Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Bug Opens on Broadway With Standout Turn by Carrie Coon

Early reviews call the Steppenwolf transfer gripping, with several noting a more restrained feel than past productions.

Overview

  • Tracy Letts’ psychological thriller officially opened Jan. 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and is scheduled to run through Feb. 8 under Manhattan Theatre Club.
  • Carrie Coon reprises Agnes opposite Namir Smallwood’s Peter, directed by David Cromer, with Jennifer Engstrom, Steve Key, and Randall Arney in support.
  • Critics widely single out Coon’s performance, while some say the Broadway staging’s polish and scale temper the play’s ferocity and momentum.
  • The production features extensive nudity with audience phones locked in Yondr pouches, a notable Act II set shift, and detailed design by Takeshi Kata with lighting by Heather Gilbert and sound by Josh Schmidt.
  • The story’s descent into shared paranoia and conspiracy in a seedy Oklahoma motel is cited as timely in an era of disinformation, with reviewers describing the experience as unsettling and intense.