Shawn's Misbegotten Monologues Fall Flat

TL;DR

Charles Isherwood reviews Wallace Shawn's new Off-Broadway play as flawed monologues lacking depth.[[1]](https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)[[2]](https://www.show-score.com/off-broadway-shows/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)
Four actors deliver interlinked speeches on a father's long affair, family ennui, and love in a static format.[[3]](https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-review-wallace-shawns-misbegotten-monologues-6f8defac)
The work disappoints by offering familiar domestic drama without Shawn's usual political or philosophical bite.[[1]](https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)

The story at a glance

Charles Isherwood critiques Wallace Shawn's What We Did Before Our Moth Days, directed by André Gregory at Greenwich House Theater, as a set of misbegotten monologues told by a father, mother, son, and father's mistress. The play recounts their lives amid love, boredom, and adultery but lacks novelty or insight. This review follows the Off-Broadway opening on March 5, 2026.[[4]](https://playbill.com/article/how-are-reviews-for-wallace-shawns-what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-off-broadway)

Key points

Four-person cast—Hope Davis (mistress Elaine), Josh Hamilton (father Dick), Maria Dizzia (mother Elle), John Early (son Tim)—sits onstage delivering long, connected monologues.[[5]](https://mothdays.com/)
Story centers on a middle-class family's secrets, including the father's longtime affair, in an urban setting of remorse and joy.[[5]](https://mothdays.com/)
Isherwood finds little mysterious beyond the title, calling the content unsurprising and of scant interest.[[3]](https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-review-wallace-shawns-misbegotten-monologues-6f8defac)
Unlike Shawn's prior works like The Fever or The Designated Mourner, it has minimal sociological, political, or philosophical reach.[[1]](https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)
Static seated format grows tedious as unarresting characters and relationships unfold without freshness.[[2]](https://www.show-score.com/off-broadway-shows/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)
One grim son monologue ponders humanity's flawed evolution as an "appalling, dreadful design."[[1]](https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)

Details and context

The play marks a reunion for Shawn and 91-year-old Gregory, collaborators on landmarks like Vanya on 42nd Street and Grasses of a Thousand Colors over five decades.[[6]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/theater/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-review.html) It runs in repertory with Shawn performing his solo The Fever on dark nights, highlighting the contrast in ambition.[[1]](https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)

Isherwood's pan stands out amid mixed-to-positive notices elsewhere—like a New York Times critic's pick praising its empathy—but sticks to the WSJ view of mundane domesticity.[[6]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/theater/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-review.html)

Key quotes

"Probably best not to clarify the enigmatic title... particularly because there is surprisingly little else in it that is mysterious, or, for that matter, of striking interest." — Charles Isherwood, WSJ[[3]](https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days-review-wallace-shawns-misbegotten-monologues-6f8defac)

"The static format becomes an increasing liability as the minutes tick by, because the characters, their reflections and their relationships are not particularly novel or arresting." — Charles Isherwood, WSJ[[2]](https://www.show-score.com/off-broadway-shows/what-we-did-before-our-moth-days)

Why it matters

This review underscores risks in late-career theater from established duos like Shawn and Gregory, where familiarity breeds tepid work over bold innovation. Theatergoers weighing a ticket face a three-hour sit for middling drama, while producers note how one harsh WSJ take can temper buzz. Watch if Shawn's The Fever repertory draws crowds or if casting changes, like recent understudy swaps, sustain the run through May.[[7]](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748784/news)