The Minutes
The Minutes is a remarkable achievement from playwright and star Tracy Letts, not least because it orchestrates audience expectations and surprise with exquisite finesse. The best way to appreciate the play's dramatic skill is possibly to go into it with little to no knowledge of it.
The Minutes doesn't, however, deal in shocking information or revelations. It reveals the delusion systems that prevent people from seeing truths that are hidden in plain sight. Until it's not, it's hilariously sinister. It is thrilling and important theater that challenges the present by exposing the methods used to create history. And it ranks among the best recently produced plays on Broadway.
You might anticipate watching a parody of Parks and Recreation or another sitcom when Tracy Letts' new play The Minutes starts. It helps that the play also features Noah Reid from Schitt's Creek in addition to Letts himself. All of the eccentric archetypes are present in the one-act, which is set at a council meeting for Big Cherry representatives.
There is also the eccentric woman with too many snacks and an ant spray can on her desk, as well as the loud old man who is complaining about his parking spot. But beneath all these small-town jokes, there's something else at play. Since eager newcomer Reid's Peel missed last week's meeting, Mr. Carp, one of his colleagues, is no longer present. Why? How then? The play's true goal—to confront the curse and the cult of Americana—slowly becomes clear as the answers are revealed. It's both exciting and terrifying.
- Ratings: 4.0/5
- Website: https://theminutesbroadway.com/
- Theater: Studio 54
- Ticket Price: Starting at $59
