Holy Cross Sucks at Ars Nova Theater by Rob Nash.

Holy Cross Sucks, but Rob Nash does not. This funny play written and performed by Rob Nash is well worth a trip to the Ars Nova theater that is a little out of the way at 54th and 10th. Ars Nova is not my favorite space in town, as it does not seem to have been designed to be a theater but feels more like a theater was forced upon it. However, most of the shows I have seen there have been very good.

Holy Cross Sucks is no exception. I was first introduced to Rob Nash's work a number of years ago when I saw him perform a section of this play at the Westbeth. Lilly Tomlin was in the audience that night, and I believe that Greg Walloch also performed. I remember Rob saying that his piece was a work in progress and that he hoped to eventually put the whole show together.

Well, 5ish years later, the show was worth the wait. Following the story of 3 boys, Ben, George, and Johnny, as they progress through all 4 years of high school, this one man show is a great trip though the 80's. While the characters may feel a little stock and cliched at the start, Rob skillfully pulls the audience into the show far enough that his touching ending feels like a satisfying nightcap to the wonderful humor throughout the play.

The set is minimal, a backdrop of a schoolroom. The music is artistically pulled from the 80s and stirs up lots of good and bad memories for those of us who suffered through high school during that unusual era.

Order your tickets now before you can't get them and go relive those painful years you spent in school. But this time, laugh at them.

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