Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Well meaning Americans pushed to the edge of sanity in Chris Gabo’s THE SURGEON AND HER DAUGHTERS and Scott Organ’s DIVERSION

• By drediman
• December 11, 2025
• No Comments

Currently playing Off-Broadway are two new plays — Chris Gabo’s The Surgeon and Her Daughter and Scott Organ’s Diversion — that depict well meaning Americans pushed to the edge of sanity. I encourage you to read on to find out more about these works, both of which delve headlong into the fraught psyche of contemporary America.

THE SURGEON AND HER DAUGHTERS
Colt Coeur at Theatre 154
Through December 20

First up at Theatre 154 in the West Village is Chris Gabo’ new play The Surgeon and Her Daughters (RECOMMENDED) courtesy of Colt Coeur, an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to nuanced new works which this fall celebrates its 15th anniversary. Set in the urban sprawl that is New York City, the play weaves together a tight tapestry of disparate characters — namely, a military mom, her two daughters, and the man she has a one-night-stand with shortly before being re-deployed — whose destinies are intimately intertwined by the cards of fate. Despite the best of intentions and the willingness to put in the work, each character finds themselves — for one reason or another — restless and unmoored. In this regard, the work calls to mind the socially conscious works of such playwrights as Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy) and Martyna Majok (Cost of Living), both of whom investigate the compromises that are made to keep afloat in our American capitalist society, particularly for those living on the fringes (e.g., immigrants, the socio-economically disadvantaged). Indeed, the characters’ individual journeys register potently on their own, and you can’t help but root for each one of them (except for one, to be precise). Collectively, however, some of the coincidental plot developments and forced connections between characters are a bit incredulous and contrived. And although Gabo’s confrontational dialogue is often sharp and insightful, their effectiveness is drowned by some unnecessarily shouty acting — Adrienne Campbell-Holt is typically a more nuanced director than this — with the lone exception of Brian D. Coats’ touchingly evenhanded performance as an exasperated yet tender-hearted immigrant.

DIVERSION
The Barrow Group
Through December 21

Then there’s The Barrow Group’s production of Diversion (RECOMMENDED) by Scott Organ. Set in the understaffed ICU division of an unspecified hospital, the play focuses on a group of nurses, one of whom is suspected of opioid diversion (i.e., theft). As the investigation unfolds, their mettle and solidarity is tested to the brink until the psychological cracks increasingly begin to show. Admittedly, the compact, neatly-plotted play is more successful as thoughtful, clear-eyed character studies than an edge-of-your-seat whodunit; in fact, it becomes clear relatively early on who the culprit is. But that’s not the main point of the piece. Although each of the characters are flawed, Organ’s play is first and foremost a heartfelt love letter to the bravery and resilience of healthcare workers, particularly those working in the front line. In particular, Diversion stealthily juxtaposes the ongoing opioid crisis with the recent Covid pandemic, laying bare the long-lasting, deeply-etched scars that their strenuous time and heroic efforts during the pandemic have taken in the years that have followed. Where the play really shines is in its emotionally raw, naturalistic performances, which have been thankfully scaled down to the dimensions of the cozy auditorium, where audiences members are effectively flies on the wall of Edward T. Morris’s detailed hospital break room set. Indeed, the play finds great potency in the more intimate scenes — some rarely transpiring above a whisper — especially those in which characters are faced with morally murky situations (no spoilers here!). Especially powerful are the disarming and introspective performances by West Duchovny and Tricia Alexandro as, respectively, a precocious young nurse and the experienced, quietly strung-out nurse who takes her under her wing.