By Bobby McGuire
“We made it through the recession-pandemic-wildfire-oligarchy by the seat of our pants. One more crisis like that and where will we be?” It’s a winking update that shows a desire to connect The Skin of Our Teeth to our current-day chaos. But here’s the real question: is trying to turn Thornton Wilder’s classic into a musical a stroke of genius, or a solution in search of a problem?
The Seat of Our Pants, now playing Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, gives it a spirited shot, but despite a fantastic cast, this well-intentioned musical adaptation never proves it needs singing.
Based on the 1942 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the show follows the Antrobus family, average, everyday folk who keep a dinosaur and woolly mammoth as pets and have survived 5,000 years on the brink of extinction—all from their New Jersey home. The original play delivers a brilliant, self-referential romp in which the family’s maid, Sabina, regularly breaks the fourth wall to complain to the audience about the script. Sound fun? It is.
But here’s the catch: the songs. Adapter/composer/lyricist Ethan Lipton throws every style at the wall to see what sticks, from folk and blues to Broadway and a painfully misguided punk-rock tantrum. Leigh Silverman’s direction mirrors this stylistic identity crisis, which can’t seem to settle on a cohesive vision.
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On the upside, the cast is an absolute delight. Micaela Diamond as Sabina makes a meal out of the show’s meta moments. Ruthie Ann Miles brings a powerhouse mix of warmth and ferocity as Mrs. Antrobus, and Shuler Hensley is wonderful as the eternally optimistic dad. Ensemble standout Andy Grotelueschen’s Garrison Keillor-esque, folksy newscaster provides the all-too-fleeting moments where Lipton’s often tuneful songs feel not just added, but essential.
This isn’t the first time someone thought The Skin of Our Teeth needed a tune. Legends like Leonard Bernstein and Kander and Ebb tried and ultimately gave up. After seeing this valiant, messy effort, I get it. Sometimes, a masterpiece already has everything it needs—and this one just needed to let its incredible cast chew the scenery, without stopping the action to sing about how it tastes.
It wants better content.
Fast facts: ‘The Seat of Our Pants’
A fantastic cast gamely attempts to justify this musical adaptation, but The Seat of Our Pants never answers why Thornton Wilder’s masterpiece needed singing in the first place.
- The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York City
- Two hours and 35 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through December 7, 2025
