“Rachel Corrie” As Drama, Not Debate Topic

“Few plays have traveled to New York with as much excess baggage as ‘My Name Is Rachel Corrie,’ ” which had no such problems in London. “Those didn’t erupt until the New York Theater Workshop, a nonprofit institution known for championing politically daring work, announced in late February that it would indefinitely delay the play’s American premiere. … Rachel Corrie became a name best not mentioned at Manhattan dinner parties if you wanted your guests to hold on to their good manners.” Now that the play has opened, Ben Brantley writes, “many theatergoers wonder what all the shouting was about.”