Theatre is annoying…
But meta-theatre? That’s a whole other rat. Welcome back to The Stage Rat—your underground guide to the overground stages of NYC, where this week we scurried into another one person show. We are in a one-performer-does-it-all renaissance right now.
The show is Assuming You Know David Greenspan, running at The Atlantic Theater Company and is about as meta as it can get. But brings up really resonant and important questions: why is theatre interesting anymore? Is theatre actually really annoying? How can people afford to do it and see it, and what we miss out when we tell our stories?
Make sure to check out our webpage for a full list of all the reviews:
Also do you know who David Greenspan is….?
THE RAT’S RECOMMENDATION:
“ASSUMING YOU KNOW DAVID GREENSPAN”
Cheese Score: 🧀🧀🧀(3/5)
Description:
One 69-year-old man plays four millennial women in a comedy about how to make a living as a playwright (or to try.)
Why You Should Care:
Clarity Over Clutter – The stage is bare. Limited set, no props, no costume changes. And yet, it feels full. Greenspan slips between characters without hesitation or signal—just pure command. No lighting shifts, no props or wigs, no hand-holding. At one point, he even suggests you’re seeing other people onstage with him. And somehow, you do.
Only a Play Could Do This – This piece is deeply aware of itself as a play—and uses that awareness with sharp intention. The text folds in on itself, with the playwright entering the story mid-scene, mid-thought, as a voice that interrupts, guides, and questions.
Precision in Whimsy – Greenspan dances through the show—literally. He twirls, drifts, shifts his weight like a feather caught in thought. The movement feels silly at first, like a farce. But it’s never loose. The transitions are exact. The choices are deliberate.
Theatre or TV? – Without hitting you over the head, the play quietly lobs hard questions into the air: Is theatre still relevant? Why make this live? Do playwrights now need to write for TV or be subsidized by family wealth? The questions aren’t answered. They’re left hanging
Where – Atlantic Theatre Company
How Long – 1 hour, 30 mins
Who to Bring – Your cousin who said they’d write a play if rent wasn’t so high. The downtown actor who just launched a Patreon for their one-person show about silence. Your ex with twelve personalities and a Google Doc for each. The friend who performs full monologues to themselves in the shower “just to stay sharp.” That guy from college who called himself a “solo artist” but mostly just cried into a ring light.
Have you seen it? What's your rating?
Overall Cheese rating: 3/5
RAT READERS 🐀🐀🐀
Here we share the responses from our fellow Rat Mischief - this was from last week’s show - John Proctor is the Villain! Submit your review and get featured in next week’s edition.
I absolutely loved the energy of this play and it really took me on a rollercoaster of emotions that I was not expecting. It held so many important messages about abuse of power, sexism, and assault, and also found a way to give agency to these schoolgirls rather than victimize them.
Until next week, keep it dramatic, keep it ratty, and always aim for center stage! 🐀✨.
P.S. Thanks for being part of this weird rat family. Please reply to this email and let us rats know how we are doing?
With lots of Ratitude,
The Stage Rat