Marvin's Room
Closed 2h 15m
Marvin's Room
73

Marvin's Room NYC Reviews and Tickets

73%
(445 Ratings)
Positive
72%
Mixed
22%
Negative
6%
Members say
Great acting, Slow, Thought-provoking, Disappointing, Funny

About the Show

Roundabout Theatre Company presents the Broadway premiere of Scott McPherson’s award-winning play about the laughter that can shine through life’s darkest moments. Starring Janeane Garofalo and Lili Taylor.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (445)

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55 Reviews | 20 Followers
85
Absorbing, Great acting, Quirky, Resonant, Profound

See it if You appreciate well-acted family dramas with terrific and keen acting.

Don't see it if You are adverse to discussion of death and/or dying. Read more

98 Reviews | 18 Followers
85
Entertaining, Great acting, Great staging

See it if If you like plays. It's a funny but sad at times. For 13 and up. Scenery is really interesting! I feel people can relate to this show

Don't see it if If you don't like plays. Not a family show. Talks about cancer and death a little.

209 Reviews | 77 Followers
85
Slow, Thought-provoking, Sad but pointless, Great acting, Great staging

See it if You like family dramas that never really get resolved and your focus is on the characters themselves.

Don't see it if You don't like to be kept hanging as to resolution. You want some real action. Read more

56 Reviews | 32 Followers
85
Intelligent, Great staging, Moving

See it if you haven't seen the play before and can ignore the advice that it "can't be separated from its time."

Don't see it if believe its historical context is relevant to appreciating the current production (as NYT's Jesse Green insisted you must). Read more

88 Reviews | 37 Followers
85
Absorbing, Resonant, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Intelligent

See it if you are interested in the transformational effects of selfless love and caregiving on familial dysfunction.

Don't see it if you would not enjoy a play that revolves around serious illness and issues of death and family drama. Read more

254 Reviews | 86 Followers
85
More gloom than zoom

See it if Must see for fans of lead sisters Taylor and Garofalo. They seem well cast as siblings. Great Act Two bit with electronics.

Don't see it if Heavy death theme is quite grim, especially with the comedy less than sharply directed. Read more

548 Reviews | 1899 Followers
85
Absorbing, Relevant, Well-acted

See it if Quality production of a resonant work about illnes and aging. Funny moments and solid acting especially from Lili Taylor.

Don't see it if A story about illness and aging doesn't appeal to you. Or if you don't like Janeane Garofalo or Lili Taylor.

192 Reviews | 24 Followers
85
Funny, Entertaining, Touching, Well acted

See it if you want to laugh and see a play about a dysfunctional family.

Don't see it if you don't want to see a comedy that deals with serious illness.

Critic Reviews (49)

Broadway Blog
July 10th, 2017

"The plot's principal drivers are…first, will the emotionally armored Hank agree to be a donor and, second, even if he does, will any of the candidates prove suitable? Two hours-plus, however, are simply too long to wait while these questions are answered. Under Kauffman's well-calibrated direction, the ensemble tempers its histrionics in favor of a natural matter-of-factness…As the play proceeds…the narrative and emotional energy lag…chiefly because of Jellinek's spare, monotonous set."
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Times Square Chronicles
July 17th, 2017

"The play itself seems outdated and tame...The acting is uniformly good, but if you have seen the film version...it is hard to not compare. This is not the tearjerker the film was. As a matter of fact, the show barely manages to elicit much emotion at all. Anne Kauffman has under-directed this piece. Though there are honest and real performances, this production is just dull."
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Village Voice
July 20th, 2017

"A gently wrenching, heart-wise story about dignity in the face of death and the ability of wounded families to heal. The 1990 comedy-drama blossoms and glows under the steady, surgical hand of Anne Kauffman in a long-overdue Broadway debut for both play and director...Staged too broad or too earnestly, McPherson’s delicate tone would wobble in the direction of either quirk-for-quirk’s-sake or weepie manipulation. But Kauffman keeps the needle flickering in the ambiguous middle."
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The Huffington Post
June 29th, 2017

"In the hands of director Anne Kauffman and a sterling cast, this Broadway premiere of McPherson’s sensitively raucous black comedy about death is most welcome...'Marvin’s Room' is as emotional as it is funny...Kauffman has a firm understanding of the play’s comic/dramatic pulse, and brings out superb performances all around...'Marvin’s Room' is certainly a room to visit. A rewarding and funny one at that."
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Gotham Playgoer
August 6th, 2017

"I was very curious to see how well it would stand up unsupported by the context of the early 90s. The answer, for me at least, is pretty well. Roundabout has assembled a strong cast...I wish they had chosen to mount it in one of their smaller venues. It’s an intimate story that seems a bit lost in the vastness of the American Airlines Theatre...Kauffman’s direction captures both the play's absurdity and its compassion."
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T
July 21st, 2017

"Kauffman has sacrificed some of the laugh lines for a more naturalistic tone. At first, this seemed to be an error...Gradually, the small scale of the performances draw us in, causing us to listen carefully and become more involved with the people onstage. Those characters are heartbreakingly sad and hilariously eccentric...The casting is another factor in the show’s success...All the choices in this tender revival reveal an involving and human story, unmarred by overdrawn theatrics."
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Wolf Entertainment Guide
July 8th, 2017

"Anne Kauffman has directed this production with sensitivity to what must be illuminated in the characterizations and in the balance between the writer’s sense of humor and seriousness...The writing and acting call for intimacy, which often gets lost against the gigantic background of the set...Even within the framework of this staging, the performances combine to bring the play to life and keep us focused, sometimes even amusingly, on their situations."
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W
July 10th, 2017

"Pacing slogs and humor, though recognized, rarely elicits laughter. Respectable acting, especially that of Celia Weston and the brooding Jack DiFalco, can’t rescue a play where characters with a tendency to cliché indulge the aspect; where energy is so low, approach so monotone, you may fall asleep several times. Director Anne Kauffman leaves her cast to recite words. She attributes none of them with individuality past the page."
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