Emily Hensley, Noah Hynick, and Eva Gemlo Photo by Molly Weibel

Jordan and his dilemma are the focal point of Joshua Harmon's play Significant Other, being given a wholly successful production by Lyrics Arts on their Main Street Stage. Harmon first drew attention in 2012 with his play Bad Jews, an Off-Broadway hit. Significant Other came next in 2015, followed by Admissions, Skintight, and Prayer for the French Republic. All premiered Off-Broadway, with Significant Other and Prayer for the French Republic both moving on to Broadway mountings, the latter nominated for the 2024 Tony Award for Best Play.

In his work, Harmon displays a keen ability to create fully believable characters whose genuine humanity is perforated with credible flaws. Jordan Berman is one such character, brought to glowing life by Noah Hynick in a beautifully etched performance that reveals the profusion of Jordan's feelings: love, longing, fear, loneliness, resentment, and in his best moments, hope.

Significant Other is set in New York City, in the present day–which was ten years ago, when the play first appeared. It opened on June 18, 2015 and eight days later, June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, meaning Jordan could have hope of standing at the alter just like his women friends–but as the play was being written and first opened that hope was still an abstraction. The first preview of the Broadway run was Valentine's Day, 2017. By then gay marriages were blooming across the nation, so during that and subsequent productions, audiences could imagine Jordan having that aspiration, one that put him on equal footing with his female friends.

Today, with pushback challenging the legality of same-sex marriage (In breaking headlines this week, a major religious domination gave approval to fighting for its repeal), we may see Jordan feeling less confident of having that as an option, or pressed by time to attain that goal before the brakes are pulled. In any case, Jordan's overriding need is to not be alone. He knows his friends won't abandon him, but he also knows that he no longer occupies the highest pier of commitment and emotional intimacy with them; that spot is now accorded to their husbands and, later on, to their children. Not him.

The one person who does place Jordan at the pinnacle of her devotion is his feisty grandmother, Helene. She is played by an utterly delightful Miriam Monasch, expressing the weariness of living too long, along with a love that serves as an antidote for the weariness. In scenes throughout the play, beautifully written to show Jordan's delicate handling of Helene's wandering and sometimes perverse thoughts, we see them sweetly sharing memories associated with family photos, his hesitation to reveal his suffering to her, and her intuitive sense of what he needs. When she tells Jordan that she knows he will meet that special someone because he is "the best grandson in the whole world," all he can do is hold back tears and say, "I don't think that's how it works, Grandma."

Significant Other opens at the bachelorette party for Kiki, the first of Jordan's three besties to get married. Played with off-the-chart self-empowerment by Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green, Kiki had decided to forget about finding someone else to please and devote herself to self-gratification, becoming her own biggest fan. Naturally, that stance drew a man with no will of his own. Conrad (Dale O'Dell, one of his several roles) is seen to have virtually nothing to offer but a willingness to step aside and let Kiki exude in her own fabulousness. Next to break away from the original foursome is Vanessa. She is a total cynic regarding marriage and romance, but the sex with Roger (James Grace, effective as a horn-dog, one of his several roles) is so great that she takes the bait. O'Dell returns later in the play as Tony, a sensitive and cultured man, which sets him far apart from Conrad and Roger.

That leaves Laura and Jordan as the remaining singles. Laura, it appears, always assumed that she would stay unattached, not for lack of a desire to meet someone, but lack of any allure on her part. Perhaps that is why she and Jordan have the strongest bond among the four old friends, tenderly depicted in Harmon's text and as played by Hynick and, in a wonderfully nuanced performance, Eva Gemlo. Her Laura is funny, perceptive, sensitive, and, when called for, brazenly strong. She even manages to overcome her loveliness to be convincing as unalluring Laura.

Jordan has his shots at a romance of his own, with the extremely good-looking new guy at work who may or may not be gay (it's O'Dell, doing a splendid job of making it hard for Jordan to tell), and a transplant from Chicago (this one played by Grace in a sweetly earnest turn). There may also be a shot of friendship, at least, with the very, very out guy at work, Zach (Grace again, a shade too over the top). Hynick has us rooting for Jordan at every turn–our chests rise when he makes good choices, and sink when he screws up.

Max Wojtanowicz directs the show with a light touch that draws out the abundance of laughs–while there is a cord of sadness running through it, Significant Other is a comedy–and allows us to stay tuned in to Jordan through the rippling ups and downs of his odyssey, with seamless transitions from one scene to the next.

Michael Lochen's set establishes the hyper-urban New York setting with a brick façade punctuated by rows of windows serving as a backdrop, a movable bar (for the several scenes that take place in parties), and a bench that easily converts into a bed providing all that is needed to establish locations. Samantha Fromm Haddow's costumes are well suited to young singles at parties of varying degrees of formality and one aging but still alert senior citizen. Lucas Granholm's lighting design is effective in drawing focus and conveying moods. Katie Korpi's sound design projects the play with clarity and inserts scene-appropriate ambient music.

Significant Other is a funny play, with an abundance of hearty laughs, but its depiction of Jordan's travails keeps us grounded with a feeling that it is important to laugh as often as possible in order to endure life's hardships and sorrows. Harmon excels at doing both the comedy and the gravitas, leaving us with a last look at Jordan that will be impossible to forget. The production at Lyric Arts is another smashing success for this company, well worth seeking out in downtown Anoka.

Significant Other runs through June 22, 2025, at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage, 420 East Main Street, Anoka MN. For tickets and information, please call 763-422-1838 or visit lyricarts.org.

Playwright: Joshua Harmon; Director: Max Wojtanowicz; Scenic Design: Michaela Lochen; Costume Design: Samantha Fromm Haddow; Lighting Design: Lucas Granholm; Sound Design: Katie Korpi; Props Design: Vicky Erickson; Intimacy Director: Elena Glass: Cultural Consultant and Dialect Coach: Jay Owen Eisenberg; Stage Manager: Emerson Stenbeck; Assistant Stage Manager: Kathryn Humnick.

Cast: Eva Gemlo (Laura), Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green (Kiki), James Grace (Zach/Evan/Roger), Emily Hensley (Vanessa), Noah Hynick (Jordan), Miriam Monasch (Helene), Dale O'Dell (Will/Conrad/Tony).