American Son (Broadway)

See it if The strong script steals the show in this intense drama about race in America.

Don't see it if You don’t like heavy dramas.

See it if Covers a lot of ground w/upscale parents trying to raise a black child in racist USA. Conflict of aspirations, fears & values. Good acting

Don't see it if You are expecting a thriller. This was a parental & marital argument. There is a dual mystery of the son’s emerging identity & whereabouts.

See it if It's highly topical, well intentioned & certainly heartfelt but it's wildly overwritten & overwrought despite solid performances from cast

Don't see it if Demos-Brown button-pushes his drama to exhaustion leaving little room for complexity or nuance Anger may be justified but its on steroids

See it if you want to see a very topical play that is very well-observed and well-done and well-acted.

Don't see it if you're looking for a fun night out. It's pretty tough stuff.

See it if At the mercy of authority, fraught parents hope to quicken the answers to the questions regarding their son. Universality revealed in title.

Don't see it if Another drama w/ race and identity under the microscope.Washington's jangly performance is the only distinguishing grace of this mild drama.

See it if you prefer dramas that challenge you and hold up a mirror to society. This is an important, powerful play of our #BlackLivesMatter era.

Don't see it if you’re looking for a light, fun night of theatre. This ain’t Wicked.

Also Given its complex and intelligent reflection of the American experience, this is a sure-fire Pulitzer contender. All performances are strong, but Eugene Lee stole the show for me.... Read more Read less

See it if You feel that a play about young black men and their interactions with police is incredibly relevant and important for Broadway to address.

Don't see it if You can already write this play in your head. It’s exactly what you think it is, plus with Kerry Washington screaming for 90 minutes.

See it if Topical. Very sad play. Great set, impressive rain storm effect.

Don't see it if Worth seeing although not if you feel like escapist entertainment. Play is serious and will evoke feelings of stress and sadness throughout

Also Short. Ends abruptly. I sat upstairs in the last row and could see very well. Smaller theater than many on Broadway.... Read more Read less

See it if you don't mind being riveted in a very manipulative way. Good acting, particularly like Eugene Lee in a relatively small/important role.

Don't see it if Sub par writing and direction. Pasquale's character underwritten. Anxiety high from start to finish with a predictably sad ending.

See it if You want to see an unbiased take on how police officers handle situations involving people of color

Don't see it if you are looking for a lot of action. The entire play takes place in the waiting room of a police station

Also The first 15 minutes of this really scared me. The main character who is a black woman is very upset because her son is missing. The white cop is not giving her the answers that she wants. Every time she made a racial joke or comment the audience laughed and every time the cop said anything Close to what would be considered racist the audience moaned. I was scared that I was about to get something shoved down my throat. I don’t want to give away too much but the playwright did a great job keeping things unbiased. I don’t watch TV so I don’t know anything about the main female actress but she did not look like she had much stage presence. I did think all of the other actors were great and carried the play... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a story ripped from the headlines, with an excellent cast

Don't see it if you don't like a lot of shouting and you don't like being manipulated.

Also It's hard to imagine this couple staying together for 18 years.

See it if you enjoy of-the-moment dramas with a strong cast.

Don't see it if you are easily triggered, and you can't bear a story that is all too heart-breakingly familiar.

See it if you're interested in plays exploring racism towards young black men in America, you want to see a powerful performance by Kerry Washington

Don't see it if you're looking for something light and fluffy and don't want to be confronted by serious topics.

See it if you like relevant,absorbing, totally on point plays.Washington is terrific.Highly emotional & moving performance.Painful, poignant,touching

Don't see it if you are a bigot--no, definitely see it if you are a bigot or voted for Trump.This is exactly the play you need to see.So touching,universal.

See it if you enjoy great performances of a well written piece dealing with the plight of being African-American in today's society

Don't see it if if you do not enjoy watching/hearing racist remarks and characterizations

See it if interested in seeing a show that can encourage meaningful discussions about race, prejudice (both overt & subtle)& police procedures.

