Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Navigating modern masculinity: Ari’el Stachel’s OTHER, Jesse Eisenberg’s THE ZIEGFELD FILES (and new material by Daniel Sloss)

• By drediman
• December 2, 2025
• No Comments

In recent weeks, I came across a trio of solo shows by Ari’el Stachel, Jess Eisenberg, and Daniel Sloss. Although each on their own failed to completely captivate — for various reasons — collectively they made for a worthwhile examination of the evolving nuances of modern masculinity. As per usual, read on below for my thoughts on these searching shows.

OTHER
Greenwich House Theater
Through December 6

Currently playing Off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theatre is Ari’el Stachel’s solo show Other (RECOMMENDED). Perhaps best known to theatergoers for his cool Tony-winning turn in the similarly Tony-winning musical The Band’s Visit, the autobiographical show can be seen as a study of Stachel’s evolving conception of masculinity through the lens of being a man of color in America. With a family background that encompasses Yemeni, Ashkenazi, and Israeli, the actor chronicles how he’s had to reconcile these multiple identities within himself and the intense challenges he’s had to face when attempting to portray them externally. Compounded by this country’s continued problem with racism, this has has resulted in bringing about, on a regular basis, extreme anxiety (physically manifesting itself in uncontrollable sweating) and significant self confidence issues, both as it relates to his coming-of-age experience at home and at the various schools he’s found himself attending, as well as later in life while pursuing his chosen career as an actor. Other is a deeply personal statement that’s buoyed by Stachel’s relentlessly high octane performance. It’s also an ongoing work in progress as Stachel continues to work through his demons (the show is somewhat of a self-perpetuated therapy session). At a solid 90 minutes in duration, the piece could use streamlining — namely, some thematic repetition in Stachel’s narrative could be trimmed. That being said, I applaud the actor’s bravery for candidly laying bare and addressing his struggles, on a nightly basis, in this most vulnerable and exposing of ways.

THE ZIEGFELD FILES
Studio Seaview
Through December 8

Playing at Studio Seaview on Monday nights (Prince Faggot‘s dark night) is the one man show The Ziegfeld Files (RECOMMENDED). Written and performed by film star Jesse Eisenberg, the piece essentially follows a young man as he records voice memos of himself for his therapist, conveying on an ongoing basis his difficulties with his newfound role as a father in the face of his devolving relationship with his increasingly demanding and demeaning wife — all within the context of striving to be a decent person vis-à-vis maintaining any semblance of masculinity. As such, the play actually makes for a notably striking and appropriate companion piece to Penelope Skinner’s Angry Alan, another star-driven Studio Seaview solo show — that one featured John Krasinski of The Office — that attempts to articulate how men deal with a world that they perceive to be emasculating them. For those of you familiar with Eisenberg’s work, it’ll come as little surprise that The Ziegfeld Files is hugely intelligent — if unapologetically slight (the whole thing lasts just about an hour) — which is apparent in both the subtlety of his writing and performance (the same can be said of the all-but-invisible direction by the sensitive theater maker Shayok Misha Chowdhury, who also directed Prince Faggot on the same stage). But unlike Krasinski’s “lash out” antics, Eisenberg creates a more empathetic subject, uncertain in many ways yet determined to do the right thing despite the pressures of a society that seems eager to spell out his inadequacies.

DANIEL SLOSS: WORK IN PROGRESS
SoHo Playhouse
Closed

Continuing on the same theme of fatherhood and masculinity is Daniel Sloss, who recently concluded a “work in progress” stint at Off-Broadway’s prolific SoHo Playhouse (RECOMMENDED). Slowly coming back to standup comedy after taking a not insubstantial time off to enjoy the birth of his second child, his New York appearance finds Sloss, thankfully, more or less where he left off. In recent years, the Scottish comedian has risen to be one of the top names in the industry, building a fan base with his hilariously inappropriate truth telling brand of comedy, often dealing with highly taboo subject matters (e.g., his controversial show X dealt with his complicated feelings about the alleged sexual assault of one of his female friends by one of his male colleagues). Although his humor is often spiked with the kind of crassness that you’d typically associate with the toxicity and selfish boisterousness of male chauvinists, Sloss slyly falls on the right side of things — often times just barely though. As his career has progressed, he’s become increasingly daring in how close to outright offensiveness he presents himself. His recent workshop outing at SoHo Playhouse playing with these boundaries, particularly as it as it relates to his parenting tactics, as well as the dubious circumstances around which he met and courted his current wife (no spoilers here!). Although the as of yet title-less piece is still honing its shape and messaging, the foundations of yet another slicingly smashing show are already in place.