benevolent, the bold new drama by Sophie McIntosh, is making its World Premiere at IATI Theater in New York City, presented by Good Apples Collective and directed by Nina Goodheart. The play is set entirely in the laundry room of the fictional but based-on-fact “Inwood Benevolent Home”, a so-called “women’s charitable institution”, in 1917.  Even in this claustrophobic setting, this theater piece packs quite a wallop into its 100-minute running time.  benevolent fearlessly explores issues of same-sex intimacy, racism, abortion, and sex work, with superb production values and fine acting by a hard-working cast of four.  

But even before we meet the four inmates of the titular Inwood Benevolent Home, two things are immediately noticeable to the audience.  The first is the scenic design by Junran “Charlotte” Shi.  There is a highly admirable attention to detail; The set even features a fully functioning laundry chute right on the stage.  The sight of the play’s emblematic washboards (which have become more common as a musical instrument in current times, thanks to electric washing machines…) and boxes of Borax powder (which is reportedly making a comeback…) really add to the scenario.  Secondly, there is the perfect lighting design by Paige Seber.  This small performance space may be a good hour-long walk from Manhattan’s proverbial “theater district”, but benevolent has all the polish and pride of a bona fide high-budget Broadway show. (And to fast forward a bit, I can assuredly say that benevolent is more provocative, intelligent, and historically relevant than ANYTHING you can currently see on the New York City stage, Broadway or otherwise.) Slowly, we meet our four characters: Emma (Mia Fowler), Abby (Livvy Marcus), Sarah (Rachel Ravel), and Margaret (Chani Reese).   The women may all be wearing the same uniform throughout the show’s entire running time–with the exception of their individualized choice of stockings– but these four ladies all have very distinctive personalities.   Each of them also has her own backstory, which colors every aspect of their persona.  Abby, arguably the least disadvantaged of the four, is in the Home for “one mistake”; She’s naïve to the point of being childlike.  Unfortunately, her naïveté has unexpected and unwanted consequences later on in the story.   Margaret is a street-smart free spirit who is at the Home for such “crimes” such as “loitering on Coney Island” (a coded term, to be sure, but McIntosh’s script absolutely does NOT shy away from the issue of sex work…).  Somewhere in between Abby’s seemingly unblemished innocence and Margaret’s backstreet style of sophistication is Sarah, who is neither dangerously guileless nor particularly rebellious, but rather an optimist who legitimately sees a future life as a so-called “respectable” woman (AKA: wife).  Rounding out the quartet is Emma, a smart and no-nonsense Black woman who is bound by limited opportunity for economic ascendance.   The women are surrounded by seemingly endless loads of dirty laundry, but a shortage of options for their futures.   While they may be too wary to be “girlfriends”, they still develop a reluctant co-dependence on each other: For some scenes, as the audience will discover, that dependency is very much needed for personal survival.  It also bubbles over into intimacy between two of the women in one scene:  Virginal Sarah worries about the moment when she will be with a man for the first time.  The more sexually experienced Margaret offers an “education” of sorts to relieve her fears.  The audience wonders if the play will “go there”.  And yes, the play does indeed “go there”.   Thanks to the direction by Goodheart and the talent of the actors, the scene is anything but exploitative; rather, the scenes of the characters’ sexual exploration are realistic but are done as delicately as could be.  This isn’t the only time I could say this: benevolent quite literally features one intense scenario after another, all handled amazingly well.   One particular scene between Abby and Emma is challenging to watch, despite being directed and performed with the utmost of sensitivity; the entire audience was absolutely silent.  If this particular moment wasn’t an impassioned, convincing plea for safer alternatives to unwanted pregnancy, I don’t know what could be.  Needless to say, the issues explored in benevolent are more relevant than ever as we enter the last third of 2026.    

Unfortunately, despite the accidental sisterhood formed by the characters, there’s not a “happy” ending in benevolent.  Keeping with the realistic themes of the previous scenarios, the final series of events is unflinchingly stark and disquieting… but it’s also absolutely believable, given the time period of the piece.  Although the twist at the end caught me and many other members in the audience by surprise, I wonder if some of the most astute of attendees may have actually seen it coming…

Sophie McIntosh’s script is script is impeccably researched– and therefore, benevolent comes across not only as powerhouse entertainment but also as an importance time capsule in American history.  The “realistic” aspects of the play, unfortunately, also extend to the attitudes toward race, reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, and the limited economic opportunities for women at the time.  It’s a sad but important lesson for those who are naive to America’s long and often less-than-honorable history of these issues. 

The acting by all four players is excellent.  All deliver powerful performances, but also get to enjoy many moments of humor.  In fact, humor is a great part of benevolent; some moments had the audience laughing quite loudly.   It takes a great deal of skill to evoke laughter in the middle of some very H-E-A-V-Y scenes, but this cast does it.   As Margaret, Chani Reese invokes a young Patti Lupone with her energy and her ballsy attitude.  The character’s desire to break from her confined environment nearly bursts through her skin.  As for Livvy Marcus, “astonishing” is the only word I can use to describe her Abby’s twisty character arc.  Mia Fowler’s Emma may be the smartest one in the quartet, but it’s no consolation that her character’s education came from the so-called school of hard knocks; Fowler conveys this premature world-weariness very well.  Rounding out the cast is Rachel Ravel, who is no less than delightful as Sarah.

Performances of Good Apples Collective’s benevolent will continue through September 5, 2026 at IATI Theater, 64 E. 4th Street, NYC. For tickets and more information, visit benevolent, a new play — Good Apples Collective.  Masks are required at the following performances: Saturday, 8/15 at 2 p.m. and Friday, 8/28 at 7:30 p.m.  Understudy Morgan S. Perry will be performing as “Emma” at the performance scheduled for August 29th at 7:30 p.m.

(Photos by Emily Goodheart.)

Playwright & Producer: Sophie McIntosh
Director & Producer: Nina Goodheart
Associate Producer: Sarah Jones
Stage Manager: Damayanti Wallace
Associate Director and Dramaturg: B.T. Hayes
Fight + Intimacy Director: Willow Funkhouser
Assistant Stage Manager: Jenna Rowell
Scenic Designer: Charlotte Shi
Lighting Designer: Paige Seber
Props Designer: Sean Frank
Costume Designer: Saawan Tiwari
Sound Designer: Max Van

Emma: Mia Fowler *
Abby: Livvy Marcus *
Sarah: Rachel Ravel *
Margaret: Chani Reese

Understudy for Abby, Sarah, and Margaret: Healy Knight*
Understudy for Emma: Morgan S. Perry*

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association.
benevolent is an Equity Showcase Pending Approval