English – Goodman Theatre – May 25, 2024

For some reason, I tend to see Pulitzer Prize-winning dramas that have one word titles – Fiorello!, Rent, Proof, Doubt, Hamilton and now English. If I’m allowed to count movies, add in Harvey, Fences and Picnic.

Not surprisingly, a strong list. English definitely belongs. It’s funny, it’s thoughtful, it has tension, it never drags. It’s about small stories and a big picture. For most of us, it makes us think about things we may never have thought about before.

It also leaves us wondering about some things about the characters, but that’s okay. I don’t need a sequel. Neil Simon pulled that off with his Eugene Trilogy, but how many people remember Bring Back Birdie, the sequel to Bye Bye Birdie that closed after four performances on Broadway.

I kept thinking that the male lead in English looked familiar. I was correct. Pej Vahdat played Arastoo Vaziri on Bones for eight years.

A fair amount of the play, which takes place in a classroom in Iran where adult students are learning English, is in Farsi, except not really. If you go see it, you’ll understand what I mean, though it may take you a couple minutes, as it did for most everyone at the performance. In any event, don’t think that you have to spend a year learning the language before seeing the show, though you could brush up before the play’s anticipated Broadway arrival in December.