See Rock CIty & Other Destinations, Bachelorette

A collection of vignettes about ordinary people searching for something, The Transport Group’s See Rock City & Other Destinations has much to admire. First is a well-crafted score by Brad Alexander (music) and Adam Mathias (lyrics) filled with lovely melodies and smart ideas. Second is a stellar cast that includes the ultra-sexy Bryce Ryness and Mamie Parris as Jess and Dodi, who  meet cute in a diner before they head to the titular destination; Stanley Bahorek as Evan, a jilted nerd waiting for aliens to appear; Sally Wilfert, Ryan Hilliard and Jonathan Hammond as an intergenerational trio searching for lost love at the Alamo; and the sensational Donna Lynne Champlin as Kate, a woman struggling with whether she should make the ultimate commitment—marriage—in Niagara Falls. Although See Rock City is cunningly directed by Jack Cummings III in a black-box setting (the cast sets up beach chairs for the audience before the show starts), there’s not enough connective tissue tying the individual moments together. Many scenes are terrific—like Jess and Dodi at the diner, three sisters dumping their father’s ashes while on a cruise, and two prep-school boys discovering they may like each other more than they realized—but their impact is diminished because the creators haven’t found a way to tie them together. Still, Alexander & Mathias are a team to watch, and the show’s fresh score and vibrant cast make it worth seeing.
 
Second Stage Uptown concludes its summer with Leslye Headland’s scathing Bachelorette, a funny yet disturbing play about post-collegiate friendship and the challenges of becoming an adult in a superficial, drug-fueled world. Headland’s trio of girlfriends, Regan (Tracee Chimo), Gena (Katherine Waterston) and Katie (Celia Keenan-Bolger), gather the night before the wedding of mutual friend Becky (Carmen Herlihy) to booze it up, do drugs and dish dirt on the bride in a plush hotel suite. Regan invites Jeff (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Joe (Fran Kranz) and the inevitable overdosing and drama ensues. Swiftly directed by Trip Cullman, Headland’s play doesn’t mine any new territory, but does expose the humanity underneath its characters’ dysfunctional façades. The ending is too melodramatic and the idea that Becky wouldn’t realize Regan actually despises her defies credulity. But Bachelorette is still a compelling diversion for the Gossip Girl set. It’s the same train wreck with a different zip code and  better acting.    N
 
See Rock City… plays through August 8 at The Duke (229 W 42nd St, 646-223-3010). Bachelorette plays through August 14 at McGinn/Cazale (2162 Broadway @ 76th St, 212-246-4422).