What is a play? How does it happen? What makes it work? These were the basic issues behind Jack Gelber's new play, which is called, beguilingly enough, "Jack Gelber's New Play: Rehearsal." It is directed by the author. And it is not a rehearsal. But it tries to be the substance of a rehearsal—which might be something less or might be something more….

It is a play about a play, or at least about a play that was being rehearsed. The fictional author is a white ex-convict. His play is about "a prison rebellion that doesn't work out." It could be Attica. But then, Mr. Gelber and even his fictional author play everything cool; it could be anywhere. But, just as a tip, the fictional director, directing the fictional play, has a paperback of "Attica" on his fictional desk. The paperback could have been fictional.

Mr. Gelber's purpose is very clear. He is fascinated by the machinery not only of playwriting but much more of the business of getting a play on….

Mr. Gelber's playwright indeed even gets involved in the play itself, as an actor. Even more indeed, he finds himself playing in a male rape scene that he neither wrote, witnessed, nor envisaged. He is learning about the theater the hard way. But so is everyone else, including the play's fictional cast, its fictional director and its fictional producer. The only nonfiction part of this particular show is the audience. For much of the time it learns things the hard way as well.

Just as in his first and probably best-known play, "The Connection," Mr. Gelber is dealing with life. In that case it was the reality of drug addiction; so here he is dealing with the actual process of a play passing through its first read-through to production….

All of Mr. Gelber's points seem perfectly pertinent….

The play is neatly structured, and the idea is a good one. But unfortunately it is not particularly well-written. It neither has the raciness of vernacular speech nor perhaps the more measured tread permissible in dramatic literature. As a result the end product never convinces to the extent the original concept might promise. Because despite the good premise, Mr. Gelber often falls into cliché thought and predictable action.