Sam doesn’t get out much. Actually, he doesn’t get out at all, opting instead for the safety of his house in the company of his things—his many, many things. But when a notice from the government arrives alerting Sam that he must clean up his property or face eviction, he’s forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two.
Danny DeVito returns to Roundabout Theatre Company in I Need That, starring alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito, and Ray Anthony Thomas in a deeply human new comedy from playwright Theresa Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, the team behind Bernhardt/Hamlet.
Though his only previous Broadway appearance was in the 2017 revival of Arthur Miller’s “The Price,” Danny DeVito commands interest without having to do much, and rewards it with funny readings of even unfunny lines. Yet despite his likability, the only parts of “I Need That” that feel authentic are those, near the end, in which the nonissue of Sam’s hoarding is momentarily swept offstage to make space for a few minutes of real father-daughter drama. To this, the DeVitos bring a vibrant understanding — part pride, part dismay, all mess — of what it means to be related. Sometimes what’s neat just isn’t as compelling as what’s not.
Sam (Danny DeVito), the collector extraordinaire in question, wakes up one day to a reminder from his daughter Amelia (Lucy DeVito) that, unless he complies with a months-old government notice to clear up the overstuffed property, he will be evicted. Foster (Ray Anthony Thomas), his friendly neighbor, agrees he should start throwing out the obvious trash. So do we. And that’s about it in terms of movement in the work, which is less a play than a 100-minute cycle of scenes in which Amelia or Foster point to an item they deem worthless before Sam redeems it with a lightly emotional memory. There could be a darkly funny surrealism found in this repetition, or a chance to dive deep into the different histories each of Sam’s possessions—and, by extension, the American Dream, or something—holds, but Rebeck almost sadistically avoids mining the setup for anything more than weak comedy followed by cheap passes at sentimentality.
Digital Rush
Price: $48
Where: on the TodayTix app.
When: 9am on the day of the performance
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Danny DeVito |
Videos