Don't see it if you want nuance in both the writing & some of the performances. Kerry W. gives an effective, but somewhat one note performance.

Also Eugene Lee is terrific as the police lieutenant.

See it if a story relevant to Black Lives Matter but also relevant to any mother who has worried about a child or to anyone who as any empathy period

Don't see it if you are annoyed by contrived parts, have no empathy, want uplifting shows or if a mother's pain would be too much

Also Saw this a few days ago with Brian Avers instead of Steven Pasquale. He did an excellent job but this is really a Kerry Washington show where, for the most part, the male provides lines that give her an outlet for her characters anger. Very emotional.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a fan of Kerry Washington or interested in theater that examines social justice issues.

Don't see it if you want light-hearted theater. While there is dark humor, this play examines a stark reality in how we are treated depending upon our skin.

See it if a tense 90-minute, intimate drama about race, family, love, and loss set against a dreary backdrop of internal and external storms appeals.

Don't see it if expecting full-blast action or spectacle that may otherwise come with big names like Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, and Jeremy Jordan.

Also The atmospheric American Son is studded with themes of presumption and racial profiling. The “son” is biracial Jamal, whose black mother Kendra Ellis-Connor (Kerry Washington) and white father Scott Connor (Steven Pasquale) are estranged professionals too coercively desperate to give Jamal the world. Compounding the story is his vague disappearance (was he racially profiled, detained for a benign reason? Or is Jamal not quite whom his parents imagine?) and a cocky officer (Jeremy Jordan) whose “racism” may be imagined. Presumably taking place in the future (Jamal is 18, born in 2001), the play intimates there is no visible end to racism. Not an easy play, it challenges white privilege as much as black pride; it blurs perception with reality. No one is victor or villain. The dark-and-stormy Floridian backdrop offers a heaviness overhanging essential questions too often unasked and unanswered, murky repercussions caused more by suppositions and carelessness than reasons we can control.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a complex dealing with a single aspect of the serious issue of racial injustice in the United States.

Don't see it if you want the issue of racial injustice dealt with in broad strokes or the use of a TV sit-com device makes a show unpalatable.

Also Despite the marketing, Race Relations is only a subtext in this show. Primarily this a show about how a relationship, broken by a lack of open communication and one party projecting a combination of their own experience and buying into a popular worldview, destroys everything of value in the marriage and the world that touches it.

This show is much better than the last out of town shake out at George Street. The stars have something to do with that, but more important is that the writing as been tweaked to emphasize the love that still exists between the estranged parents and what have caused that rift. The supporting stars are still more important than the protagonist to the shows success.

It is somewhat hard to believe that our two protagonists, both of whom make their living as interviewers, do not talk honestly to each other - even when a simple admission will clear the air. But I guess we all avoid things we believe will antagonize our partners - often to our regret.... Read more Read less

See it if good acting if a play of "now". many issues presented to get the audience thinking

Don't see it if need more of a plot than a play really about issues. the last 2 minutes should have been cut out. let the audience draw its own conclusion

See it if I woke up the next day still haunted with the feelings of a Black mother's worst fear: her son pulled over in the middle of the night.

Don't see it if Think Black Lives Matter is fake. Racist microaggressions-filled interactions with police or sounds of gun shots are triggering.

Also Ticket from in-person rush for $40.

See it if you want intense, ripped-from-headlines drama re young black men in police custody. Superb acting by all and terrific, understated staging.

Don't see it if Similar in style - and some themes - to SWEAT and LOBBY HERO. Not as good as former, better than latter. A bit 'TV movie' in feel/style.

See it if A play dealing with topical racial and law enforcement issues. Kerry Washington gives a raw,gut wrenching performance.

Don't see it if This type of play is not of interest to you. The plot is contrived and the ending is predictable.

See it if You want to see kerry Washington in this powerful play about racism.

Don't see it if you want to see a musical