Review: "The Devil and the Playwright" Is Diabolically Fun
The Devil and the Playwright Written by Steven J. Harris Directed by Bradly Valenzuela Presented at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave, Manhattan, NYC April 26-30, 2023 Tori Jewell and Fé Torres. Photo by Ai Toyoshima In The Devil and the Playwright , from Swiss playwright and actor Steven J. Harris, titular playwright Jordy (Tori Jewell) joins the rolls of those artists, fictional and non-fictional, who have (or in the latter case, are said to have) offered their souls to the Devil in exchange for success. The distinction between fictional and non-fictional all but melts away in the aftermath of Jordy's own Faustian bargain, as The Devil and the Playwright whisks her along a Stoppard-adjacent, quasi-picaresque, and extremely meta journey. Jordy's travails treat the audience to a sharp-witted and uproariously funny show that explores the nexus of page, stage, life, and love. Ellis Charles Hoffmeister and Flo Maier. Photo by Ai Toyoshima In a preview of what is t...