If Michael Weller's Beast were a movie, it would be a horror flick, or maybe a buddy film, or possibly a political comedy. The intriguing play, now making its world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, owes much to these cinematic genres even as it retains a vibrant theatricality. Directed by Jo Bonney and featuring a strong acting ensemble, it makes its anti-war stance abundantly clear while venturing into rather disturbing territory.

The play follows army buddies Jimmy Cato (Logan Marshall-Green) and Benjamin Voychevsky (Corey Stoll), who we first meet in a military hospital in Germany. Both carry physical and mental scars from their fighting in Iraq, and Voych -- as Cato calls him -- [...]