"You either got it or you ain't," Mama Rose sings in Gypsy; and while she isn't talking about that mysterious condition called faith, she could well be. But faith can come and go, sometimes without warning, as Kate Fodor beautifully demonstrates in her extremely funny and moving new play, 100 Saints You Should Know, which is receiving a brilliantly acted production under the exemplary direction of Ethan McSweeny at Playwrights Horizons.

This compelling and thought-provoking piece shows off Fodor's gift for tackling issues big and small and for creating trenchant and often hilarious dialogue. More importantly, it displays her impressive talent as a portraitist. The five characters whose liv[...]