Hughie NYC Reviews and Tickets

53%
(147 Ratings)
Positive
34%
Mixed
31%
Negative
35%
Members say
Disappointing, Slow, Great acting, Dated, Overrated

About the Show

Oscar winner Forest Whitaker makes his Broadway debut in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's classic drama.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (147)

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hw
284 Reviews | 54 Followers
65
Disappointing, Slow, Intelligent

See it if you need to see every single O'Neill, or every single Forest Whitaker performance. It does have a beautiful set.

Don't see it if you lack the patience for a small, talky play that is dwarfed by the theater's size.

67 Reviews | 21 Followers
65
Disappointing, Slow, Great set, Cool lighting, Good acting

See it if Youd love to see Forest Whitaker. Him and Frank wood are wonderfully adorable in the show.

Don't see it if You want a story. Story is very blah at times and doesn't keep your attention.

89 Reviews | 22 Followers
60
Dated, Disappointing, Great acting, Great writing

See it if you are an O'Neill and.or Forest Whitaker fan. Excellent acting, but material is definitely dated.

Don't see it if if you are not, a dyed in the wool, fan!

112 Reviews | 59 Followers
60
Dated, Slow, Overrated, Banal, Disappointing

See it if you're interested in seeing Christopher Oram's masterful scenic design or are a O'Neill fanatic or Whitaker fanatic.

Don't see it if if you are easily bored or interested in seeing more thought provoking exciting material.

148 Reviews | 80 Followers
59
Disappointing, Ambitious, Indulgent, Dated, Overrated

See it if Someone gives you the tickets.

Don't see it if You have already seen everything else on your list and spending a cozy night at home seems to be a better choice.

67 Reviews | 17 Followers
57
Dated, Banal, Disappointing

See it if You live in a time warp

Don't see it if If you adore forest Whittaker and don't want to see him embarrass himself

719 Reviews | 253 Followers
55
Great staging, Slow, Disappointing, Dated, Excruciating

See it if You want to see Forest Whitaker on stage, no matter how weak his performance.

Don't see it if You're looking for a play with a plot, or can't stand what's basically a one-man play.

110 Reviews | 16 Followers
55
Clever, Ambitious, Delightful, Disappointing, Confusing

See it if If you are a fan of Forrest Whitaker, then you would love this show.

Don't see it if If don't mind the boring 84 minute conversation he has with a clerk in a hotel, just because he is a gambler, and have, no one to talk to.

Critic Reviews (50)

CurtainUp
February 25th, 2016

“Short and not really a play at all...Whitaker seemed to be on his way toward a slicker and more polished characterization than was yet visible. However, I would expect that the nerves and uncertainties that punctuated some of his lines and actions will soon be addressed. What should have been addressed is the distracting and often intruding underscoring of scenes by the otherwise excellent composer-sound designer Adam Cork.”
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Front Row Center
March 4th, 2016

"I once had a wonderful acting teacher who said that the purpose of a monologue was to keep the other character from leaving. Be so compelling that the other(s) stay and listen. This is why standing in the most brightly lit corner of the room and speaking does not constitute a monologue all on its own."
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Stage Buddy
March 8th, 2016

"Forest Whitaker is an imposing stage presence, yet even he appears weary and small in the cavernous set. In the capable hands of director Michael Grandage, it's amusing to watch him caper around the stage...At first I thought Whitaker's stilted, start and stop delivery was symptomatic of him struggling with the text...But once you settle into the tragic restlessness of the character, his affect drives O’Neill’s circuitous cadences home...Overall, the play is a simple but poignant rumination."
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Exeunt Magazine
March 9th, 2016

"Despite how much of an outlier it is in the O’Neill oeuvre, it is a delicate, late-career masterpiece currently receiving a fine Broadway revival with Forest Whitaker in the lead role...Excellent performances notwithstanding, the best part of this 'Hughie' is Christopher Oram’s stunning set, dominated by a looming, grand staircase...Despite a bit of directorial interference, this production deserves full marks for its courage to embrace the play as it is given to us."
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Broadway Blog
February 26th, 2016

"If Whitaker is guilty of anything on stage, it’s portraying Erie as perhaps too kind and affable...Still, whether his character is processing a difficult emotion, concocting his next tall tale, or fumbling though a pocket of I.O.U.’s, Whitaker is fascinating to watch...As Whitaker takes the stage and goes on what is ostensibly a 50-minute monologue, Wood delivers a masterclass in the difficult art of active non-listening."
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C
February 25th, 2016

"What O’Neill wants us to appreciate is just how lonely Erie is behind his bonhomie... Whitaker manages to capture Erie’s good-time exterior and his gift of gab...But that well of loneliness behind the bravado, isn’t really present in Whitaker’s performance. It creeps in for a moment, but it’s far too fleeting to make us feel much for Erie. In the end, by the sheer brevity of the play, its repetitive nature, and Whitaker’s semi-successful star turn, I believe we’ve all been shortchanged."
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DC Theatre Scene
February 26th, 2016

"The character’s self-delusion seems obvious, the stories he tells not especially vivid, the relative slightness of O’Neill’s effort tilting it towards a theatrical exercise. The audience is in danger of identifying too closely with the night clerk, who stops listening, his mind drifting, while Erie prattles on...I’m reluctant to blame all this on Whitaker...He has his moments...'Hughie' is more effective as a work of literature than a star vehicle, at least based on the current production of it."
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The Wrap
February 25th, 2016

“No one captured urban isolation on canvas better than Hopper, and if he’d ever decided to paint the now slightly crumbling lobby of a hotel in Times Square this ‘Hughie’ as designed by Oram and directed by Grandage would be it…The Oscar-winning [Whitaker] delivers a most endearing Erie, right down to the nervous giggle…That kind of vital sign is completely missing in Wood’s equally disturbing night clerk.”
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