The Assembled Parties In this Raven Theatre production Cody Estle directs Richard Greenberg’s Tony-nominated dramedy, which follows an Upper West Side family across a 20-year time period. In act one the Bascov clan converge at their 1980 holiday gathering, where the audience is introduced to a family focused on assimilation and upward mobility. Charismatic matriarchs Julie (Loretta Rezos), the Christmas-loving German Jew, and her sister-in-law Faye (JoAnn Montemurro), a Woody Allen stock character full of Yiddish quips and Jewish anxiety, share a familial bond and love for Julie’s son Scotty (Niko Kourtis), on whom they’ve pinned the family’s future. His overbearing parents may have presidential dreams for him, but Scotty doesn’t, and the 20 years and multiple misfortunes between acts send the Bascovs on an entirely different course. While Greenberg’s smart and musical language delights throughout, a greater focus on character development would make for a more impactful landing. —Marissa Oberlander
Faceless Selina Fillinger’s new play, receiving its world premiere production at Northlight, is much subtler than its glib premise might lead you to believe. An ambitious, Harvard-educated Muslim lawyer is forced to face faith and family when she’s asked to lead the prosecution against a hijab-wearing white suburban teen (and recent convert) who fell for a terrorist on Twitter and subsequently announced her allegiance to ISIS. Fillinger has a great ear for dialogue and a knack for creating believable, fascinating characters, which director BJ Jones takes full advantage on in his well-cast and tidily paced production. In an ensemble full of fine, experienced performers (among them Ross Lehman, Joe Dempsey, and Timothy Edward Kane) Susaan Jamshidi stands out, ably embodying the many fine nuances Fillinger has built into her protagonist. —Jack Helbig
