Review Roundup: SCHOOL PICTURES at the Cherry Lane Theatre

The Cherry Lane Theatre is now presenting School Pictures through November 29. Faith hates reading, Jane has lost her flashcards and Javier sees no point in studying because of climate change. Returning to New York after an acclaimed, sold-out run at Playwrights Horizons, this musical journal documents parenting, inequality and the cruelty of puberty in the NYC school system with humor and wit.

School Pictures is written and performed by Milo Cramer (Cute Activist, Minor Character) and directed by longtime collaborator Morgan Green. See what the critics are saying…

Helen Shaw, The New York Times : With Brechtian lightness, Cramer delivers his numbers in a kind of sprechgesang: His eyes are mischievous, and he can often sing randomly loud, rather like a 5-year-old showboating the national anthem. Strumming a ukulele or whacking out a melody on a toy piano, Cramer sings about lightly fictionalized students like Leigh, who’s scared her mother will yell at her for getting a C- in science. When the stakes are low, the songs are hilarious. But with children, the stakes are never low.

Allison Considine, New York Theatre Guide: In a lesson for the audience, chalkboard and all, Cramer unpacks the city’s Gifted and Talented program and standardized testing requirements, revealing the inherent class and social inequities. There’s even a math equation for the audience to solve.

By the end, Cramer humanizes each of those colorful pieces of paper, and their desire to make a lasting impact on the students’ lives is so apparent. The woman next to me was in tears.

Rhea Kohli, Washington Square News: The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time, I didn’t have to spend three years there.

Rhea Kohli, Washington Square News: The result is a show that is occasionally funny and thought-provoking, although not entirely consistent. Like middle school itself, “School Pictures” has its unexpected revelations, laugh-out-loud moments and painful stretches. At least this time, I didn’t have to spend three years there.

Average Rating: 70.0%