Admissions

Reviewed: March 13, 2018
 

Admissions is playing at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre located at 150 West 65th Street. It runs one hour forty five minutes with no intermission. The play closes on April 29, 2018.

Jessica Hecht was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for A View from the Bridge.

The place is Sherri Rosen-Mason (Jessica Hecht) home and her office at the Hillcrest School. It begins before Christmas and ends shortly after Easter during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Sherri is the head of admissions. She has asks Roberta, a teacher at the school (Ann McDonough) if she is finished revising the school catalogue for the coming year. Roberto says it is, the copy is on the computer. When Jessie sees the photos she is upset. She wants to shows how diversified the school is, there should be more photos of the monitories that attend. Jessie tells who and where she wants the photos taken.

When Sherri gets home her friend Ginnie Peters (Sally Murphy) arrives a short time later. She brings a cake to celebrate her son’s acceptance into Yale. Sherri and Ginnie sons are best friends. Ginnie is white, her husband is African American. He teaches at the school. After Ginnie leaves Sherries husband Bill (Andrew Garman) arrives home. Bill is headmaster at the school she works at. They both want to encourage more monitories to attend the school.

Sherrie is worried, it’s 9 P.M. and their son Charlie (Ben Edelman) is not home. When he does arrive he is ranting and raving. He has been in the woods for the past couple of hours screaming. He can’t understand why he was not accepted into Yale, his name is on a waiting list. Charlie can’t understand why his friend goes in and he didn’t! He proceeds to mention other students and say he’s more qualified than any of them.

A few days later Ginnie comes over and Jessie asks her if her son checked off that he was black or not. Ginnie tells her why she would you say that, we have been friends for eighteen years.

Jessie is happy with the new catalog, it’s the way she wanted it. They get more minorities to enroll. It’s now 18% from 8%.

Charlie tells his mother he has written an article for the final issue of the school paper. He has canceled his applications in the colleges he hope to attend and will go to community college. He tells his parents he would be a hypocrite if he went to those colleges and they should use his tuition to pay for anther minatory to attend the school. Sheri and her husband are upset. They said they will try to get the schools to reconsider his application.

Sherrie asks Ginnie for her help with the colleges but she refuses given what she said about her son’s application.

Ben gets accepted to Middleton College but refuses to go. He is set on going to community college. Bill tells him if he does he’s on his own. He won’t give him any financial help.

What happen, well you will have to see this well done play. It’s worth seeing and has something to say. Too bad this theatre is considered off Broadway.

The cast does a remarkable job. Each one does an amazing performance.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to photos. Click on photos for this and other shows.