‘The Receptionist’ Returns to an Office Where Cheerfully Banal Chatter Proves Deceptive

The opening monologue of Adam Bock’s “The Receptionist” is ostensibly about fly fishing, though it’s pretty obvious that the sport is being used as a metaphor. “I love catching fish,” a male character, unnamed at this point, tells us, standing alone on stage. “I love letting them go too.”The man then describes his philosophy, when dealing with fish. If he finds one in good shape, he releases the creature, but if it gets injured or debilitated, so that it can no longer survive in the water, he prepares it for a “humane” death by cutting the gills and letting it bleed out. This method “depletes its oxygen levels and it goes to sleep,” he explains.Assuming these intentions are as pure as they seem, and we’re given no reason to believe that they’re not, this guy, who will soon be identified as Edward Raymond, has either chosen the wrong line of work or been drawn into a horrific situation he feels he can no longer control. In Mr. Bock’s quirky, often wonderfully vexing plays, among them acclaimed works such as “A Life” and “The Thugs,” passivity can be alluring and action risky, particularly when one finds oneself in as tight a corner as Edward will be here.First produced in 2007, “Receptionist” unfolds in an office where the title character, Beverly Wilkins, holds court, exerting the kind of authority that men and women of her field enjoyed before everyone and their grandmother had cell phones. This is reinforced when Beverly gets a personal call from her daughter on the office phone, and when a mysterious visitor in the waiting area must resort to reading a magazine.It’s not specified, at first, what kind of business this is; Beverly’s conversation with Lorraine Taylor, a co-worker who seems younger and higher ranking—she has her own office—initially centers on Lorraine’s dating life, which will remain a subject of concern, along with the pastries sold at the corner store and a stamp collection that’s cutting into Beverly and her husband’s budget.For Second Stage’s new off-Broadway production at the Pershing Square Signature Center, the design collective dots has furnished a set to match the amiable banality of their chat: Muted blues and other neutral tones loom behind desks and a fax machine; artificial flowers sit on a round table to Beverly’s left, beside a coffee pot.It’s only when that visitor appears that a vague sense of discord creeps in. His name, ominously, is Martin Dart, and he’s from the “central office,” and he needs to see Edward. When told Edward’s not in yet, Martin says he will wait, and proceeds to engage Beverly in another pleasant, platitudinous exchange. We learn he has a four-year-old son who has been eating Play-Doh at preschool; Beverly assures him he needn’t be worried.The audience, however, is never lulled into a false sense of security, thanks to the sharpness of both Mr. Bock’s writing and Sarah Benson’s direction. By the time Edward does turn up, we’re ready for an awful revelation, and we get one—but gradually, in teasing bursts of detail that build up as the very different characters make choices that may or may not surprise you. The performances help sustain the play’s suspense, hinting at hidden motives and contradictions. Will Pullen is eerily effective as Martin, suggesting a sociopath’s glib charm but not overplaying it, so that by the end we’re still struck by the depth of his amorality. Mallori Johnson makes Lorraine, who flirts with Martin, seem by turns elegant and shallow before a late twist reveals her shrewdness. Nael Nacer’s Edward, similarly, shows both fortitude and weakness, in some ways emerging as both the most admirable character and the most pitiable. As Beverly, the middle-aged woman who manages the communication connecting the others, Broadway veteran Katie Finneran offers a funny, ultimately chilling portrait of a low-level insider, the kind of person who can be taken for granted but nonetheless holds invaluable knowledge. “The Receptionist” reminds us that isn’t always a good thing for the party involved, though it can make for a highly entertaining story.

‘The Receptionist’ Returns to an Office Where Cheerfully Banal Chatter Proves Deceptive

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