Collected Stories

Linda Lavin stars as literary diva Ruth Steiner in Manhattan Theatre Club’s revival of the 1996 Donald Margulies two-hander about fiction and friendship. The plot tracks several years in the course of Ruth’s mentorship of a worshipful younger writer, Lisa (Sarah Paulson), who eventually commits what Ruth sees as a ruthless literary betrayal. While the play raises pertinent questions about the intersections of life and art, at heart it’s a cozy, bookish version of All About Eve. Lavin deserves to be seen but might be better appreciated elsewhere. How about an Off Broadway transfer?—Adam Feldman