Review Roundup: PRE-EXISTING CONDITION Starring Lupita Nyong’o Opens at Greenwich House Theater

Pre-Existing Condition, written by Tony Award nominee Marin Ireland and directed by Tony Award nominee Maria Dizzia, has officially opened at Greenwich House Theater. The reviews are in—see what the critics are saying below!

The production is currently led by Academy Award winner and Tony nominee Lupita Nyong’o as “A,” the unnamed woman at the center of Ireland’s drama about the aftermath of an abusive relationship. Nyong’o will remain with the production through September 26.

The role will subsequently be performed by Tony and Emmy nominee Phillipa Soo from September 28-October 17, Tony nominee Susannah Flood from October 18-November 7, Hari Nef from November 9-28, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Edie Falco from November 30-December 19, and two-time Tony-nominated director and actor Whitney White from December 21-January 8, 2027.

White is the final performer to join the rotating lineup. As a director, her Broadway credits include Liberation, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and The Last Five Years. Her performing credits include Macbeth in Stride, Capsule and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s All Is But Fantasy.

Returning from the production’s run at the Connelly Theater are Greg Keller, Dael Orlandersmith and Sarah Steele. Susannah Perkins will replace Steele during October. Josh Tobin and Sarin Monae West serve as understudies.

Pre-Existing Condition follows “A” as she attempts to move forward following a life-altering relationship, examining the ways violence and trauma continue to affect everyday life. The production is currently on sale at Greenwich House Theater through January 8, 2027.

The creative team includes scenic designer Cate McCrea, costume designer Enver Chakartash, lighting designer Isabella Byrd, sound designer Palmer Hefferan, casting director Taylor Williams and creative consultant Anne Kauffman.

Jackson McHenry, Vulture : Nyong’o is playing A until September 26, after which the role will pass among a succession of other actresses: Phillipa Soo, Susannah Flood, Hari Nef, Edie Falco, and Whitney White. (The previous run of Pre-Existing Condition did the same, with Tatiana Maslany, Julia Chan, Deirdre O’Connell, Tavi Gevinson, and Dizzia herself in the lead.) Though that format makes it difficult to offer a judgment of how the production will play in future weeks, the awareness that A will be portrayed through new actresses in new iterations gives Pre-Existing Condition another point of open-ended resonance.

Kyle Turner, New York Theatre Guide: There are select moments — like when A and a kind male friend (Greg Keller) listen to ignored voicemails, or when she and an old acquaintance discuss what success means — where the play’s ambition and execution are more tantalizingly close. You can imagine a more defined set of people and circumstances that are more than tenuously connected. There’s thematic potential to the notion that A is unmoored, but the play shouldn’t be, too.

Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater: Lupita Nyong’o is a person of great natural grace, which might give a different spin on A than the actors who will succeed her. In the face of the lawyer’s blunt lack of interest, or the friend who tells her to move on, she seems less than humiliated, putting on a face that’s not quite dignity; something closer to bland courtesy. But there are moments in “Pre-Existing Condition” – moments of fury — that transcend any particular performance, and that defeat the playwright’s apparent effort to make this a study, rather than a howl.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: She also learns to reframe the central question of what she wants. Is it money? Revenge? Sympathy? To just get over it already? For Ireland, the act of writing this play — of giving voice to women who find themselves in similar impossible circumstances — suggests another path forward. Where shadows and nuance blur your vision, shed a searingly bright ray of light.

Juan A. Ramirez, The Guardian: Nyong’o’s inherent youthfulness and regality renders her somewhat of an entitled millennial, rocked by the first bad thing to ever happen to her. It’s leagues away from Falco’s humiliation at being put through this at a later stage in life. Both, the script demands and Ireland knows, must confront that shame.

Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review: A poignant study of a modern American woman dealing with emotional and social troubles in the aftermath of domestic assault, Pre-Existing Condition scored enthusiastic reviews in its premiere at the Connelly Theater in the far East Village in 2024. Directed again by Maria Dizzia, Marin Ireland’s quietly insightful drama opened Monday at Greenwich House for a limited engagement extending into the new year at the 199-seat theater.

Average Rating: 80.0%