LADDER

IRT presented The Ladder directed by Haley Rice, written by Isaac Byrne, an adaptation of the ancient myth Theseus and the Minotaur. With lighting design by David Aab, sound engineering by Josh Koback, and costume design by Caycee Black, The Ladder is described as “a blood-soaked, nightmarish, and psychologically charged dismantling of heroic mythology.”

While I applaud this grandiose intention, The Ladder ultimately falls short, delivering muddy writing, a lack of clear direction, and a cheap sense of humor that undercuts its own ambition. Watching The Ladder felt like watching a play have an identity crisis. It attempted to channel the heightened drama of ancient Greek theater while simultaneously leaning into poorly executed TikTok humor, including nods to the Gen Alpha “6–7” trend.

The cast consisted of equity actors James Jelkin, Justin Senense, and Rebekah Rawhouser alongside Ken Orman, and Lucy Turner. Throughout, they spoke with a misplaced severity that remained one note and never deepened or transformed. Jokes landed out of place and out of time, and the writing coupled with unfocused direction, left the audience confused about what the genre being watched. Tragedy, satire, and parody blurred together without intention, and the play never commited to any of them fully.

That uncertainty spilled into the design elements. Visually, The Ladder felt half-baked: a bare black box stage with a single ladder stationed in the back. Actors are dressed in what resemble ancient Greek, Halloween-like costumes, gesturing toward mythology without fully embodying it. From beginning to end, the cast faced struggles, with prolonged moments of darkness or completely unlit expressions that feel unintentional rather than dramaturgically motivated.

In attempting to dismantle heroic mythology, The Ladder instead dismantled its own coherence. The ideas were there, but without tonal clarity or formal rigor, the production never found the footing it needed to make its nightmare meaningful.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Frankie Lehr