Heights

Amy Fox expanded her short play to create this ensemble drama that follows the lives of five hyperarticulate characters—including an acclaimed actor (Close), a struggling one (Bradford) and a photographer (Banks)—as they tie themselves into knots of desire and heartache. The marvel of it all is how easily this material could have gone wrong. But strong performances turn what might have been a precious wallow in the petty problems of shallow people into something moving: an uncontrived portrait of New York as the ultimate two-degrees-of- separation town.