The Receptionist tickets
About The Receptionist
The office is open: See Adam Bock's acclaimed play The Receptionist revived for the first time in New York in over a decade. Obie Award winner Adam Bock's dark comedy follows Beverly (two-time Tony winner Katie Finneran), the receptionist at a nameless satellite office in corporate America. When a mysterious visitor arrives from head office, the company's subtly sinister side starts to reveal itself, and Beverly might not be off the hook.
In 2008, the play was up for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play from Outer Critics Circle Awards; now, it returns to New York City in a fresh production. Don't miss Adam Bock’s “poisoned Post-it note of a play” (The New York Times).
Run time
1hr 30min.
Categories
Age
Ages 12+.
Start date
April 15th, 2026
End date
May 24th, 2026
“Office comedy hides chilling darkness that divides audiences”
A Breezy Office Comedy Turns Disturbingly Dark
The Receptionist starts as a charming, funny workplace comedy before taking an unexpected and chilling turn that has left audiences genuinely divided. Katie Finneran delivers a standout performance th...
What It Feels Like
- Unsettling
- Thought-provoking
- Deliberately ambiguous
You’ll Love This If…
- You enjoy theater that leaves questions unanswered
- You appreciate dark comedy with Kafkaesque undertones
- You're a fan of Katie Finneran's comedic brilliance
It was interesting, we enjoyed it 'til the end, then it stopped dead. I expected things to come together-a culmination, but it never did. After the show, my 3 friends and I stopped in the lobby for a discussion, each thinking "I missed something that the others would explain to me," but no luck. We were all puzzled. "What was the show really about?"
A play that will give you something to think about.
Did not expect the dark turn this one took. Enjoyed it. But did not expect it.
The Receptionist cast and creative team
By: Adam Bock
Director: Sarah Benson
Producer: Second Stage Theater
Cast list: Katie Finneran (as Beverly Wilkins), Mallori Johnson (as Lorraine Taylor), Nael Nacer (as Edward Raymond), Will Pullen (as Martin Dart)
Sets: dots
Costumes: Enver Chakartash
Lighting: Stacey Derosier
Sound: Bray Poor
Venue
The Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center
More information about The Receptionist
In The Receptionist, it is business as usual at the Northeast Office, where the cheery and dutiful receptionist answers the phone, brews the coffee, and gossips with co-workers. However, an unexpected visitor from the central office soon walks through the door, and business becomes anything but usual. The Receptionist is a dark comedy about bureaucracy, order, and complicity, and its contemporary, biting humor reveals a stark relevance today.
Theatermania called the play a "chilling contemporary allegory." It goes on to say that "Adam Bock is thinking about the extent to which moral responsibility should be shared by those far removed from the so-called deciders. Can the littlest cog in the societal wheel claim immunity? He makes his uncompromising statement in a piece that falls somewhere between Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery and a Twilight Zone episode."
Bock is known for his idiosyncratic characters and wry writing that has been recognized for decade across American theatres.
What to watch for
- Sarah Benson, director of Fairview and Teeth, stages this drama.
- Adam Bock has won an Obie Award and his play A Life starred David Hyde Pierce at Playwrights Horizons.
- Second Stage continues its season of remounting great plays, as with the recent Marjorie Prime.
- The original production of The Receptionist starred Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell.
Tickets
Unfortunately, tickets for this event are no longer available.
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