The Language Archive

Julia Cho’s mannered exercise in whimsical literalism centers around a linguist who can't express his emotions even as he attempts to record the vestiges of a dying language of love. The writing is often florid, but the characters seem to exist only to illustrate notions of love and connection. Mark Brokaw’s direction exacerbates the preciousness by drawing oddly artificial performances from the cast.—Adam Feldman