in transit

In Transit is playing at Circle in the Square located at 235 West 50th Street. It runs one hour thirty five minutes with no intermission. It is an opened ended run.

It premiered on October 5, 2010 at Primary Stages 59E59. In 2011 it won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Kathleen Marshall is the director and choreographer. She won three Tony Awards for Anything Goes (2011), The Pajama Game (2006) and Wonderful Town (2004) and was nominated for a Tony Award for Kiss Me Kate (2000) all for choreographer. All the show she won for choreographer she was nominated for a Tony Award for directing.

Clint Ramos is the costume designer. He won a Tony Award for Eclipsed in 2016.

Donyale Werle is the set designer. She won a Tony Award in 2012 for Peter and The Starcatcher.

The stage on top is a transit booth to the right is where you can add money on to you metro card yourself. There are steps that lead you to the subway platform. The middle of the stage moves like a treadmill. People come on and off it, subway seats are put there as if you were on a subway car. Other scenes different props are put on for different places. The score is cappella, singing without instrumental accompaniment.

Box man (Chesney Snow) open’s using sound that he puts into the mike, like sounds of the subway trains. He is in and out of different scenes. Box man tells us in a day it takes an hour to where ever we go.

There are four main characters we meet and find out about. Jane (Margo Seibert) is an actress. She works at temp jobs till she gets her break. She goes on casting calls during lunch. Her boss Mrs. Williams (Moya Angela) tells her to forget trying.

Trent (Justin Guarini) and Steven (Telly Leung) are getting married. Trent goes home to tell his mother (Moya Angela) but she won’t listen to him. Steven parents are ok with their son being gay.

Ali (Erin Mackey) met Dave (David Abeles) in her home town. She leaves graduate school to follow him to New York where is a resident in a hospital. They break up. She starts running when she gets down. Ali decides to do the 2016 New York City Marathon. She’s so proud she finished it.

Nate (James Snyder) loses his job after an email he sent making fun of his boss was sent to everyone by mistake. He can’t get a job like the one he had, no one will hire him. Nate gets a job in Staples but doesn’t tell anyone. When he meets his pals like his friend Chris (Nichols Ward) he changes his clothe to look like he works in an office.

What happens go see this wonderfully clever show. It’s about the people that live in New York City and travel by the subways.

Several of the actors have several roles or are part of different scenes.

The cast is excellent. When they are not talking, they are part of the crowd they are great. Wow! Nicolas Ward has a beautiful voice. Moya Angela plays several roles, mother, boss and transit worker. She did and impressive job in each role. Margo Seibert, Telly Leung, Justin Guarini, Erin Mackey and James Snyder were magnificent. Last Chesney Snow sound effects and movements shined. The role of the box man are played by two different actors.

Moya Angela wears the funkiest dress made out of transit cards. Hats off Clint Ramos costume designs.

It’s fun if you’re a New Yorker and hear; we are being held here for a moment by the dispatcher and will be leaving shortly. Sure! And if you’re not you will learn more about our transit system that we just take for granted.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for recent photos. Click on a photo, then return to album and the return to gallery for this and other shows.