BWW Review: THE NET WILL APPEAR at 59E59 Theaters is Genuine and Charming

“The acting couldn’t be better in The Net Will Appear. Emmy Award-nominee Richard Masur captures the role of Bernard who is sometimes cantankerous, yet has a real sense of kindness.”

“Eve Johnson …. was marvelous as the sassy, spirited youth. The actors master Mallon’s wonderfully written dialogue and make you feel as though Bernard and Rory’s rooftop meetings are actually unfolding in real time.”


Theater Review (NYC Off-Boadway): Richard Masur in ‘The Net Will Appear’ by Erin Mallon - Jon Sobel

“Rory, meanwhile, is on her deck to escape a chaotic home life. For her age, she possesses an unusually deep emotional intelligence, but Mallon’s witty script and Johnson’s remarkable performance make it believable.”

“As Rory, Johnson exquisitely conveys a troubled haze of sympathy and helplessness before suggesting he see a therapist.”

“Rory’s playfulness and perceptivity, both of which the indomitable child sustains across the uncrossable gap between their roofs, soften “Nard” up and transform him into a friend. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by a stunning sustained performance by a child actor.”


The Net Will Appear - Gillian Russo

“And Eve Johnson shines as the precocious young Rory.”

“Within Mallon’s text, Johnson excellently blends childhood energy and innocence with an air of wisdom beyond her character’s years that is equal parts hilarious and heartwarming to watch.”


The Net Will Appear - Susan Hasho

“Eve Johnson as Rory is awkward and charming and truthful to her core. She has a command of the over-talking, active imagination, restless brilliance of this little girl, and is a joy to watch.”

“The director Mark Cirnigliaro has guided these two actors beautifully. It’s much like a dance and the movement between the two is so natural and inevitable that it’s hard to remember they are each in such a small space and never really together in the same space. But incrementally a great connection happens and a beautiful pas de deux.”


Mallon’s The Net Will Appear with Sweet Audacity Balancing on the Edge - Ross Ross - frontmezzjunkies.com

“This is obviously a recurring space he finds himself in, until Rory, played with a miraculously sense of purpose and honesty by the very talented Eve Johnson (Paper Mill Playhouse’s Annie), climbs out of her window and demands to be heard.”

“Johnson is a charmer, building enthusiasm, emotionality, and engagement with a force that can’t be denied, “excelling in all three“. It’s lovely to watch this young actress do her thing on that small rooftop stage, and their emotional entanglement resonates, even as the piece and the story is “Gettin’ dark“.”


The Net Will Appear - Dan Rubins

“Rory, played with astonishing verve by Eve Johnson, is a child who’s had to grow up fast; Bernard, rendered endearingly by Richard Masur as a foul-mouthed, Scroogey diamond-in-the-rough, takes to his late middle age with childlike obstinacy.”

“The pairing sparkles most delightfully when Johnson and Masur play off each other, as when Rory begins to imitate Bernard’s tired grunt that he lets out whenever he heaves himself out of his chair: it “makes standing up feel special,” she tells him. And there’s a wistful one-sidedness in the moments when Rory shares with Bernard how much she’s hurting—his own unhealed wounds prevent him from providing the reassurance she craves.”