In the middle of the Saturday Survivors weekly recovery meeting that is the heart of Jacob Perkins’ play, Elizabeth Marvel as Joan introduces herself, announces that she is an alcoholic, and informs the other women; “It’s 45 days back today.” They congratulate her. And then she introduces herself again, and says “and I have 27 back.” Congratulations, encouragement. Another introduction, 10 days. Then five days. Then “And I have 13 years.”

It’s confusing at first, one of the few explicit clues that “The Dinosaurs” is not just what it at first seems, which is an ordinary meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I’ve been to plays about support groups before that I thought were low-key (such as Someone Spectacular in 2024); “The Dinosaurs” is full of moments that seem positively banal. But the banality engenders a feeling of authenticity, and the authenticity at its best – rendered by some of the finest stage actresses working in New York – helps us at least pause and consider the significance of moments that we might otherwise have ignored. 

The play begins, for example, when Buddy (Keilly McQuail), who is new and nervous, is the first to arrive at the meeting place and starts talking with Jane (April Mathis)  at some length about scones and donuts, then Dunkin Donuts, then cupcakes. And then Buddy leaves before the meeting begins. 

It was only later that I thought about the details of this conversation: Jane says it was only after a long time that she realized suddenly that “dunkin donuts” came about “because someone once dipped his donut into his coffee and said ok sure i’ll start a franchise” Buddy responds with how she first realized that “cupcakes”” were cakes in a cup. Both are lines that get laughs. But they also seem to be saying: You can change the way you think about something (even if that something is your life?)  Having been thus primed to look for hidden significance, I wondered why Buddy was the only character whose name didn’t begin with a J. 

Those first exchanges are followed by the slow gathering of the rest of the women, idly chatting, gossiping about somebody (unidentified) who is having an affair with a teenager.  It’s a full half hour into this 70-minute play before the formal meeting even begins, with the reciting of the preamble, followed by a three-minute meditation.  During the meditation, Buddy and Jane have another conversation, apparently at a different time, because the meditators don’t acknowledge their presence.

During the “sharing” part of the meeting, there are stories of sadness and loss. Joane (Maria Elena Ramirez) blames herself for the death of her son, whose homosexuality she refused to talk with him about.  

The women in “The Dinosaurs” don’t noticeably age, or evolve. There is no straightforward “arc,” no discernible plot.  There is instead a sense of consistency and community over the long term, and in that, a kind of refuge. Joan may keep on relapsing, but then stay sober for thirteen years. No matter how long it takes, people can see themselves, like they see cupcakes, in a different light. “I didn’t believe that god saw me, that god could ever wanna take care of a person like me,” Joan tells the others. “And that’s what it was like until i came here, until I found this room and you women.”

“The Dinosaurs,” we’re told, is Playwrights Horizons’  first production of what they are calling their “Unplugged” series, by which they apparently mean they are spending less money on the design. Given the financial challenges facing non-profit theaters like Playwrights (which its artistic director lays out at some length in an essay introducing the series), their changed priority makes sense. But I feel they do this play a disservice by making such a big deal about it, turning the necessity of scaling back into a branding opportunity/ marketing campaign.  If the change is radical, I didn’t notice.  This is a play you can plug into.

The Dinosaurs
Playwrights Horizons through March 1
Running time: 70 minutes no intermission
Tickets: $64 – $104
Written by Jacob Perkins
Directed by Les Waters
Scenic design by dots, costume design by Oana Botez, lighting design by Yuki Link, sound design by Palmer Hefferan
Cast: Kathleen Chalfant as Jolly, Elizabeth Marvel as Joan, April Matthis as Jane, Keilly McQuail as Buddy, Mallory Portnoy as Janet, and Maria Elena Ramirez as Joane.