Things I Left On Long Island
Everyone handles distressing health news differently. In Things I Left on Long Island when 28-year-old Marny finds a lump in her breast, she quits her job in the city, leaves her fiancé and hits the L.I.E. to move back in with her mother. She also writes the meta-play we are watching (at times reminiscent of Lisa Kron’s Well) as a means to confront her mother, aunt, and grandmother about their health histories and life choices, and to determine how she herself should now move forward. The talented cast, led by Elysia Segal as Marny, conveys a lot of heart. Susanna Hari channels a bit of Kathy Najimy in her feisty performance as Grandma, and Jenn Mello—as Marny’s brusque, acerbic Aunt Velma—knows how to dish out a comic zinger. Playwright Sara Cooper possesses an amicable, insightful voice, and Noah Himmelstein’s buoyant direction sustains the script's delicate blend of humor and pathos. Early in the play, Marny asks her mother, “Why can’t we be nice to each other?”—to which her mother replies, “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re not strangers.” It’s a response that hints at a long, hidden mass of pain that, like it or lump it, Marny must excise. — Robin Rothstein

"...each of the actors give a fine performance as their respectable characters. One can tell that each of the performers truly cares about this piece of work-and that is always refreshing to see. Lindsay Goranson (Dolores) and Elysia Segal (Marny) have wonderful chemistry and the two women make for an enchanting mother and daughter. Segal is a wonderful leading lady and breaks the fourth wall quite a few times and does so effortlessly."

"...while Things I Left on Long Island is a play, the dialogue is often written with the interweaving voices of a song at the finale of act one. The ensemble cast navigates this expertly ... Elysia Segal never lets Marny get too whiney, and drives the plot forward with an earnest youthfulness that makes you forgive the character’s frequent self-absorption."

"It's hilariously and very well acted by a great cast: ... Elysia Segal as Marny.  They had a lively and appreciative audience delighting at their delivery... the best part was the soliloquy about the "lump" - just to summarize because I couldn't adequately restate the beauty of the tapestry of this soliloquy: Marny muses about lumps - there are a 1000 lumps....taking your lumps...lump it or leave it...a lump of coal...a lump in your breast... It's always the minute, still, quietest moments that I love most in a theatre piece and this soliloquy about the lump goes right to the top of that list of favorites of mine... This is one of the very best and what FringeNYC is all about - entertaining, thought-provoking, simple."