'School Pictures' Off-Broadway review — this song cycle with heart passes the test

Read our review of School Pictures off Broadway, a solo show written and performed by Milo Cramer, now plating at the Cherry Lane Theatre through November 29.

Summary

• School Pictures is writer/performer Milo Cramer's solo show about the NYC education system and student experiences
• Cramer performs a whimsical, humorous song cycle about various students they tutored, and it also unpacks the shortcomings of the NYC school system
• The show returns after an acclaimed 2023 Off-Broadway premiere
• The show is recommended for teachers, fans of solo shows, and theatregoers who want to revisit School Pictures after the first run

Milo Cramer has the kind of temperament that would make you instantly trust them to tutor your child. In School Pictures, a collection of vignettes about their former students, Cramer playfully recounts the kids' stories in a song cycle that is both delightful and moving.

Cramer sings of his students’ fears, hopes, and struggles with parents fixated on success, including 13-year-old Javier, whose parents send him to a summer camp for aspiring lawyers. The songs are accompanied by a variety of instruments, like a ukulele, a tiny pink piano, and, in a humorous moment, a Croc shoe as percussion.

So much of the play’s humor unfolds between songs. Each student is represented by a colorful piece of construction paper, and when a story ends, Cramer finds a different way to dispatch their paper. They fold one into a paper airplane and send it over the audience; another, they rip up and chew, to the audience’s jeers. In another funny transition, he removes an “I Love NY” crewneck to reveal an “I Love NY” t-shirt underneath.

Running through the stories is the tension between the elite students’ privileged upbringings and Cramer’s own experience of making ends meet as an artist through tutoring. They croon: “People with urgent stories to tell don’t have the means to tell them. The people who have the means to tell stories don’t have urgent stories to tell.” Cramer may be divulging their former students’ shortcomings, but the stories in School Pictures ultimately illuminate something much larger: the failures of New York City’s school system. In a lesson for the audience, chalkboard and all, Cramer unpacks the city’s Gifted and Talented program and standardized testing requirements, revealing the inherent class and social inequities. There’s even a math equation for the audience to solve.

By the end, Cramer humanizes each of those colorful pieces of paper, and their desire to make a lasting impact on the students' lives is so apparent. The woman next to me was in tears.

School Pictures summary

Written and performed by Milo Cramer, School Pictures is a collection of songs and stories about their former tutoring students. They include a zombie-obsessed third grader who learns to love reading, a 16-year-old gripped by climate anxiety, and lacrosse player with championship dreams. Together, their stories build toward a broader critique of New York City’s school system.

School Pictures was produced at Playwrights Horizons in 2023. Cramer and director Morgan Green received an Obie Award Special Citation, and it topped Vulture's list of the best theatre of 2023.

What to expect at School Pictures

School Pictures isn’t quite a musical. Cramer mostly talk-sings, accompanying themself on the ukulele or piano, occasionally slipping into falsetto. It’s an endearing style that feels perfectly suited to the material.

School Pictures runs 1 hour with no intermission. The show runs in repertory at the Cherry Lane Theatre with Two Girls, making it easy to plan a double header at the theatre even though the two productions are unrelated.

What audiences are saying about School Pictures

As of publication, School Pictures has an 85% audience approval score on Show-Score, an review-aggregating site. Audience members are praising Cramer’s earnest performance.

• “Sweet and earnest, with richly drawn characters told through short songs; thought provoking about life for kids in nyc [...] it's an untraditional music[al] that's more ‘warbled' than 'sung'” - Show-Score user Georgia W.
• “See it if: you like off beat thoughtful theatre that creates a personal journey through creative original vignettes that are poignant and funny. Do not see it if: you need a theatrical musical extravaganza with three acts and full cast. Utterly charming!” -Show-Score user Laura3353
• “Every once in a while, a smart and funny show unlike you've ever seen before completely grabs you, intellectually, artistically, emotionally…” - Show-Score user GreatAvi

Read more audience reviews of School Pictures on Show-Score.

Who should see School Pictures

• Fans of solo shows will enjoy School Pictures. Cramer weaves their own story into those of their tutees, balancing personal reflection with the realities of students in New York City.
• Educators would appreciate School Pictures. Cramer exposes the challenges of the New York City school system, offering a perspective that will resonate with teachers.
• Theatregoers who saw the run at Playwrights Horizons in 2023 might want to revisit it, as the sold-out return run was just extended.

Learn more about School Pictures off Broadway

School Pictures is a whimsical portrait of educational and social inequities that surprises and delights.

Learn more and get School Pictures tickets on New York Theatre Guide. School Pictures is at the Cherry Lane Theatre through November 29.

Photo credit: Milo Cramer in School Pictures off Broadway. (Photos courtesy of Cherry Lane Theatre)