Tension in a Tight Space – A Review of Lobby Hero at PCS Second Stage

by Angela Robb

Ever since I started writing for South Jersey Theatre Critics I have been given the opportunity to go to a variety of theaters, including several for the first time. Players Club of Swarthmore has definitely become a favorite of mine. It’s a theatre I can keep returning to with confidence knowing whatever show I see will be top notch. The production quality consistently rivals local regional houses. This confidence in PCS’s storytelling made me especially eager to attend my first production on its Second Stage, opening night of Lobby Hero.

Kenneth Lonergan’s play Lobby Hero centers on Jeff, a 27-year-old security guard who spends his night shifts in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building doing as little as possible until a murder investigation forces him out of his complacency. When his supervisor, William, confides that he may lie to protect his brother, a suspect in the case, Jeff is pulled into a web of conflicting loyalties and moral uncertainty. Their dilemma intersects with Bill, a seasoned police officer eager to leverage the situation for personal gain, and his partner Dawn, a rookie beginning to confront the realities of corruption and sexism within the force. As these relationships collide, Jeff is forced to reckon with the consequences of inaction and the weight of telling the truth. Its focus on personal ethics and quiet power struggles finds a natural home in the intimacy of the black box space of PCS’s Second Stage. 

The Second Stage at PCS is an intimate black box space in the upstairs of the theatre. Unfortunately it is only accessible by stairs so if you have any physical disabilities which interfere with you climbing steps please be aware. Upon entering, the audience is seated on two sides of a diamond-shaped staging area, with just a few rows on each side, creating a tightly focused environment. Traverse staging is something not very common in theatre since most theaters don’t have the space to accomplish it. Director John Parkinson and Assistant Director Natalie Payan embraced this challenge and crafted precise and fluid blocking, ensuring that no moment is lost, regardless of vantage point. In fact this staging worked perfectly for this production, subtly reinforcing the idea that every story has multiple perspectives. In such an intimate space, the play’s questions of truth and morality feel less abstract and more like something unfolding in real time, just a few feet away. The proximity of my seat to the action really heightened the discomfort and urgency and made me feel like I was watching this develop as a bystander rather than watching a show. The result is a cohesive and thoughtfully executed vision that speaks to Parkinson and Payan’s strong vision and directorial collaboration.

Other than that feeling of being a fly on the wall my favorite thing about the production was the set, designed by Stephen Wiseley. The building’s lobby looked exactly like it should be. The walls looked like marble adorned with artwork and a bulletin board of flyers. It also featured an elevator, appropriately labeled with an L for lobby, to bring the characters up and down as the story called for it. The floor of the lobby was tiled with white tiles and black diamonds. The attention to detail was astounding so special kudos to scenic artist Mary Tomcavage. The set also featured a door to the outside with shrubbery on either side of it to connect the characters to the sidewalk. To contrast from the tiled floor of the inside the lobby, outside the door was a gray painted pavement that went around the perimeter of the lobby set. It was a wonderful attention to detail. With that being said I do wish the actors stayed on these strips of sidewalk whenever they were outside. There was one moment where Dawn storms off and rather than staying on the sidewalk leading to backstage she exited from the door the entered from resulting in hearing the sound of the door and taking me out of the moment. 

Complementing the set were the props, designed by Mary Tomcavage. While minimal, each item contributed meaningfully to the world of the play and the people inhabiting it. Jeff’s desk, for example, is cluttered with the expected: pens and highlighters in a cup, a telephone, a sign-in binder, a wooden block calendar, but also with objects that reveal his personality, including a book, a newspaper, and even a Playboy magazine. These details not only ground the setting in reality but quietly reinforce Jeff’s aimlessness and tendency to pass the time. Props are often an unsung storytelling device, but here they are chosen with clear intention. 

Costumes, designed by Autumn Scouten, further reinforce the production’s attention to detail. While each character wears a uniform, Scouten incorporated subtle variations that reflect personality and status. Jeff and William, for instance, both wear security guard uniforms, but Jeff’s is noticeably baggier and ill-fitting, underscoring his lack of discipline and indifference toward his appearance. In contrast, William’s uniform is crisp and well-tailored, reflecting his more meticulous nature. He also wears a work jacket for much of the production, removing it only in a moment of vulnerability with Jeff. I really found this choice to be thoughtful, suggesting the jacket as a kind of emotional armor. The police uniforms are equally well-realized, with Bill and Dawn outfitted not only with badges but with fully detailed utility belts, including handcuffs, radios, and firearms, adding to the overall sense of authenticity.

Speaking of authenticity, the element that truly brought everything together was the lighting and sound design. Danielle Lachall’s lighting inside the lobby was bright and even, effectively capturing the artificial glow of office lighting. In contrast, the exterior scenes were dim enough to suggest nighttime while still allowing the actors’ expressions to remain visible, with overhead lighting subtly evoking the look of street lights. The sound design, by Autumn Scouten and John Parkinson, further reinforced this sense of realism. Lobby scenes were clean and unobstructed, allowing every line to be heard clearly, while exterior moments were underscored with ambient city noise like passing cars and distant honking, which placed the audience firmly in Manhattan without overwhelming the dialogue. Sound board operator Dan Jankauskus and light board operator Nancy Reeves executed these transitions seamlessly. Shifts between interior and exterior occurred without delay, the two working in precise sync.

