The Submission

In Jeff Talbott’s sharp but ultimately too-safe dramedy, a gay white playwright (Jonathan Groff) pens a gritty African-American drama under a pseudonym, then has to find a black, female front to get it produced. Rutina Wesley plays the actor who takes the job, then proceeds to complicate issues of authorship and representation. The script pivots deftly from silliness to ugliness, but lacks full satirical (or tragic) bite.—DC