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Off Broadway, It's All in the Timing!

I know Valentine’s Day is long gone, but my jaded New York heart still swells when I think about the revival of playwright David Ives’ All in the Timing. You see, this particular collection of six one-act comedies was my intro to Mr. Ives’ smart, literate and awesomely loopy style, and I fell hard. It was 1993 when the show premiered -- at Primary Stages, which is also responsible for this new mounting -- so the current production is clearly a well-timed (yes, I know, the title!) celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary.

All in the Timing Off BroadwayPrimary Stages founder and executive producer Casey Childs recalls, “All in the Timing was an important play both for David Ives’ writing career and for the life of Primary Stages. It began at our first home on West 45th Street and has now received thousands of productions all over the world. We are delighted to be presenting this 20th Anniversary production.”

The show’s performers are called upon to play a medley of characters that run the theatrical-sociological-intellectual gamut. We’re talking Kafka, Milton, and Swift; a handful of normal-seeming folk prone to tossing normalcy to the wolves; Phillip Glass; and Mr. & Mrs. Trotsky.

Cast members include Naked Angels’ stalwart Eric Clem; Carson Elrod of Broadway’s Peter and the Starcatcher; Jenn Harris (whose Clarice Starling in Silence! The Musical set the fearless bar somewhere in the stratosphere); and Broadway vets Liv Rooth and Matthew Saldivar.

In short, this show should be on your short list as it’s shrewd, precocious, beyond smart, and hilarious. Very hilarious. Veraciously hilarious. Plus, you owe it to yourself… as a belated Valentine.

Through April 14 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St. Tickets available at 212-279-4200, primarystages.org, or in person at the 59E59 Theaters box office. Photos © 2013 James Leynse.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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