Hugh Jackman and Ella Beatty Photo by Emilio Madrid

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Class is part of a long legacy of plays that feature accused or verified predatory male teachers and professors. There are two others currently on New York stages, John Proctor Is the Villain and Bus Stop. Arguably, the apotheosis of the genre is David Mamet's Oleanna. What makes Sexual Misconduct a stronger play than Mamet's is its subtlety and the way in which the discomfort sneaks up on you. When Oleanna premiered, for instance, audience members vocally responded with misogynist declarations against the young college student who charged her male professor with sexual harassment. Critic Elaine Showalter wrote in her review that the man sitting beside her fumed, "I nearly climbed up on the stage to kick the shit out of the little bitch myself."

Moscovitch slyly presents the play from the male professor's perspective, and the effect works its own psychological manipulation on the audience. Jon (Hugh Jackman) is both the narrator and the professor, and he engages the audience directly. Continually breaking the fourth wall, he highlights the comparison of a professor commanding the lecture hall and an actor holding the spectators spellbound. Annie (Ella Beatty) is a starstruck student who desperately wants to be noticed by her literary idol. On her meeting outside of the classroom, she stammers, "I love your work ... I read it in high school ... And high school was bad and it was good to know that there was a person in the world who thought how I thought ... It meant a lot to me."

The relationship soon escalates, and the emotional stakes climb. The play includes a number of twists and surprises, and they will not be revealed here. Unlike the climax of Oleanna, though, Sexual Misconduct does not provoke a visceral response. Instead, it unsettles with discomforting questions about consent, vulnerability, and unequal power balance.

The unnerving experience has a great deal to do with the direction by Ian Rickson and the performances. Performed on a mostly bare stage (Brett J. Banakis and Christine Jones did the scenic design), the production concentrates on the raw and meticulous attention to character details. (Pay attention, however, to Isabella Byrd's cunning lighting that implicates the audience and stealthily shifts from the play's narrative to the theatrical setting.)

Jackman is exceptional. People often talk about star-making performances. His work here can be best described as star-justifying. He is absolutely riveting in his ability to charm and then break your heart in the next moment. How lucky to experience his work in the intimate Off-Broadway house.

As Annie, Beatty is also doing fine work. Truthfully, I was initially put off by the blankness in many of her interactions with the much more dynamic Jackman. She seemed more of a cipher than a fully realized character. My theatre companion convinced me that that is the point. She is molded and created by both Jon's and the audience's expectations and desires. My friend must be correct because several days after seeing the performance, I am still thinking about it.

Justice Smith and Liev Schreiber Photo by Emilio Madrid

Taking place in the front room of a seaside hotel, the play begins with Adi (Justice Smith) and Gustav (Liev Schreiber) waiting for the return of Adi's wife Tekla (Maggie Siff), who is a famous writer. Gustav has only recently met Adi, but he has become something of a mentor to the young artist. Under the guise of offering sage counsel, Gustav makes Adi question his worth as both an artist and a lover. He tells him that in his recent work, "The canvas shows through like the skin of a corpse. I looked at it and thought: this is the work of a dying man." Even more insidiously, he makes Adi believe that Tekla is rampantly promiscuous and is gleefully humiliating him publicly.

Critics have often compared Gustav to Othello's Iago, and there are parallels in their use of deception and cruelty. Schreiber is deliciously nasty, but he is more than a melodramatic villain. Every utterance is carefully modulated, and he has the demeanor of a therapist while doling out unctuous compassion. As his authority fluctuates throughout the play, we see his underlying vulnerabilities. It's a meticulously calibrated performance.

Smith and Siff also do fine work. Smith's Adi is tempestuous and his insecurities are affecting. Silverman's adaptation downplays the character's physical infirmities, but Smith effectively offers a portrait of a person confronting his own mortality. As Tekla, Siff is a terrific counterpoint to both actors. She is spirited and flirtatious while also serving as an effective foil to the machinations designed to destroy her.

As with Sexual Misconduct, Creditors is performed with minimal scenery, but there are antique furniture pieces and a large mirror that capture the sensation of being in an isolated resort hotel. Eerily, there is also a white sheath curtain through which the characters enter. A stark white light, which contrasts with the amber glow of the room's lighting, throws ghostly shadows as someone nears, which exponentially increases the suspense and feeling of unease. (The same designers of Sexual Misconduct worked on this play. In addition to the aforementioned, Ásta Bennie Hostetter designed the age and class appropriate costumes, and Mikaal Sulaiman designed the sound, which includes moody underscoring.)

The final part of Silverman's version is markedly different from Strindberg's, which is both shocking and melodramatic. In Creditors, each of the characters conveys the sense that the others are indebted to them individually. In the perplexing final image, perhaps we may interpret the ways in which their lives are intricately intertwined.

Audible has been presenting shows at the Minetta Lane Theatre since 2018 and has recently joined with TOGETHER. The fledgling company was spearheaded by Jackman, Sonia Friedman, and Rickson, and their stated mission is "to create a company where actors, writers, and directors could experiment, explore, and take risks, away from the pressures that are often associated with the commercial theater world." Based on their inaugural productions, they are off to a most auspicious start.