Review Roundup: Mint Theater Company’s PHYL Opens Off-Broadway

Mint Theater Company’s New York premiere of PHYL, a rarely seen comedy by pioneering British playwright and suffragist Cecily Hamilton, is now officially open at Theatre Row.  Directed by Britt Berke, the production will continue through November 7, 2026.

PHYL follows Phyllis Chester, a governess trapped in a solitary existence and cut off from the life she desires, until a moment of lost temper leads her to risk everything.

The cast features Lily Ganser (Stereophonic) as Phyllis “Phyl” Chester, alongside Tessa Blimes, Jennifer Blood, Curzon Dobell, Katie Firth, Betsy Hogg, Livvy Marcus, Anthony Michael Martinez, and Charlotte Van Ledtje. See what the critics are saying…

Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review : Britt Berke, the director, gives Phyl a well-paced, agreeably performed production. Initially an anxious figure in unbecoming black and a tight hairdo as the heroine, the elfin-faced Ganser visibly relaxes and brightens as Phyl’s repressed spirit takes wing. Energizing the show with his gleaming presence as Jack, Martinez lends the careless playboy a casually rumpled, hands-in-pockets ease that carries him through every awkward situation. Long a Mint favorite, Firth sharply portrays snooty Mrs. Ponsonby, pronouncing nasty inferences with a prim smile

James Wilson, Talkin’ Broadway: The play lumbers somewhat in the last third when the conclusion has already been telegraphed, but under Britt Berke’s sure-footed direction, Phyl exhibits the dramatic craft and social conscience of other works of the era by George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, and Harley Granville-Barker. The main characters may articulate prevalent social critiques, but they are more than just mere mouthpieces. We care about them as individuals rather than simply as bold ideas personified.

Average Rating: 75.0%