4 out of 5 stars

Think of Tom Kelly’s “The Bathroom Attendant” like a great John Patrick Shanley play you somehow missed. Kelly shares Shanley’s trademark feel for streetwise characters – or at least that applies to Johnny (Dan Patrick Brady), the one-time Brooklyn boxer who now ekes out a living in Vegas as (what else?) a bathroom attendant. He’s the central figure in this drama that involves more down-on-their-luck types and a blackmail attempt that goes off the rails. It’s smart stuff, but the production is hampered by some rough-around-the-edges direction and acting. Then again, a little bit of that roughness feels very…Shanley-esque. — Charles Passy

Presented by SparkPlug Productions at 124 Bank Street Theater, through Aug. 30, 2026; sparkplugproductions.com. (Review date: Aug. 19, 2026)