‘WHY CAN’T WE HAVE NEW PLAYS LIKE THIS ON BROADWAY?”

“WHY CAN’T WE HAVE NEW PLAYS LIKE THIS ON BROADWAY?” If a play by a revered writer like Edward Albee could be forced by harsh reviews to close after 12 performances, the financial risks for all other productions of new plays are increased. Terry Teachout follows his review of The Lady From Dubuque with a one paragraph rave review of Nina Raine’s play Tribes, which has opened Off Broadway. Teachout’s last sentence about Tribes can be taken as a comment on what happened to Albee: “Why can’t we have new plays like this on Broadway?”