The style of "Operation Sidewinder" is that of the comic strip, which gives the author's occasional seriously uttered banalities the nervous poignancy of anything that is said at the wrong time and place. If it is the function of the comic strip to make extreme activity take the place of—and not merely disguise the lack of—genuine content, the function of a play is to do precisely the opposite; once Mr. Shepard has exploited his POW!s and ZAP!s he is left with little but magical incantations to offer us, and they are not enough. (p. 115)

If Mr. Shepard will indulge his talent and ignore his mind, he cannot be disappointed when his audiences fail to be moved by a Disney version of damnation. (p. 116)

Brendan Gill, "The Theatre: 'Operation Sidewinder'," in The New Yorker (© 1970 by The New Yorker Magazine, Inc.), Vol. XLIV, No. 5, March 21, 1970, pp...