A spellbinding story of love, loss, and the impossible—Open takes the stage Off-Broadway July 8–27 as a recipient of the WP Space Program. Presented by Midnight Theatricals, this electrifying production is produced in association with The Tank and Flying Carpet Theatre Company. Open is a New Georges Supported Production, with further support from the Fiordellisi Williams Family Foundation. Ticketing information.
Starring Megan Hill
Paywright Crystal Skillman
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Review by Rachel Graham for Theatre Mania July 15, 2025
The story grabs our attention and never lets us go, in large part because of the play’s stellar construction, weaving together moments of fantasy, memory, and harsh reality. Playwright Crystal Skillman’s deft language relishes in small moments that telegraph several layers of meaning. A secondary plotline about the Magician’s mother is particularly graceful, with small moments building on each other to pack an emotional wallop by the end. It’s economical without sacrificing emotion: not a moment is wasted in the 75-minute play, perfectly mirroring the urgency of the Magician’s task.
…a one-woman show that’s punching high above its weight class. The show is back in New York after a run at the Tank in 2019, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to catch it now. Enthralling and emotional, it’s fascinating to see Open unfold.
Review by Kendall Dupre for the New York Social Diary July 14, 2025
Crystal Skillman’s painfully rich Open proves that not even the best magicians or the best tricks can save someone from the pain of loss and heartbreak. The show follows over half a decade in the life of Kristen, a young woman who is training to be a magician. She meets and falls hard for Jenny, and their love has its trials and tribulations, even in today’s New York City.
…Throughout the show’s roughly hour-long timeframe, [Megan] Hill is given the task of performing everything, from each character to each action, to each prop (save for a red scarf that finds its way into the play’s last moments). She even entices the audience, interacting with them as if they were a guest at her “show,” which really is just a harrowing summary of the last six years of Kristen’s life, filled with great love, heartbreak, and devastating loss. Hill is up to the (huge) task, and isn’t afraid to emotionally and physically take on each of Kristen’s emotional tolls, even if it means quickly adjusting to play Jenny, or Jenny’s disapproving parents.