By Ryan Leeds
They say it gets better. “They” meaning adults who console teenagers from the heartache of high school. What if it doesn’t? What if your youthful goals and purpose in life never fully come to fruition? Playwright Else Went asks these tough, uncomfortable questions in her sprawling Off-Broadway play Initiative.
Riley (Greg Cuellar), a sensitive would-be writer, applies to several Ivy League universities. Meanwhile, his closest female friend, Clara (Olivia Rose Barresi), eyes Yale. One of them gets in, while the other remains stuck in “Coastal Podunk”, a California coastal town where nothing ever happens. Their social circle includes brothers Em (Christopher Dylan White) and Lo (Carson Higgins), the fun and rebellious Kendall (Andrea Lopez Alvarez), the bullying but deeply insecure Tony (Jamie Sanders), and a new kid in town, Ty (Harrison Densmore).
Went charts their lives through four years of high school as they navigate love, sexual identity, drug addicted parents, awkward social dances, and the usual challenges of adolescence.
But these are not the Hollywood lens teens of Beverly Hills 90210 or Dawson’s Creek; instead, they are emerging young adults far beyond their years in wisdom and maturity. Dungeons and Dragons bonds them with several scenes that incorporate extended gameplay. While character building in the play, the game sessions feel tedious at times, and given the play’s five-hour runtime, there is room to tighten things up.
DISCOVER MORE OFF-BROADWAY
In ‘Meet the Cartozians,’ Talene Monahon asks who gets to be an American
Even with the lengthy running time, Went, along with her wife and director Emma Rosa Went, has crafted an incredible piece of theater. The unanimously gifted cast strikes a balance between timeless teen angst and the early aughts, when Savage Garden ruled the radio and dial-up internet was new technology.
We all love a 90-minute show, but Initiative is well worth the time, gently reminding us of youthful possibility and the opportunities that still lie before us at any age.
It wants better content.
Fast facts: ‘Initiative’
Initiative delivers a marathon meditation on unfulfilled potential that somehow leaves you hopeful about the possibilities still ahead.
- The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York City
- Five hours and 20 minutes, including two intermissions (or dinner break, depending on the performance)
- Performances through December 7, 2025
