True Genius

I don't mind that David Holstein's True Genius isn't a Mensa-level play, but I wish it were truer. There are some acting issues that suspend our belief of the imaginary people Scooter is dreaming up, but the plot is more disconnected than the actors. Holstein's problem may be easier to solve, however, than Jill Sierchio's challenge with her cast: his writing is already funny, and two of his characters leap off the page (Dr. Foyer, the alternative therapist, and Lila, the fantastic fabulist). But the play is stretched between father issues, psychotic breaks, absent mothers, shy first loves, and some question about who the true genius is, which seems included only as a nod to the title. There are great moments (most involving shaving cream), but they are brief spurts of energy in an otherwise dulling play.

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