By Matthew Wexler
Josh spends a lot of time pontificating about his brain: “My brain is broken…I don’t know how to be in my brain.” But the central character in Jake Brash’s The Reservoir is equally interested in matters of the heart.
Based on his real-life experiences, Brash’s play excavates memory and healing through its central character (a charming Noah Galvin), who takes a medical leave from NYU Drama school to return home and get sober. In doing so, Josh must reckon with his mother (Heidi Armbruster), who’s hit her limit of second chances, and a quartet of grandparents, each with quirks and commonalities that he soon becomes reacquainted with.
Four grandparents, zero filters
Shelley Butler’s occasionally fussy direction involves a lot of chair shuffling on Takeshi Kata’s otherwise gauzy, minimalist set. Still, when the movement settles, the relationships surface. Veteran actors Caroline Aaron, Peter Maloney, Mary Beth Peil, and Chip Zien each have their moment to shine, from Zien’s foul-mouthed Jewish jokester, Shrimpy, to Peil’s church-going Irene with the voice of an angel. But it’s Aaron’s Beverly who does most of the heavy lifting in Act II, when she extends the lifeline needed to support Josh’s sobriety.
Brasch’s script could lose the intermission, tighten the parallel storyline of Irene’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and trim his cognitive deep dive into brain function while shelving titles at the bookstore, where his mom’s been a buyer for 30 years.
The highs and lows in The Reservoir will feel achingly familiar to anyone who’s faced addiction, personally or with a loved one. After a slip and missing a funeral, Beverly delivers a dose of reality to her grandson: “The whole world revolves around you. Your feelings. Your thoughts. Your problems. I’m tired of it.” The audience may feel the same way.
Is ‘The Reservoir’ worth seeing?
3 out of 5 stars
Noah Galvin and a scene-stealing ensemble do their best work in The Reservoir, a moving play that could stand to trust itself a little more and explain itself a little less.
- Atlantic Theater Company, Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, New York
- Notable performances: Noah Galvin, Caroline Aaron, Mary Beth Peil, Chip Zien
- Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through March 15, 2026
Editor’s Note: 1 Minute Critic previously reviewed a regional production of The Reservoir at Geffen Playhouse. If you’re interested in another opinion, check out Lindsay B. Davis’s take.
Myra Chanin
I felt the same way when it opened at Berkeley Rep. Drunks are not interesting until they really mean to give up their vice. First act was way tooooo long.