Krapp’s Last Tape, Least Problematic Woman in the World

By Fern Siegel (Posted Oct. 14, 2025)

Stephen Rea (Photo: Greg Kessler)

There are two solo shows running in the Village — a Beckett one-act and a memoir. And while there is a wide chasm between them, both performers deliver the goods.

The first, Krapp’s Last Tape, now at NYU’s Skirball Theater, stars acclaimed Irish actor Stephen Rea, an Oscar nominee for “The Crying Game.” Often, the one-act is part of a larger Beckett performance, as when F. Murray Abraham starred in Beckett Briefs, which included Not I and Play, at the Irish Rep earlier this year.

Krapp is a 69-year-old writer who reflects on a life of momentary joys. He listens to his diary tapes and muses on his past: meager achievements and emotional stop-starts. Rea’s performance, angry and rueful, revisits his youthful desires. “Thirty-nine today, sound as a bell, apart from my old weakness, and intellectually I have now every reason to suspect at the... crest of the wave—or thereabouts.”

The banana prop represents his sexuality – repressed and achieved. He eats a banana before each reflection, but fulfillment alludes him. A second bit of humor, he plays with the word “spooooooling.” Like many Beckett characters, he exists in a solitary space. Life continues, but nothing changes.

At points, Krapp even embraces the machine like a lover, desperate to believe he connects with others. A meditation on aging, memory and despair, Krapp’s Last Tape acknowledges the distance between past and present, even as it injects a sense of longing and a dollop of hope.

Directed by Vicky Feathersone, with lighting design by Paul Keogan, the 55-minute rumination gives Rea a chance to illustrate his range, both in voice and mannerism, capturing the essential Beckett. The set is minimal: a desk, tape recorder and bananas. But the existential crisis of inner rage and regret is haunting.

Dylan Mulvaney (Photo: Andy Henderson)

On a more comedic note, Dylan Mulvaney relates her journey from Catholic school boy to trans TikTok star in The Least Problematic Woman in the World at the Lucille Lortel. Her coming-of-age transition, chronicled on social media, is fraught with tension, rejection and moments of genuine triumph — all relayed with a sweet charm and quirky humor by Mulvaney.

She’s a gentle soul with genuine surprise at how cruel people can be — Republicans or other trans people. Yet when she first appears, with angel wings, in a funny conversation with God, it’s clear the quest is for happiness.

Assigned Angel 666, she waits to learn of her new life. “If the angel before you gets a good life, chances are you’ll get a really bad one,” she explains. “Fingers crossed hers sucks. No offense.” Her mission? Dylan Mulvaney.

It’s a clever device to take audiences on a musical romp, landing at the realization of who she really is. En route, she meets a president and works with Maybelline and Bud Light. But when her face appeared on a beer can, it caused a backlash and red-state boycott of the brand.

The songs are funny and pointed, but never mean-spirited. One of the best numbers is “Transatlantic Trainline,” where she leaves the binary world and exits at She/They station. The original songs are by heavy hitters: Grammy winner Abigail Barlow (“The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical”), Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss (the pair behind “Six”), Ingrid Michaelson and Mark Sonnenblick, who wrote “Golden” for "Golden" for “K-pop Demon Hunters.”

Super pink scenic design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Enver Chakartash and lighting design by Cha See add to the over-the-top enjoyment.

Directed by Tim Jackson, the occasionally interactive musical creates a touching show that highlights the complexity of gender. Mulvaney entertains us with an energetic performance that wrestles with identity, while suggesting we should all embrace the nuances in life.