KYOTO

After success in London’s West End, the new play KYOTO is preparing to open Off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse. Opening Night is scheduled for November 3, but there is no need to wait, as this show is fully polished as of this second preview performance in New York. Much of the cast has come over from London, meaning they know their characters well. Previews in New York started just yesterday, on Wednesday, October 8.

This was my seventh show of the week and my 57th show of the year, so I was not thrilled to learn the runtime is 2 hours 45 minutes. My happy place is when the usher tells me, “90 minutes, no intermission.” But there is nothing I would cut from this show, and the show would actually be much longer if it were not for the exceptional pacing. I do not know that I have ever before complimented the pacing during a preview performance, as pacing is most often the issue in a preview, but wow, the pacing in this show is just terrific. The almost three hours flies by, and I was on the edge of my seat from the moment the show started until the end. It is advertised as a thriller, and indeed this show is very thrilling and entertaining.

The show is also immersive if you choose one of the conference table seats at the edge of the stage. They assure you that you will not be expected to participate, but there is quite a bit of interaction with the cast. I had an actor sitting immediately next to me for most of the show, and another actor was two seats away. They addressed me quite often, but it was up to me whether or not I wanted to respond. We also all got to wear lanyards indicating whether we were delegates or media. It was all very fun.

From the start, the production reminded me of elements of Just In Time, even though the stories are very different. Just as Jonathan Groff welcomes you to “the show in Wicked’s basement,” he could similarly come over here and say, “Welcome to the show in Ragtime’s basement.” The two basement venues are similar in that they are both in the round, they are both small and intimate, both shows are immersive, and both are directly beneath a show with a lot of buzz. While Ragtime may have all of the buzz at Lincoln Center Theater right now, KYOTO holds its own as an outstanding production and patron experience. And this was only its second performance in New York.

KYOTO is based on a true story where the world actually does come together in the late 1990s for climate change action. The cast is fantastic, and this is a very high quality production. KYOTO is one of my favorite plays of the year.

The play is written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson and is directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin. The company is large, and the full cast list and creative team are listed at https://www.lct.org/shows/kyoto/whos-who/

Stephen Kunken’s performance as real-life Republican oil lobbyist Don Pearlman is just exceptional.

This show truly is a thriller, and it is non-stop entertainment. Making the production immersive and intimate just adds to the experience of an already excellent story.

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