Review Roundup: THE WAY WE GET BY Opens at Second Stage

Second Stage Theatre welcomes film star Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables, Dear John, Mamma Mia!, upcoming Ted 2 and Pan) in her off-Broadway debut opposite Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom, Wild, upcoming in NBC's The Slap) in the world premiere production of Neil LaBute's drama, The Way We Get By. Directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, the production opens tonight, May 19, 2015 at Second Stage Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street.

This two-character play stars Seyfried and Sadoski as Beth and Doug: two people who have no problems getting dates with their partners of choice. What they do have, however, is a very awkward encounter after spending one hot night together following a drunken wedding reception they attend. They wake up to a blurry morning where the rules of attraction, sex and society are waiting for them before their first cup of coffee, leading them to ponder how much they really know about each other and how much they really care about what other people think.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: ...there are several good reasons to see the show (it's short, it's sexy, it's starry, it's well acted) and others not to (it's contrived, it's manipulative and even at 70 minutes, too long for its limited purposes)...I can report that "The Way We Get By" is both thoroughly typical and atypical of Mr. LaBute, who relishes the art of thwarting expectations...Mr. Sadoski...finds a charming assortment of vocal and kinetic variations on an arrested-development specimen we've all come to know well from recent fiction, film and, of course, Mr. LaBute's plays. Ms. Seyfried...needs to develop her speaking voice, which at this point is small for the stage. But her timing, comic and dramatic, is beyond reproach. And if she and Mr. Sadoski tend to talk at distractingly different decibel levels, there's no denying the genuine chemistry that flickers between them, and occasionally flares into something dangerously irresistible.

Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press: [Neil LaBute's] new comedy, "The Way We Get By," has an unexpected sweetness, along with a twist...Leigh Silverman...deftly directs Thomas Sadoski and Amanda Seyfried in the engrossing production...Sadoski and Seyfried each give their own charm to characters...Sadoski...His character, Doug, wears a nerdy intensity while trying to appear cool, a complex effect that Sadoski has mastered. Seyfried...exudes big-eyed, gamine appeal as Beth, who is direct and challenging with Doug about their relationship. Silverman steers the pair through some tricky discussions, as Doug and Beth display moments of odd familiarity with one another while navigating what seems to be a typical morning-after minefield of over-explaining and over-thinking, burnished with extra caution. Both provide disarming moments of vulnerability as they feel one another out about their possible future together.

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter: Starring Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski as the couple who drunkenly hook up after a wedding reception, The Way We Get By displays the author's typical penchant for pulling the rug out from under his audience...suffice it to say that LaBute doesn't develop his provocative premise in particularly interesting fashion...Still, the playwright's gift for amusing banter is very much on display...More interestingly, the play deviates from his usual brand of misanthropy with a feel-good, happy ending that, while not particularly convincing or well developed, at least doesn't send us out with a sour taste in our mouths...the actors struggle with their ill-defined characters. Sadoski, a veteran stage performer, is the more technically assured, but his one-note, high-volume delivery eventually proves tiresome. Seyfried...is winsome and appealing but often seems adrift, with her gratuitous flash of nudity feeling exploitative.

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: For all the advantages we've acquired in the age of information and social media, we've also developed ever more outlets for our pettier impulses. It's hardly surprising that LaBute, whose sometimes brutal wit has long been accompanied by an equally fierce moral curiosity, would suggest such concerns. But if we see Doug and Beth's struggle in the context of a world where everyone can seem to be in everyone else's business -- especially when it's trivial -- the focus is on two individuals trying to assess their own capacity for courage. In her New York stage debut, Seyfried delivers a forthright, vanity-free performance, not shrinking from Beth's flashes of selfishness and irritability. The wonderful Sadoski allows us to see how Doug, something of an overgrown boy at first, adores her nonetheless, and is inspired by her. As LaBute shows us in a predictably unsentimental fashion, that's what love can do -- and why it's worth fighting for.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: If you've ever woken up in a stranger's apartment after a night of drunken sex, the awkward morning-after dance in Neil LaBute's flawed play "The Way We Get By" will hit home...LaBute, the master of corrosive misoygny, has become a sweet fool for love. Tentative embraces and pussyfooted retreats staged by director Leigh Silverman underscore the rom-com textures...Through it all, the actors neatly navigate the nonstop, at times repetitive, chatter. In her Off-Broadway debut Seyfried holds her own. She's game for anything, including a discreet bit of oral sex and, less discreetly, baring her breasts...Sadoski, a seasoned stage vet, is as good as it gets. He's in great form as a man-boy with big desire and uncertainty to match. His notion of Miss Right is, few would argue, all wrong.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: Making her stage debut opposite the reliable Thomas Sadoski...the leggy blonde seems comfortable enough to briefly go topless. More important, her emotionally vulnerable character, Beth, has a believable rapport with Sadoski's Comic-Con-attending Doug, which helps us to care about whether their one-night stand turns into something bigger. That this low-key two-hander is by Neil LaBute is only a minor surprise...The most LaBute-esque touch is a mildly shocking revelation midway through that casts a new light on Beth and Doug's relationship. A bigger issue is how annoying they are...The show, ably directed by Leigh Silverman, hinges on whether or not Beth and Doug will decide to grow up -- and whether they'll do it together. The only thing for sure is that they're likely to keep yammering on.

Sara Vilkomerson, Entertainment Weekly: ...the real pleasure to be found here is in LaBute's typical quick and witty dialogue...and in the performances of Sadoski and Seyfried, ably directed by Leigh Silverman (Violet). The actors nimbly ping-pong through epic highs and lows as the middle of the night marches on, infusing every twitch and nervous shuffle with compelling charisma. The writer who has been called "America's misanthrope par excellence" appears to have had a change of heart when it comes to matters of the same organ. The Way We Get By feels like a refreshingly sunnier and more hopeful LaBute, with moments that feel suspiciously like giddy joy. B+

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Photo Credit: Joan Marcus