Women Without Men NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (73)
See it if you like thoughtful, masterful dramatic plays full of strong characters
Don't see it if an all female cast does not sound appealing to you, if you like quickly developing stories
See it if Always count on the Mint Theater for strong revivals of old shows. This play shows how far women have come and how much stays the same.
Don't see it if Show about a group of women teaching at a Dublin girls' school in early 20 century Ireland. If it sounds interesting, you will enjoy it.
See it if You'd enjoy a well-written, superbly-acted period piece set in an all girls Irish boarding school. Reminds me of a Mauve Binchy novel.
Don't see it if You'd be disturbed by a group of women, who spend a good deal of time complaining and arguing, but ultimately agree to keep a secret.
See it if you enjoy discovering little known plays that have relevance today, appreciate exquisite staging with distinct characters who charm & anger
Don't see it if you don't like plays that time to build plot and character, don't appreciate all-female casts and creative teams, see no value in old plays
See it if you enjoy comedies, period pieces, good acting, or all female casts.
Don't see it if you would prefer a more contemporary play.
See it if You like excellent writing, beautiful performances, the claustrophobia of women with no way out of their situation and early 20th c. stories
Don't see it if You have a problem with stories about women or stories where the implication might be that women need men to survive.
See it if this was an absorbing play-wasn't bored for a moment
Don't see it if trouble understanding accents
See it if You enjoy a well-written play with all women. The claustrophobic world of Irish women teachers beautifully displayed in this mint Mint show.
Don't see it if Hearing accents all over the place bothers you. Greatest fault was the Irish accents which were very inconsistent. A dialect coach please.
Critic Reviews (23)
"This 1938 play, which the Mint has resurrected under Jenn Thompson’s direction, is a mostly sturdy and occasionally creaky construction about the perils of a circumscribed life...Ellis, an Irish playwright, is expert in depicting the minutiae of relations among the women, the use of pet names without pet feelings, the flimsy loyalties and jealousies...The acting is generally skillful, though the three younger actresses playing schoolgirls don’t yet seem quite at home in this world."
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"Overbey and Walton put their hearts into this juicy contretemps. But there’s absolutely no grandstanding in director Jenn Thompson’s beautifully composed ensemble piece. Individually, the performances are distinctive, but the collective work of the company is even more impressive. Ellis’ voice is as tart as her wit, and the players clearly relish the surprisingly contemporary tone of an 80-year-old period play."
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"An exemplary ensemble plays out Ellis' sharp and clever dialogue without the benefit of a modern eye. The reality that this imperfect situation was often the only alternative to marriage adds a dark texture to highly-polished proceedings. As is often the case with Mint discoveries, 'Women Without Men' offers a fascinating peek into how theatre has always been used to address contemporary issues."
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“A sharply observant comedy-drama filled with crackling ironies, a craftily worked-out mystery, and an astringently unsentimental point of view...Ellis was gifted with a remarkably mature vision, allowing her to capture her characters in all their pettiness while deftly, unsentimentally laying bare the social dilemma that entraps them…This production shows the Mint doing what it does best: finding long-lost works that remain remarkably stageworthy today."
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"'Women Without Men' is a smart, involving, skillfully crafted play...Some of the action and character relationships in the play might be viewed as soap opera-ish...But the whole enterprise is elevated by the exceptional quality of Ellis's writing and the superb Mint production. Jenn Thompson's direction of the play could not be improved upon, and across the board, the acting is extraordinarily good."
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"The Mint Theater Company has become famous for revivals of lost or
forgotten masterpieces from the world repertory. Now it has found an unpublished
Irish play by the little known author Hazel Ellis that proves to be both
fascinating and involving. 'Women Without Men', produced at Dublin’s Gate
Theatre in 1938, is receiving its American premiere with a taut production by
Jenn Thompson and a remarkable all-female ensemble of 11."
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"In addition to getting solid performances out of her actors, director Jenn Thompson has created a nice touch by using the students' songs for the between scenes pauses...Despite Ms. Thompson's best effort this dour group portrait does tend to have slow spots that may have some audience members wishing some of the chatter could have been trimmed. But paring these forgotten plays down to a more modern length isn't the Mint way."
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"The story is surprisingly fresh and modern...Swiftly and smartly directed by Jenn Thompson, 'Women Without Men' moves quickly and never lags...Thompson understands Ellis’ script and has crafted a more than worthy production to showcase her writing, as well as the distinct talents of the cast...This play is definitely worth a visit for anyone concerned with gender parity in theater, and specifically with the work of an excellent 'lost' female playwright."
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