ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN — Capsule Review

By Ben Schachne

The revival of Eric Bentley’s gripping docudrama Are You Now or Have You Ever Been opened at New York City Center this month. As the first New York revival since the original 1979 Broadway run, this production is invigorated by Tony Award-winning director Anna D. Shapiro, who underscores the enduring relevance of a politically intolerant chapter in American history through masterfully raw and comedically nuanced performances by a rotating cast. 

Based on original transcripts from the 1940s House Un-American Activities Committee hearings investigating alleged Communist influence in Hollywood, this production brings a decades-old period of paranoia and civil unrest to life through a blend of applause-worthy testimonies and laugh-out-loud quips. In the current cast, Ben Rappaport and Billy Eugene Jones deliver authentic and commanding performances as Larry Parks and Paul Robeson, capturing the hearings’ emotional toll through expressions of internal conflict, disillusionment, and resistance. Scott Adsit provides sharp comic relief as the hilariously eccentric Abe Burrows, using offbeat humor to lighten the production’s heavier political tone. Other notable performances include the committee members, played by Michael McKean as the Chairman alongside Jason Babinsky and Adam Kantor, who are chillingly apathetic and authoritarian, making the play’s themes feel unsettlingly contemporary. While communism is no longer perceived as an internal threat, the dangers of governmental overreach remain as relevant as ever.

The must-see theatrical event of the summer, Are You Now or Have You Ever Been—starring Brooks Ashmanskas, Jason Babinsky, Steven Boyer, Adam Kantor, Frederick Weller, Michael McKean, and guest stars Bob Odenkirk, Santino Fontana, Norbert Leo Butz, Steven Pasquale, Molly Ringwald, Billy Eugene Jones, David Krumholtz, Thomas Sadoski, and more—is in performances through September 11, 2026 at New York City Center Stage I.