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July 23, 2012

A restaurant in Baltimore or a sleek New York apartment: It’s all one big back room, where political horse trading is conducted with ruthless intensity and oily smiles in “Warrior Class,” an absorbing new play by Kenneth Lin that opened on Monday night at the McGinn/Cazale Theater as part of the Second Stage’s Uptown season.

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New York Daily News
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Joe
Dziemianowicz

July 23, 2012

Like a flash summer storm, Kenneth Lin’s intriguing new play “Warrior Class” takes you by surprise. Lesser works arrive Off-Broadway with much more buzz. This smart, tight, topical 90-minute tale of political maneuvering reveals its plot and three characters bit by bit. When you think all has been said and done, it delivers a final surprise move.

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July 23, 2012

A political campaign is great background for a play. And the vetting of a candidate is particularly juicy: After all, you’re dealing with someone’s potentially explosive past, and the temptation to rewrite it. But to make this more than a news report, you also need tight storytelling, high stakes and clashing viewpoints — all of which are in short supply in the new off-Broadway drama “Warrior Class.”

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July 24, 2012

Politics and scandal seem to go hand in hand these days. This cynical perspective permeates Kenneth Lin’s intriguing but unevenly executed drama, Warrior Class, presented by Second Stage Theatre at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre under Evan Cabnet’s direction. In the play, up-and-coming politician Julius Lee (Louis Ozawa Changchien) wants to make a bid for Congress, but his past actions involving ex-girlfriend Holly (Katharine Powell) threaten to derail his career. As the play opens, veteran political handler Nathan (David Rasche) meets with Katharine to defuse the potential scandal, but his machinations may not always be in Julius’ best interests.

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Suzy
Evans

July 23, 2012

Politics is on everyone’s mind right now. With the upcoming election, all people can talk about is each candidate’s hot-button topics while crossing their fingers for the Nov. 6 outcome. Theater companies, film production companies, and many other arts-based institutions are jumping on the countrywide bandwagon to showcase the best political work they can. Playwright Kenneth Lin takes the focus off the issues and goes behind the scenes in "Warrior Class," investigating a potential political campaign that could be derailed by blackmail.

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