The result, with its constrained, Britain-bashing archness, could have been made a third of a century ago.

NEWYORKER: Asylum

Foremost among them is the inaptly cloying archness with which Vivian addresses the audience from start to finish ("It is not my intention to give away the plot, but I think I die at the end").

WSJ: Wit | The Motherf**cker With the Hat | Into the (Spot)light | Theater Reviews by Terry Teachout

" David Esbjornson, the director, has served Mr. Albee exceptionally well, striking just the right balance between amusing archness and horrific realism, and John Arnone's set is a perfect realization of Mr. Albee's stage directions: "I see the environment as uncluttered, perhaps with a Bauhaus feeling.

WSJ: The Lady From Dubuque | Tribes | Everybody Was Wrong About This Play | Theater Review by Terry Teachout

This archness is purposeful it is Ms. Edson's way of showing us how completely Vivian is out of touch with her feelings but the cute self-mockery to which she stoops, which is italicized and underlined by Ms. Nixon's acting, is no more believable than the haze of sentiment through which her agonizing death is seen.

WSJ: Wit | The Motherf**cker With the Hat | Into the (Spot)light | Theater Reviews by Terry Teachout