Bringing the story to life are four actors all making their PCS debut with Lobby Hero. The cast is led by Tristan Sieben as Jeff. In the opening scene, there were moments where his nerves seemed to undercut the characterization, with some of his funnier lines landing a bit drier than intended for a character described multiple times as a “funny guy”. However, as the performance progressed, Sieben settled into the role and grew increasingly confident, ultimately coming into his own. He captured Jeff’s laid-back, slacker energy well, and his natural sense of humor began to shine through more consistently. He also demonstrated strong improvisational skills, particularly in a moment when a prop was accidentally knocked over. As a character who is onstage for nearly the entire performance, Sieben’s stamina and sustained energy, subtly calibrated to fit Jeff’s low-effort demeanor, were especially impressive. 

Joe Henderson portrays William, Jeff’s supervisor and a clear foil to his laid-back demeanor. As a man who prides himself on discipline and responsibility, William finds his morality tested when asked to provide an alibi for his brother. Henderson leans into the character’s rigidity, delivering a performance that is controlled and restrained, which effectively highlights William’s desire to be respected and his deep investment in doing the right thing. This sense of composure also reflects the weight of the situation pressing on him. While Henderson’s performance effectively conveys William’s stress and emotional burden, it occasionally feels focused more on the weight of his circumstances than on the nuances of William’s personality, leaving some aspects of the character less fully realized. Some of William’s complexity felt slightly understated, and a greater variation in facial expression and physicality could have helped project those nuances more clearly in a theatrical setting. That said, Henderson convincingly conveys the character’s underlying pain, especially as the stakes intensify. 

Bill, played by Andy De, is a veteran cop whose cockiness is disguised as confidence, masking his corruption. De delivers a commanding and dynamic performance, fully embodying the persona of a self-assured, fast-rising officer. His physicality is particularly effective, with confident posture and deliberate movement reinforcing Bill’s authority and swagger. What stands out most is De’s ability to navigate the character’s duality, shifting from approachable and professional to sharp, intimidating, and at times unsettling as the situation escalates. These transitions feel natural and controlled, adding depth to a character who could easily become one-dimensional in less capable hands. 

Sabrina Caruso plays Dawn, a rookie cop and Bill’s partner, who joins the force with a desire to make a difference but is gradually confronted with the realities of sexism, corruption, and the emotional toll of the job. Caruso’s portrayal leans into Dawn’s inexperience, forgoing the confident physicality typically associated with police officers in favor of something more tentative and unguarded. Rather than presenting Dawn as someone trying to embody authority, Caruso allows her to exist more authentically as a young woman still finding her footing within the role. This choice reinforces the idea that Dawn is, as Bill says, just a scared little girl in a uniform. Dawn undergoes a significant emotional journey, from admiration for Bill to deep disillusionment, and while I would have liked to see a more gradual progression in these shifts, Caruso ultimately comes into her own as her arc reaches its climax. 

Much of a director’s work is often revealed in casting choices, and Parkinson and Payan assemble an exceptional ensemble for Lobby Hero. The four actors work seamlessly together, with a clear sense of trust and responsiveness in their scene work. Each performance feels grounded in strong collaboration, allowing moments of tension, humor, and discomfort to land naturally rather than feeling imposed. This sense of control and cohesion is further supported by intimacy and fight coordinator Lee Talbot. While the production does not feature traditional fight sequences or staged intimacy, there are still moments of heightened physical and emotional tension, particularly in Bill’s interactions with both Jeff and Dawn, that require careful calibration. Talbot’s influence is evident in how these scenes are staged, ensuring that moments of threat and power imbalance feel safe for the performers while still reading as immediate and unsettling for the audience. This contributes to Andy De’s particularly effective portrayal of Bill’s volatility, enhancing the character’s shifting presence onstage. Together, these elements reflect the strength of Parkinson and Payan’s overall vision. From casting to staging to performance support, the production feels tightly unified, with each creative decision reinforcing the play’s central focus on power, morality, and consequence.

According to the program, Lobby Hero is set in the autumn of 1999 and was first staged Off-Broadway in the spring of 2001. In the years since, the topics of police brutality and corruption, systemic racism and sexism, sexual harassment and coercion, and the dynamics of power and authority have only grown more resonant. While the play is rooted in a specific moment in time, its questions about moral responsibility and institutional failure feel strikingly contemporary, especially in light of ongoing national conversations around policing and justice in recent years. Rather than feeling dated, the production underscores how little some of these issues have shifted, leaving the audience with the unsettling reminder that the question of what it means to do the right thing remains as urgent as ever. It leaves the audience with the lingering sense that the play’s central question, what it means to do the right thing, has no easy answer, and still resonates today.

Lobby Hero runs through May 16th and tickets can be purchased here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/117/production/1238935