By Marilyn Lester***The iconic masks of comedy and tragedy date from the time of ancient Greek theater, with the former spawning the art form of farce. That tradition has kept audiences laughing from classical stages, through the Shakespearean era, to the European farces of Goldoni and Feydeau, to modern times, with p
lays such as Noises Off and the Goes Wrong franchise. The Z Team dips from that well, with a plot that’s so wacky it also edges into the realm of absurdism. It certainly checks the boxes for alt theater: highly improbable situations, stock characters and extravagant exaggeration.
The Z Team is the product of Jeff Foy, an emergency room doctor turned playwright and his musician-writer son, Jacob, who, this reviewer surmises, has brought a heaping helping of late Millennial or early Gen Z humor to the plot—oddities that might baffle older audience members but are sure to elicit laughs from the younger set. In casting and in dialogue, the feel is youth; with an economical, minimalist but durable set by Scott Aronow, it’s easy to think that one has wandered into a high school production. But the ensemble cast is comprised of professionals and they give it all they’ve got to turn the narrative into laughs, even if sometimes hard-earned.
The story line centers around office dysfunction, with tangled relationships and off-center dynamics. Jerry, head of a Midwest advertising company struggling to keep up with its client’s demands, is compelled by his girlfriend to handle her new invention, the Bend and Blend yoga mat-blender combination. The bizarre product is so low priority he puts the company’s worst employees on the job, hence the Z Team. Madness and disaster ensues. But there is a happily outlandish ending with a bonus moral to the story.
The best asset of The Z Team is Broadway director-choreographer, Jeff Whiting. He’s taken a play without a dramatic arc and repetitive plot points and extracted the farcical elements through stagecraft and movement. Like Restoration comedy with plenty of door-slamming entrances and exits, these team members are 
constantly on the move: on stage and off and back again. The frenetic pacing gives the piece the juice it needs to reach for its laugh-a-minute goals.
The cast includes Allie Trimm as Olivia, Ze’ev Barmor as David, Tyler Cruz as Kenzie, Darby McDonough as Denise, Jakob Martinez Cooper as Rob, Gabrielle Filloux as Tiffany (and others), Joe Mucciolo as Graham and Drew Starlin as Jerry and Duke Razor. Additionally, costumes are by Matthew Pachtman and lighting by Corey Goulden-Naitove. Shannon Slaton’s sound design, however was uneven, often too loud and also didn’t take into account that some of the actors had difficulty projecting.
The Z Team runs through November 23 at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) and is part of the Building for the Arts program. Playing schedule is Tuesdays at 7:00PM, Wednesdays at 7:00PM, Thursdays at 7:00PM, Fridays at 8:00PM, Saturdays at 2:00PM and 8:00PM, and Sundays at 3:00PM.
Ticket prices are $39 with premium seating available and can be purchased at www.ZTeam.show
Photos by Rebecca J Michelson
