An absorbing new American play set in a small Midwestern town today, Well, I’ll Let You Go gradually pieces together a puzzle at the bleeding heart of its story: A grieving widow, Maggie, whose beloved husband was killed just a few days earlier while stopping a possible mass shooting, tries to figure out whether he was a hero or an adulterer. Or maybe both.
The significant beauty about newcomer playwright Bubba Weiler’s drama is his poignant detailing of its eight characters and their existence in “a get-by kind of town,” which is revealed over 100 ceaselessly intriguing minutes. Such everyday people are illuminated further by vivid performances that animate director Jack Serio’s smart and striking production of the play in its world premiere in Brooklyn.
Weiler composes his drama almost entirely as a series of one-on-one scenes between Maggie – exquisitely portrayed by Quincy Tyler Bernstine – and certain folks in the life she shared for 30 years with Marv, the husband she now refuses to bury until she learns the truth behind his death. “I can’t plan a funeral because I don’t know what kind of funeral he deserves,” Maggie asserts.
Characters coming into focus as the play develops are Marv’s bluff older brother, a cop (Danny McCarthy); a cheerful, go-getting mortician (Constance Shulman); Maggie’s frazzled sister-in-law (Amelia Workman); a middle-aged misfit who the couple has guided through his life (Will Dagger); a plaintive former fifth grader taught by Maggie long ago (Emily Davis); and a nice college student whose relationship with Marv is scarcely what his widow suspects (Cricket Brown).
One crucial figure prowling throughout the play is a narrator – genially embodied by Michael Chernus – who offers frequent commentary on everybody else, such as his remark about the apologetic sister-in-law: “The real reason Julie hasn’t been to see Maggie until now is that Maggie has held her up through a lifetime of rough patches, and she’s afraid what it might cost to pay her back.” He also describes the key elements within the family room in the couple’s home, because the author intends his play, for the most part (and for good reason later), to be performed upon a nearly scenery-free stage.
There is a subtle sense of special occasion to Serio’s production. The Space at Irondale, where the show opened Thursday, is a former Sunday school hall of Victorian vintage that boasts a 28-foot high ceiling. Serio’s intimate staging of the play situates viewers along two rows of seats (99 total) that face the acting area between them. Half a dozen folding chairs, a card table, and a few funereal items like flower baskets and casseroles are among the rehearsal-style visuals furnished by scenic designer Frank J. Oliva to afford an easy flow of episodes. Lighting designer Stacey Derosier punctuates the scenes deftly and in tandem with Oliva enhances a radiant conclusion.
Aptly dressed by designer Avery Reed and sensitively directed by Serio, the actors realize their characters quite beautifully. Two performances are especially notable. Michael Chernus provides a warm, friendly presence as the helpful fellow who guides the audience through the story. Quincy Tyler Bernstine quietly gives a deeply-felt depiction of broken-hearted Maggie; Bernstine’s oh-so-expressive face registers every word Maggie hears from people saying troubling and conflicting things about the man she loved.
The Space at Irondale is located conveniently in the same block as the Lafayette Street subway station for the C train. Theatergoers are well advised to try to catch Well, I’ll Let You Go at Brooklyn prices before this touching new play and its sharp production move to some Manhattan location in the future, which seems likely.
Well, I’ll Let You Go opened August 7, 2025 at The Space at Irondale and runs through August 29. Tickets and information: letyougonyc.com
