Farinelli and the King NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (540)
See it if you’re interested in Great Theater performed by one of today’s most brilliant actors, Mark Rylance. Pure Genius. Iestyn Davis voice is magic
Don't see it if you have no interest in thinking about the subtleties of dialogue, performance, plot or the underlying meaning of a theatrical experience
See it if You like great acting
Don't see it if you need big prodution numbers Read more
See it if you appreciate the fine arts and baroque music. MARK RYLANCE is an acting god. See it for him alone, stay for the opera.
Don't see it if you can't step out of you comfort zone. Stay home if you fidget through opera. Spare us all and watch your cable.
See it if you like Baroque music, are interested in European history, or just want to see Mark Rylance tear it up.
Don't see it if ... you like your music loud (this isn't!), don't care for early music (or a man singing countertenor), or costume drama in general. Read more
See it if you like productions from the Globe, classical arias, masterful acting, or Mark Rylance
Don't see it if you like modern plays only, dislike classically staged plays, or if you are looking for an overly dramatic piece of theatre Read more
See it if you love superb acting and creativity!
Don't see it if you are expecting a musical. This is a play WITH superb music Read more
See it if you want to see perhaps the greatest theater actor of his time. Rylance exquisite in a gorgeous production of a beautiful play about art.
Don't see it if you only like musicals. Otherwise, there is no reason not to see the greatest actor on the planet.
See it if You like unique theater. If you enjoy plays and operatic music. Mark Rylance is wonderful along w/the rest of the cast.
Don't see it if You like traditional theater, don’t like period pieces, opera or stories about mental illness.
Critic Reviews (56)
“Visually plump but dramatically slim…Elegantly directed…and effectively acted and sung, this fact-based play's subject matter is inherently fascinating…But…'Farinelli and the King' doesn't contribute greatly to the advance of modern playwriting…Once the premise is established,…the plot itself is rather uninteresting and its suspense quite limited; the playwright has to depend on various distractions…to keep the action moving… Mark Rylance…is quite good…but he offers few surprises.”
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"If Van Kampen’s script unsurprisingly falls far short of Shakespeare, 'Farinelli and the King' also features what should count as a secret weapon — the singing of Iestyn Davies...Too often, the license van Kampen takes is more prosaic than poetic...'Farinelli and the King' may not offer any eye-opening insights into the power of music to heal, but the show itself feels restorative – the music just part of its sumptuousness."
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"Rylance turns in an exquisite portrayal of a King gone mad...Though the play by his wife is witty, it fails to capture Farinelli’s soul or the reason behind King Philip V of Spain’s madness...In each of the nine Handel aria’s we are transported to nirvana...However, Crane's Farinelli is so low key, weak, and non passionate, despite some of the text...Dove’s direction makes this piece so watchable and so entrancing...What Ms. van Kampen’s does is integrate music seamlessly into the piece."
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"The wonderful thing about 'Farinelli' is the chance to hear a great countertenor in a theater of 900 seats...Davies’s tone, range, and coloratura can be heard to their full dazzling effect...This story is the stuff of grand opera! Van Kampen’s disjointed storytelling and John Dove’s pedestrian direction, however, turn it into something nearer soap opera...Fortunately, Rylance puts his full arsenal of mannerisms on display to prevent this king from being the royal bore of Madrid."
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"What we have on stage is Sir Mark acting up a storm, a comically frenzied storm at that. Give an accomplished ham a dramatic role which allows him an occasional mad scene, and you are sure to have a memorable evening that is more or less unmissable. This is plenty enough to put 'Farinelli and the King' on the highly recommended list. But the drama, I’m afraid, doesn’t match the rest of the evening. The plot is intriguingly promising, yes; but the execution is merely functional."
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“An overly familiar, underwritten play...'Farinelli' has an intriguing concept, but the execution is wanting...Van Kampen fails to develop her premise beyond some keen acting opportunities for her husband Rylance and staging possibilities for director Dove...There are no real stakes here...Fortunately, Rylance delivers his usual magnificent work...An entertaining historical curio, but not a full dramatic experience.”
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“The music of Handel gives the play bursts of beauty via the splendid voice of Davies and his accompanying musicians...The playwright excels in giving Rylance lines that can be poetic, humorous, and also indicative of his strange, wandering mind...Rylance is expert at casting revealing glances, visually indicating vapidity, or exhibiting fascination with Farinelli...The entire production is a visual and aural triumph, with Rylance reigning as the central attraction.”
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“Rylance, arguably the best actor in theater today, is once again lighting up the Broadway stage aided and abetted by a skilled company…It’s engaging, surprising, thoughtful, and humorous…The play’s ending reflects but doesn’t depict reality. Here, however, it makes perfect dramatic sense. An extraordinary journey has been shared. Rylance is masterful…Director John Dove gives us a voyeur experience. Every character has presence.”
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