The Practical Details
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Stage Door
Full guide →When to go. Head straight out at curtain call. Two-show days are the worst bet at both performances — the cast rests through the matinee and is spent by the evening. A Sunday matinee is the best single bet, because it is a one-show day. In bad weather the barricades sometimes never go up at all.
Who comes out. Anywhere from nobody to most of the cast. Nobody can tell you in advance which three — not us, not the theatre. Treat any list that claims otherwise with suspicion.
What to bring. Tonight’s Playbill and a fine-tip Sharpie, held open to the page you want signed. Ask before you photograph anyone, and keep the pavement clear — it is a working door, not a red carpet.
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The Lowdown
George Saunders once wrote about a country so small that only one citizen fits inside it at a time, while the rest wait their turn in a neighboring country that is not thrilled about the arrangement. Elevator Repair Service, the downtown troupe that famously staged every word of The Great Gatsby and made it a party, is turning that story into Phil, coming to The Public Theater's Martinson Hall from May 25 to June 27, 2027.
The source is The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, Saunders' 2005 fable about a resentful border official whose brain has a habit of sliding off its rack, and who talks his way into running the show anyway. It is silly, it is sharp, and it reads a little closer to home every year. ERS is the right crew for it: John Collins directs, and this is a company that builds its shows out of found sound, office furniture and a lot of nerve.
Cast and ticket details are still to come. Bookmark this page and we'll add names, prices and any lottery or rush the minute the Public posts them, so you can plan a June night downtown with time to spare.
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Our verdict
Our full verdict on Phil is coming soon. Reader lottery reports below have the on-the-ground intel in the meantime.
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