4 out of 5 stars

The small population of Jerome, an Arizona ghost town, is haunted by the specter of the AIDS crisis in John J. Caswell Jr’s gripping new play. Caswell’s writing is poetic and bracingly realistic, navigating the emotions of a love triangle among three gay men in the early 1990s. “Jerome” is nicely punctuated by bursts of humor and surrealism, although both lose potency the longer the show carries on. The grounded performances by Stephen Spinella, Jeorge Bennett Watson and Ken Barnett, plus Dustin Willis’ eerie direction and set design and Leah Gelpe’s fantastic sound design also make “Jerome” worth a visit. — Justin McCallum

At Playwrights Horizons, through June 21, 2026; playwrightshorizons.org. (Review date: June 9, 2026)