Chisa Hutchinson’s “Surely Goodness and Mercy,” at Theater Row, takes its title from Psalms, the section of the Bible that — if we’re to believe the show’s curmudgeonly but kindhearted lunch lady, Bernadette — is where all the good book’s bangers are. And though this morality play has its collection basket full of tokens of charity, it still feels withholding. When Tino resolves to help Bernadette with an illness, she ultimately returns the favor. Perhaps that’s giving too much away, but the play’s spare, homiletic approach is upfront from the beginning. What you see is what you get, with church sermons about giving blessings and being granted blessings in return.

Source: New York Times March 14, 2019 01:41 UTC