What: Clyde's
Where: George Street Playhouse
NBPAC
11 Livingston Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ
Who: Recommended for Ages 12 and Up
When: Through February 19, 2023
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Lynn Nottage's play, Clyde's played on Broadway as recently as last year. Now, it has come to the George Street Playhouse. The play is about a truck stop sandwich shop whose crew is made up entirely of former inmates. The show is a comedy but it has a serious side too. Every one of these characters has a sad story about what led to their crimes, but they all take responsibility for their actions, and they are all just looking for a chance for redemption. Their ownership of their actions and the way interact with each other and support each other make the characters likable and make you want to root for them.
This can not be said for Clyde herself, the owner of the sandwich shop She is also a former criminal, but we don't learn as much about her as we do about her employees. This makes her not as likable a character as we only see her through her interaction with her employees. She treats them in a mean and tyrannical way. This is partially explained by the pressure she is under from the unsavory types who are responsible for her having a business in the first place and keeping it running. However, we don't learn much about that either, and it doesn't make up for the harsh way she treats her employees.
If you are familiar with Lynn Notage's plays, you may recognize one of the characters, Jason, from her previous play, Sweat. In fact, if you did see that show, which definitely was not a comedy, this show although it definitely doesn't take away the heinousness of the ending of that show, does provide a bit of catharsis. It is nice to learn that the terrible crime committed in that show not only did not go unpunished but the perpetrator of the crime actually felt real remorse for what he did. However, you don't have to have seen that show to enjoy or understand what is going on in this show. The only reference to it at all is when Jason talks about his crime.
On a lighter note, if you are a big sandwich fan, you will enjoy the characters' propensity for inventing and describing in detail their ideas for new sandwich combinations. On the other hand, that may just make you hungry. This will only be made worse by the fact that the characters don't just talk about sandwiches, they spend the entire show actually making sandwiches. Accordingly, you probably don't want to see this show on an empty stomach.
And that's our view. For more about Clyde's and/or to purchase tickets, visit
Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.
Photo credits:
All Clyde's production photos by T. Charles Erickson
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