Washington Post - Recommended
"...Over the swift 90-minute show's first half-hour, 10 months pass in the lives of Sophie, a 42-year-old artist, and Phillip, a 49-year-old Wall Streeter. They talk. They fall in love. They set up house in Phillip's Manhattan apartment, bonding over a big new refrigerator. We like them both."
MetroWeekly - Recommended
"...The Argument might prove to be too unsettling for some, but even those dismayed by the story's soured relationship and unresolved conflict in the end will admire the work of the two lead actors cast by director Shirley Serotsky. It seems impossible not to fall for and side with Susan Rome as Sophie, played with full heart, but also full head. But James Whalen doesn't take the easy out and play Phillip as unlikeable or monstrous. In fact, aside from minor flaws with the play's exact turn of events, the only real hiccup is the minor role of Herb, a relationship therapist Sophie hires as a last-ditch effort. Jefferson A. Russell does what he can to make the part funny, dead-panning in psychological jargon and gibberish. But it doesn't provoke real laughter or even lighten the mood in a way I think Gersten-Vassilaros intended. Instead, the result is to make a joke out of the idea that therapy could work in this case. And Sophie's choice is as unwinnable as ever."
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...The ending Gersten-Vassilaros settles on feels like a bid to make sure the audience hangs around for the post-show discussion, whether there's one scheduled or not. Her aim, she says, is to ping-pong our sympathies from Sophie to Philip throughout. I can't say my sense of whom I agreed with wavered for a second. But I'll confess I had been dreading sitting through "the abortion play" only to find it richly drawn and fully absorbing. Oh, the humanity."
Washingtonian - Recommended
"...Theater J's play, crisply directed by Shirley Serotsky, opens on a far less heavy note. An older couple is in the middle of what could be a one-night stand, and their coupling, set to jaunty music, is fervent, klutzy, and entirely relatable. It turns out Sophie (Susan Rome), a painter with a strong independent streak, and Phillip (James Whalen), a commodities trader grappling with his father's recent death, connect right away despite their differences. Ten months later, the play finds them living together and still starry-eyed (Robbie Hayes's set does a nice job of showing how a woman's influence subtly changes Phillip's bachelor pad). Then Sophie discovers she's pregnant."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Theater J is pulling out all the stops in its current and very polemical production of playwright Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros’ The Argument. Directed with a tight, concise flair by Associate Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky, this extremely relevant play grips from the beginning to the end."
MD Theatre Guide - Somewhat Recommended
"...Unfortunately, the show is dragged down by another pitfall that easily could have been avoided: it is too funny. Buoyed by the effortless chemistry of Rome and Whalen, the first couple of scenes that establish their romance are screamingly funny. The audience connects with Sophie and Phillip because they are each so uniquely quirky and awkward, and the laughs serve only to strengthen their relationship. As the play progresses and the subject matter takes a darker turn, however, the laughs don't diminish in frequency or intensity to match."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
By promising audiences an Argument, yet taking some generous time during the show’s first half to plant the seeds of a deeper relationship, Gersten-Vassilaros pulls off a nice bit of misdirection. Working from Theater J’s advance notes, we know the play will froth over with heated debate on the topic of abortion.
