MR. GREENSPAN, PARTY OF FOUR
Here’s a one-of-a-kind, one-person, one-act play in which one man plays four women—simultaneously—without ever leaving the stage. Three (sometimes all four) of these women are present in the same scene for a good chunk of the time. Our intrepid performer simply pivots his body as the women speak, often trading off in lines just a few words, creating a dizzying, deft verbal relay where he seems to be facing himself.
From the start, we’re told that the story—a gathering of three writers, plus one latecomer—is entirely fictitious when it comes to the characters Emmy and Sierra, and only based on the truth regarding the third: Mona, our narrator, who tells her friends she’s written a new script for veteran New York actor David Greenspan, an Obie-winning performer whom she admires—but has never met. The ostensible reason for the meet-up is to read Emmy’s latest script aloud—not Mona’s project for Greenspan, whom she presumes the others know. At this point, Mona doesn’t even know if he’d consider it.
The catch is that real-life playwright Mona Pirnot wrote this 90-minute treat and the actual David Greenspan is the one playing all of these women in this virtuosic solo turn, I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan, which opened at Atlantic Theatre’s second space last night.
While waiting for the latecomer, the conversation meanders—hilariously and bitterly—into the pros and cons of trying to make a career as a playwright. Throw caution to the wind, or throw in the towel? Is the dream worth the long odds, the late nights, and the looming bills? Should one hope to “make it,” or just try to make rent? Pessimist meets optimist, meets realist, meets capitalist. Artistic ambition clashes with insecurity, ego, jealousy, and professional competitiveness. Sierra, who works in the higher-paying world of TV, represents a kind of creative compromise—or escape—from the grind of theater. Meanwhile, the dialogue expands to the larger plight of anyone pursuing the arts in New York, where Shakespeare might still be the only playwright recognizable to the average person on the street. (Of course, it depends what street. And whose household.)
Then there’s the delicious irony of hearing Mona wax poetic about the legendary Greenspan—while Greenspan himself, fully in character, delivers the lines with a straight face. It’s a masterclass in self-referential performance, and a hilarious ego boost with no visible winking required.
For some, the rapid-fire character shifts—Greenspan flipping between voices, postures, and opinions in a blur of verbal ping-pong—might start to feel like too much of a good thing as the women snipe, opine, pontificate, and interrupt each other. It’s a high-wire act that could be mistaken for a one-trick show. But director Ken Rus Schmoll, who’s worked with Greenspan before, calibrates the pacing beautifully: the opening scenes are calm enough to ground us, and while things do get brisk, they never tip into chaos. There’s also relief in the form of Mona’s quieter, more introspective monologues delivered far downstage left—moments of stillness that give the show space to breathe. Or as we might call them: “Mona-logues.”
Ultimately, I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan offers more than just theater-world navel-gazing. Its themes—self-doubt, ambition, creative identity, how we spend our time, and who gets to decide what matters—resonate far beyond the arts. You don’t have to be a playwright to relate. Spending an hour and a half with this worthwhile, diverting, even thought-provoking play feels like time well spent.
photos by Ahron R. Foster
I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan
Atlantic Theater Company Stage 2
ends on April 30, 2025
for tickets, visit Atlantic
