Theater Review: Carrie Coon, Namir Smallwood in the Terrifying ‘Bug’

Bug

She’s a cocktail waitress. He’s a Gulf War vet. When they get together they create an unforgettable relationship in Tracy Letts’ sometimes comedic, mostly compelling psychological drama Bug, currently in its Broadway premiere at Manhattan Theater Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Directed by David Cromer for a maximum thrill ride, Agnes (Carrie Coon) and Peter (Namir Smallwood) gain each others’ trust in a world that increasingly threatens to destroy them.

Stellar performances by Coon (The White Lotus, The Gilded Age) and Smallwood (Pass Over on Broadway) carry the production through a slow-build first act into the harrowing intensity and climactic finish of the second.

The Slow Burn Begins in a Motel Room in Oklahoma City

Letts’ chilling drama unfolds in a motel room on the outskirts of present-day Oklahoma City. Scenic designer Takeshi Kata presents a typical mundane bedroom with cream-colored walls and complementary cheesy lamps and appointments that spell out Agnes’ challenged socioeconomic position. By the second act, after a time interval during which Agnes and Peter panic and go through stages of emotional terror, the room’s once benign look transforms to a place whose inhabitants are under siege.

At this point the stage design shocks. It is then we understand how badly the situation has progressed in the characters’ minds.

At the start we meet Agnes, who lives in the motel room, hiding out from her violent former husband Jerry Goss (Steve Key), an ex-convict. As Agnes and her lesbian biker friend R.C. (Jennifer Engstrom) do drugs, R.C. warns Agnes to protect herself against Jerry, whose prison release she questions because he is dangerous.

Two Men, and Danger for Agnes

Agnes asks about the background of a stranger who is using her bathroom. R.C. vouches for Peter, whom she brought with her on the way to a party that R.C. also invites Agnes to. Peter assures Agnes he is “not an axe murderer,” and expresses an interest in her.

Instead of going to the party with R.C., Agnes and Peter decide to hang out together and talk, feeling more comfortable getting to know each other than being in a party crowd. It is during these exchanges, and as Peter stays overnight at Agnes’ invitation, that her emotional neediness clarifies. When Jerry shows up, they argue and he hits Agnes. After Jerry leaves, Peter’s attentiveness draws her closer to him. Agnes and Peter settle in, do drugs, share secrets and bond. Increasingly Agnes’ perspective shifts. She accepts Peter’s world view and personal reality despite its extremism.

Agnes Reaches Out

Agnes insists Peter stay, making a symbolic gesture that clever viewers will note conveys her acceptance of Peter because of her emotional desperation more than a belief in his perspective and backstory.

In the next act we see the extent to which Peter has made himself comfortable living with Agnes, whose resolve against being with Jerry has strengthened because of her relationship with Peter. Because their concern and care for each other resonates with trust, Peter relaxes into himself. He examines his blood under a microscope and finds “proof” of a conspiracy theory: that the government is using military vets and unsuspecting individuals as guinea pigs to experiment on.

Peter’s Bug Theory

With convoluted half-truths about government coverups related to the war in Iraq, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and more, Peter drives himself into a sustained panic. He fears that aphids are biting him and Agnes, feeding off their blood and infesting their living space.

Convinced that egg sacks have been planted in him by doctors who monitor and follow him with helicopters because their “guinea pig” has gone AWOL, he persuades Agnes to accept his “bug” theory. Together, they plan a way out of the infestation that has taken over their bodies and minds.

To complicate matters, Dr. Sweet (Randall Arney) shows up and explains Peter’s medical case to R.C. and Jerry, to legitimize taking Peter back with him to “Lake Groom,” his former living arrangement. Letts offers the intriguing possibility that there may be many truths about this situation. But without independent investigation and research, belief takes over. Whether Peter is part of an experiment or not, Agnes expresses her love for him, comforted by their bond, which gives her life meaning. Within the horror of the infestation, they have found their emotional sustenance. Their relationship is their sanctuary from life’s pain.

Impactful Direction and Performances

Cromer’s vision and his shepherding of the fine performances by Coon and Smallwood make this stylized production all too real and terrifying. Thematically current, it depicts various cultural attitudes about government coverups and conspiracy theories stoked by the questionable motives of those in power. The creative team’s efforts (including Heather Gilbert’s lighting and Josh Schmidt’s sound) hit the sweet spot of relevance.

Though written decades ago, Bug intimates how and why certain women embrace what others deem to be their partner’s extremist perspectives. Wounded and seeking love, women like Agnes more easily accept their partners’ ideas, rather than search for facts and proof to dispute them. Governmental coverups of the truth fan the flames of extremist belief systems. The consequences can be socially and culturally devastating.

Bug is at the Samuel Friedman Theatre (47th St. between 7th and 8th) through February 8, 2026.