Lobby Hero
Closed 2h 25m
Lobby Hero
82

Lobby Hero NYC Reviews and Tickets

82%
(413 Ratings)
Positive
91%
Mixed
7%
Negative
2%
Members say
Great acting, Funny, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Great writing

About the Show

Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan's ('Manchester by the Sea') 2001 drama comes to Broadway in Second Stage's new production staring Michael Cera ('Juno'), Chris Evans ('Captain America'), and Brian Tyree Henry ('Atlanta').

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Show-Score Member Reviews (413)

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127 Reviews | 15 Followers
100
An ethical dilemma, with plenty of laughs.

See it if you like small-cast, character-driven comedy-dramas...and you've always wanted to see Chris Evans--aka Captain America--onstage.

Don't see it if talky plays in which little happens usually send you scurrying for the exits. Read more

535 Reviews | 155 Followers
100
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Great staging, Relevant

See it if An absolutely brilliantly written and acted piece of theatre which could not be more relevant had it been written yesterday !

Don't see it if You can’t deal with racial issues and class issues being portrayed in the most realistic way. Although my opinion is that it is for everyone

155 Reviews | 23 Followers
100
Clever, Delightful, Edgy, Great acting, Intense

See it if you want a wonderful dark (black) comedy that explores the frailties of the characters.

Don't see it if you want mindless entertainment.

165 Reviews | 23 Followers
100
Absorbing, Clever, Great acting, Great writing, Profound

See it if You want a play that explores the frailties of the human condition with insight and humor.

Don't see it if you want a play that is less intense.

156 Reviews | 62 Followers
96
Great acting, Great writing, Must see, Relevant

See it if you want to see a perfectly cast and perfectly written play. Even more relevant today than when first produced. Cera is outstanding!

Don't see it if you don't like plays that are too wordy.

193 Reviews | 29 Followers
96
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Masterful, Must see

See it if You enjoy fully flushed out characters in a drama.

Don't see it if You have trouble paying attention to lots of dialogue

139 Reviews | 26 Followers
95
Absorbing, Great acting, Intelligent, Intense, Relevant

See it if You enjoy well written dramas with periodic touches of humor. Thought provoking and gives pause to the human condition. Superbly acted.

Don't see it if You enjoy musicals more than dramas

570 Reviews | 87 Followers
95
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Intelligent

See it if you like straight plays with fully developed characters, interesting plots, terrific acting, good directing.Holds your interest.

Don't see it if you want something light and fluffy.While it has movie stars, they are there to act, not to have you swoon.Terrific story. Worth seeing.

Critic Reviews (51)

The New York Times
March 26th, 2018

"The combined wit and non-wisdom of these fallible (i.e. human) beings offers a fascinating reflection on those shaky internal compasses we call moral instincts. As to the ethical quandaries and quagmires in which these people are mired, they feel even more pointedly and sadly relevant than they did when 'Lobby Hero' was first performed...The performances here all so grounded that you never doubt their characters’ authenticity or sincerity."
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Time Out New York
March 26th, 2018

"Uses Cera’s ineffectual persona to deft comic effect, even as it smartly explores weighty questions of spinelessness and courage...The social issues that 'Lobby Hero' touches on—sexual harrassment, racial bias in the justice system, the blue wall of silence—are as topical now as when it premiered, but the play's lens is rigorously trained on the personal."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
March 26th, 2018

"A substantial and mostly satisfying revival...The soul of this production belongs to Jeff’s self-help-peddling African-American 'captain' and would-be mentor, William, infused by Brian Tyree Henry with a rawness and flow that completely re-centers the morality play...The play seems to have spent the last seventeen years waiting for the right cast, and this time it gets halfway there...Lonergan writes with warmth, wit and spontaneity, but 'Lobby Hero' is one of his more schematic pieces."
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The Wall Street Journal
March 29th, 2018

"The true star of the show is Mr. Henry, who is calm, solid and touchingly troubled...Mr. Evans is almost as good as the crooked cop, but Mr. Cera is a bit too easily jokey, while Ms. Powley’s broad-brush performance steers near the shoals of caricature...Mr. Lonergan’s play is more than sufficiently well wrought to withstand a moderate amount of miscalculation, whether directorial or otherwise, and Messrs. Henry and Evans are so fine that the flaws hardly matter."
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Deadline
March 29th, 2018

"No gimmick event, its no-weak-link casting anything but a stunt – strong enough, in fact, to merit serious Tony consideration. A fine and funny drama when it debuted Off Broadway in 2001, the play hasn’t so much aged as grown into itself and the world around it...'Lobby Hero' is mostly talk, and there are passages when plotting demands far too much from conversation, even conversation as clever as the stuff Lonergan concocts...Evans is the revelation here."
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New York Daily News
March 26th, 2018

"Evans’s deft performance is one of the pluses of this fine-tuned show...Lonergan specializes in flawed sad sacks and self-sabotagers. He has an all-too-rare gift of perfect pitch when it comes to dialogue. The cast, guided by director Trip Cullman, make the most of the script and skillfully navigate the play’s plot and tonal twists...Cera never pushes for a laugh, they just roll out, like waves. His presence makes the play funnier, sadder and sweeter. He is the show’s MVP — if not its hero."
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Variety
March 26th, 2018

"The play looks both kindly and critically upon the kind of characters Lonergan loves to write: working-class stiffs, generally decent people who are unexpectedly challenged by issues of ethics...Helmer Trip Cullman does his best work with small, tight ensembles like this one, so there’s no slack in the emotional tension and no escape from the sticky web that even nice people get tangled up in when they tell lies – especially the lies they tell themselves."
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The Hollywood Reporter
March 26th, 2018

"'Lobby Hero' is a textured consideration of more or less honest characters dealing with sticky moral questions, its dramatic pulse and its needling humor underscored by a rich vein of melancholy...A very fine production — with strong casting, sensitive direction from Trip Cullman and dynamic physical design by David Rockwell...What makes 'Lobby Hero' so engrossing is that nobody is entirely right or wrong and the moral questions at stake are never simply black or white."
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