3.5 out of 5 stars

"This is Government" aims to illustrate the disturbing distance between our elected representatives and those they represent. That theme is overfamiliar, but playwright Nina Kissinger's method of telling it isn't: In a kind of comedic locked-room mystery, three young progressive-minded staff and interns for a cynically centrist congressman, stuck in a lockdown because of a bomb threat, try to puzzle out who is behind it and why before any explosion happens. The acting, particularly on intended laugh lines, can be overheated, and the characters sometimes come off as naive. Still, the play has charm, and by the end, surprising depth. — Adam Z. Horvath

Presented by New Light Theater Project and Pendragon Theatre at 59E59 Theaters, through Sept. 28, 2025; 59e59.org. (Review date: Sept. 23, 2025)