ScheckOnTheater

Playwrights Horizons, NYC

Through Nov. 28

Politics and family drama mesh uneasily in After the Revolution, Amy Herzog’s densely textured play about three generations of a family of leftist activists. Previously seen at the Williamstown Theater Festival, the work has been given a beautifully acted and staged Off-Broadway production that is only sporadically compelling.

Set in 1999, it concerns the Joseph clan, especially lawyer daughter Emma (Katharine Powell), whose world is rocked by the revelation that late grandfather Joe, a victim of the blacklist who famously refused to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, actually spied for the Russians in the 1940s.

Emma, who has established a foundation for leftist causes, is particularly devastated by the news, fearing that it will threaten its efforts on behalf of (real-life figure) Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist/activist on death row for the killing of a Philadelphia policeman.

This puts her in conflict with father Ben (Peter Friedman), a Marxist passionately committed to the cause, and her other family members, including her grandmother Vera (Lois Smith), still loyal to her late husband but beginning to suffer mental decline; her less politically engaged Uncle Leo (Mark Blum); her loving but conflicted mother Mel (Mare Winningham) and sister Jess (Meredith Holzman), fresh out of rehab. Also involved are Miguel (Elliot Villar), Emma’s romantic and professional partner, and Morty (David Margulies), a rich family friend who is prepared to provide her foundation with a multi-million dollar endowment.

The endlessly talky proceedings will prove enervating to those not deeply interested in the issues being addressed, but the playwright displays a real facility for incisive characterizations and pungent dialogue. Adding greatly to the evening’s impact are the performances by the superb ensemble, with Friedman particularly strong as the father so devoted to his daughter that he is reeled by the knowledge that she smokes.

Staged smoothly and cogently by Carolyn Cantor, the production moves so briskly that once can easily tolerate the play’s more annoyingly polemical aspects.

Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42^nd St. 212-279-4200. www.TicketCentral.com.

Colin Quinn: Long Story Short

Helen Hayes Theatre, NYC

Through Jan. 8

When a stand-up comedian ventures onto Broadway, he usually feels the requirement to give his show a “theme.” Such is the case with Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, in which the veteran performer professes to tell the history of the world. In 75 minutes, no less.  

But while Quinn dutifully fulfills his self-imposed requirement by proceeding chronologically in his monologue from the caveman era to the present day, the real attraction is that he’s very, very funny.

The show, now being given a limited Broadway run after a successful downtown engagement, boasts another marquee presence in the form of its director, none other than Jerry Seinfeld. (His bio simply describes him as “a comedian who resides in New York City with his wife and three children.”)

Best known for his five-year stint on Saturday Night Live where he manned the “Weekend Update” chair, Quinn brings a surly Irish brusqueness to his humor. Whether discussing Darwin’s theory of evolution (“We’re the survivors, but obviously not the fittest”) or the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church (“like a Death Row Records release party in the ‘80s”), he gives his mock history lesson a decided edge.

With so many comics delivering tired routines about relationships or Sarah Palin, it’s a relief to hear witty gags about such relatively weighty topics as the fall of the British Empire (they “overfranchised”) and the infighting of African countries (“like six Brooklyn high schools letting out at the same time”), even if he occasionally does stray into delivering the sort of routine observational riffs that are nightly fodder in comedy clubs.

His commentary is accompanied by historical and other images pertinent to his topics that are snazzily projected on a giant video screen, while the set nicely evokes the evening’s theme with its Greek amphitheater-style steps and Romanesque columns.

Quinn’s last solo outing, Colin Quinn—An Irish Wake, was similarly funny, but tended towards self-indulgent rambling. He’s clearly benefited from Seinfeld’s influence, as this show features tight pacing and a steady procession of hilarious one-liners.

Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 W. 44^th St., 212-239-6200. www.telecharge.com.