so many people complain out loud about the seating. “I’m claustrophobic,” one woman behind me said. Everyone’s shoulders seemed wider than the chairs. Arm rests probably couldn’t balance an elbow but that’s not really physically possible without contortionist skills and very friendly seatmates. Picture airline seating and then put more chairs in. That’s the feeling. Putting that aside, the Broadway debut for this company is Lobby Hero, a 2001 play by Kenneth Lonergan.
Michael Cera (This is Our Youth) plays Jeff, a 27 year old security guard working the night shift in a residential building in New York City. This job is an attempt to finally put his life in order. Against his better judgment, his supervisor William (Bryan Tyree Henry) discusses a personal matter with Jeff. The only other two characters are Bill (Chris Evans) and Dawn (Bel Powley), the neighborhood police. Bill is the seasoned vet and Dawn is the rookie, just three months on the job. Everyone is flawed in this absorbing play.
Lobby Hero is certainly commenting on working class New Yorkers but is much more philosophical than that. Using comedy, drama and very memorable storytelling, these four individuals express their points of view. Throughout the play, you may find your opinions about them changing. The acting is first rate. In choosing an imperfect cop for his Broadway debut, Chris Evans plays against the squeaky clean Captain America superhero from his films. He is excellent, fully committed to the menacing spirit which ignites the plot. Like everyone in this play, his character’s judgment is under the microscope.
As our central character, Michael Cera’s performance captures all the nerdiness and loneliness of this oddball loser who wants to be a winner in life. Maybe that is true. Lobby Hero is so good that you cannot be sure of anything. Bryan Tyree Henry as the boss and family man was perhaps my favorite performance. A decision he makes frames the moral debate of this play, one that is complicated by real world concerns. I’ve now seen three of Mr. Lonergan’s plays, including this season’s outstanding Hangmen. I thought this one should have ended before the last scene but that’s a quibble considering the exquisite shades of gray on display in this outstanding production.