The Public’s new musical version of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth hurls every idea it has at the audience and hopes some of them sing. It is smart, ambitious, and at least half an hour too long. And I give it a thumbs up.
Adapted, composed, and lyricized by Ethan Lipton and directed by Leigh Silverman, the show keeps nearly the entire Wilder play, then adds songs, meta jokes, and more allegory than anyone asked for. If you thought Wilder was not absurdist or self-aware enough, or if you think there are not enough shows with dinosaurs and mammoths onstage at the same time, this is the musical for you.
The story follows a surreal New Jersey family, mother, father, son, and daughter, who collectively embody the Freudian psyche. The son, originally named Cain but renamed Henry after killing his brother, is clearly the id. The rest you will have to sort out for yourself. Across three acts, the family survives an impending Ice Age, attends a species convention in Atlantic City, and endures the chaos of modern warfare. The original premiered in 1942, and if you are struggling to make sense of that description, you are already feeling what the play intends.
The cast is terrific. Damon Daunno brings real power to Henry, his singing a muscular tenor line that cuts cleanly through the production’s noise. Micaela Diamond is a sly, funny Sabina, and Shuler Hensley and Ruthie Ann Miles bring weary grace to the Antrobus parents. Sunny Min-Sook Hitt’s choreography gives the ensemble a clear physical vocabulary, even when the story loses track of itself.
A few of the numbers really land. The Act 2 opener explodes with fun, and the closing sequence is brilliantly staged, a moment of clarity that almost redeems the excess.
It is too long, too full of itself, and sometimes genuinely brilliant. Wilder might admire the nerve and hate the excess. Go with friends; at least one or two will love it, and one or two will hate it, and you will have plenty to argue about on the way home.
Now Playing
The Seat of Our Pants
The Public Theater, Newman Theater
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003
Run: through December 7, 2025
Runtime: 2 hours and 35 minutes, including one intermission
Tickets start at $125, or $95 for Public members. Student rush and low-price programs are available through publictheater.org.
