Excuse My Dust (A Dorothy Parker Portfolio) at Soho Playhouse

To say that Dorothy Parker "wrote well," a critic once mused, is like saying Michelangelo was "good with his hands." Even in a time of ubiquitous snark, Parker's wisecracks stand alone, every barb as brilliant as it is bitter. And as actress Jennifer Engstrom proves in her acclaimed turn as Parker in Excuse My Dust, the famous one-liners ("One more drink and I'll be under the host," "You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think") were only a crumb of her colossal talent. In a performance one critic called "essential viewing for anyone with a soul," Engstrom embodies Parker's most memorable and autobiographical characters. After a celebrated run in Chicago, this "note perfect" portrayal now comes to Huron Club at the SoHo Playhouse.