“Waitress” and “Toys” take a stab at being touching, but suffer from misguided characterization. In “Toys,” a gun control advocate plays a vicious game of darts, while her antagonist just wants to take her bowling (What?!). Diane Frank and Ramon Angeloni make the best of what they are given, and Frank is especially touching in a monologue about her slain son.
The next four pieces make for a trying Act Two. The premise of each is clever, but the denouement lacks clarity of purpose. Shulman goes for crowd-pleasing instead of issue.
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