Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Hansol Jung’s LAST CALL, A PLAY WITH COCKTAILS is intimate and immersive in the most unique ways

• By drediman
• September 26, 2025
• No Comments

Also last night, Hansol Jung’s new play Last Call, a play with cocktails officially opened, way Off-Broadway. Only accommodating 20 to 40 guests at a time in personal homes across the city, the show is, to say the least, a uniquely intimate and immersive experience (my performance took place in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn at the lovely home of En Garde Arts founder, the gracious Anne Hamburger). In short, Last Call is set in an alternate universe, one just as troubled and volatile as ours. In this reality, we the audience have clandestinely assembled at an illegal group meet-up to partake in the pleasures of craft cocktails — and other alcoholic beverages — and enjoy the rare company of others.

As recounted by our bartender host — and a surprise ghostly guest (no spoilers here) — the play more specifically circles around, in Rashomon storytelling manner, their unsettling relationship with their now-deceased romantic partner. Jung scored a notable success with Wolf Play, which was staged to great acclaim in recent seasons by both Soho Rep and MCC Theater. Despite the ingenuity with which that play was staged, no one could have predicted how out-of-the-box her next work would be. Indeed, with its ever-shifting locales, performers (gender-blind casting has been employed), and bespoke audience interactions, no two performances of Last Call are ever likely to be alike. As a communal allegory for dealing with post-pandemic trauma and the modern day anxieties induced by the current state of the world — as well as a meditation on power, memory, and grief — the piece is keenly attuned to the underlying psychological impact that recent times have had on us, which is heightened by the flowing alcohol provided during the performance.

As co-directed by Jung and Dustin Wills, the site-specific production is feels present and vital. At my showing, the play was performed by the immensely charismatic duo of Nicole Villamil and Esco Jouléy (the other actors in the rotation are Chris Bannow, Dorcas Leung, Brian Quijada, and Mitchell Winter), both of whom delivered urgent and convincing performances, which is particularly impressive given the audience’s almost uncomfortably close proximity to them (the excellent dramaturgy and mixology is by Lexy Leuszler). And although the piece is technically a two-hander, the ample audience interaction and participatory aspects of the show make it seem that we are all characters in proceedings.

RECOMMENDED

LAST CALL, A PLAY WITH COCKTAILS
Off-Broadway, Play
En Garde Arts
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through October 13