Junk NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (449)
See it if Your interested in the stock market, like great acting and great staging, like relevant theater.
Don't see it if you're not at all interested in business or the stock market.
See it if Richly created portraits for many of the characters give the talented cast many opportunities to shine and gives empathy to all characters
Don't see it if You've had enough of the financial crisis; you are looking for answers and clear cut villans and heros
See it if you think you might like to revisit the spectacular fall from grace of trader Michael Milken, in a spirited and cogent theatrical format.
Don't see it if you struggle to care about the impact of financial transgressors, or if you have trouble following slightly disjointed storytelling.
See it if If you like thought-provoking plays with wonderful performances.
Don't see it if If you only like happy-go-lucky entertainment and don't want to think.
See it if you like plays that are complex and make you think. Steven Pasquale is phenomenal. The play manages to both educate and entertain throughout
Don't see it if do not like long plays. The play is very technical. If you do not want to have to pay attention to detail then you should not see it.
See it if You like really intelligent plays you have to focus on, and aren't bored by the financial sector.
Don't see it if You don't want to focus carefully on the action and are really bored by anything having to do with finance. Read more
See it if You rememberthe'80s, you followed the financial scams of that era, and maybe you feel like not much has changed.
Don't see it if You might be confused by the fast paced and perhaps not explained financial jargon.
See it if you like great acting, relevant stories, and clever sets.
Don't see it if you don't like complicated stories based on current events with a lot of talking.
Critic Reviews (51)
“‘Junk’ means to be a crash course in crashing the market...Which means, in terms of stagecraft, that data trumps character…There are nearly two dozen characters running around the play, but none is particularly likeable or memorable. Mind you, that’s not a deal-breaker; 'Junk 'is entertaining stuff…Director Doug Hughes delivers a high-energy staging...But there’s little here you’d call revelatory…Even a fiduciary ignoramus might wonder if 'Junk' tells us anything we don’t already know.”
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"Directed at the dizzying pace of traders racking up dollars at full froth, and acted by an excellent cast, the play is supremely well-researched, insightful and smart. It is also so conscientiously thorough in its analysis of its subject that it often feels dense to the point of stultifying...The emphasis on the mechanics of deal-making, at the expense of establishing characters we can care much about, leaves 'Junk' with a dramatic balance sheet that’s seriously skewed."
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"Though perhaps not stuffed with forever treasured quips as most Shakespeare plays or without one really unforgettable quote like Wall Street's "greed is good", 'Junk' is nevertheless smartly scripted, and integrates multiple issues into the main plot with Shakespearean flair...Hughes keeps the multi-faceted plot developments moving at presto tempo...Thanks to the smart script and staging, the result is top to bottom excellence for the small as well as major role players."
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“There is something to be said about the well-delineated characters--or cast members--in ‘Junk,’ but that 'something' has more to do with the performances and with Doug Hughes' direction than it does with the writing. As written by Akhtar, ‘Junk’ is a mess and a shambles--as confusing as the recent history it means to recall. One has all one can do to follow the story, which seems to evaporate even as it unfolds.”
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"Will keep you on the edge of your seat, even as you sense the inevitable arc of this rise-and-fall saga...Playwright Akhtar is a brilliant researcher, as well as a consummate craftsman...However, he’s broadened his scope, penetrating to the heart of contemporary American values...He’s done it with bold theatricality, in a sensational, large-scale production. Lincoln Center Theatre has put its money where its playwright’s mouth is."
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“This fictionalized account is largely on point — broad strokes, to be sure, but all-in-all accurate in spirit if not detail...The show paints a realistic picture of how it was...There is a huge cast, 24 people in all, some with several roles. All are good, or bad, as they are written. The direction is lively, the effects powerful, and, while set in the ‘80s, the moral desert of the money cult and the latter-day ‘kings’ in towers hold a very current punch. I’d say go.”
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“Unless you are a math whiz or a business major, you may be bewildered by the financial concepts...However, as the play unfolds, you will find yourself thoroughly engaged...’Junk’ is fast-moving, with Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue. It is engaging and intelligent. The show is well-directed by Hughes and simply staged...You may not like anyone or even understand the financial lessons, but the themes in the play are repeated year after year."
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“The writing borders on Shakespearean in its decidedly Machiavellian discontent. It’s expansive in its dense storytelling, complex in its plot, and concise in its structure...The play, as directed by the always solid Hughes is crisp and precise...’Junk’ is complicated and compelling, but I would add that Akhtar throws all the clichés and stereotypical behavior straight up and neat without a lot of surprises or twists of character."
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