My Name is Lucy Barton

See it if you love solo shows, altho this isn't gr one. Much more fun to see LL in Little Foxes. Not much humor, not much insight. Dull staging.

Don't see it if Story is an uninsightful therapy session. Not worth time/money. LL is excellent actress; she deserves a worthy vehicle! Pretentious drivel.

See it if You want to experience a stunning performance of an extraordinary play. Linney holds your attention for every second. Great lighting.

Don't see it if If you had a particularly painful mother/daughter experience this might be too much-or it might just be cathartic. I would guess the latter.

Also Extraordinary!!!

See it if Recalling vivid details, a woman tries to accept her childhood suffering & difficult mother. She wishes love could bridge the painful gulf.

Don't see it if You are uninterested in a solo deep dive into someone else's upbringing and family relationships. I related to my own struggles & was moved.

Also How important our relationships with our parents are, not just during childhood but throughout life. And how difficult it is when parents cannot connect, cannot love, cannot understand. Lucy Barton says that when her parents passed, a whole structure that confined her came tumbling down. She had not appreciated the threads that entangled all her family members' hearts.... Read more Read less

See it if The sole reason (& an extremely valid one) for seeing this odd-duck of a drama is the incandescent tour-de-force performance of Laura Linney

Don't see it if Munro's clunky adapt (re-conception?) of Strout's novel is neither narration nor drama; often confusing & dull Eyre's direction is listless

See it if fan of Laura Linney or author Strout, enjoy 1-person shows, like mother-daughter stories, personal confessions,

Don't see it if you have mother or guilt issues, don't enjoy static storytelling or tired narrators who don't share all feelings, don't like 1-person shows

See it if to see LLL, at the height of her powers, playing both Lucy w her open-minded artistic imagination & her irascible closed-minded mother

Don't see it if Strout's incantatory, stream of consciousness, novel is not/probably can't be replicated on stage; still LLL is worth the ticket

See it if In hospital, revered American actor brings dual mum/daughter monologues Stateside.Narrator as daughter recalls family members' memory memoir

Don't see it if Some complicated narration handicaps the storytelling and great acting to burden the ill-suited transfer from fictional memoir to the stage.

See it if you’re interested in rock-solid acting or stories from a female POV.

Don't see it if you don’t like solo shows.

See it if Linney is exquisite & brings several characters to life. Though a 1 person play I felt as though her entire family was on stage with her.

Don't see it if not a fan of the writings of Elizabeth Stout; don't like 1 person plays or slice of life stories; can't feel the complexity of this family

See it if Broadway on the Lower East Side. Great experience. Polite audience more so than uptown!!

Don't see it if I cannot think of a reason not to see this classic!

See it if you want to see a gem of an actress at the top of her game.She switches characters with ease,is totally believable.She shines

Don't see it if projections annoy you as much as they do me.This is theatre, not a movie.But put up with that and the cutesy seating.Linney is worth it all.

See it if You enjoy a 90 minute monologue performed by a great actor even one that gets off to a shaky start

Don't see it if A 90 minute monologue that drags from time to time does not appeal to you

See it if a fan of Laura Linney, the book, one-woman shows that focus upon family relationships and origin stories, and/or literary productions.

Don't see it if expecting shocks, fussy set-design, innovation, or something profoundly earth-shattering. This is a slow-build to human rawness and truth.

Also My Name is Lucy Barton suggests that watching one character ruminate about her life following a mysterious illness can catalyze an audience’s own personal reflections and revelations; in this sense, it’s profound. Yet, it sometimes feels rudderless. Though a touching, thoughtful, and thought-provoking show about a woman’s life, from her subjective position, there’s simply too much to absorb. Poverty, abuse, AIDs, marriage, motherhood, authorship, and more are themes. I appreciate unclear moments, nostalgia and pain intermingling. At the heart is Lucy Barton (an absorbing Laura Linney). It is a show about western vs. the eastern America, about shifting perspectives that come with age, about trauma, hope and redemption, and mostly about creativity and storytelling. As a writer, I appreciate that latter point the most, as Lucy is a writer and her memories are an act of metafiction, most likely. This play offers a gentle kind of haunting, one you barely recognize later, when it's over.... Read more Read less

See it if You like Laura Linney. She is terrific.

Don't see it if You don’t like one person shows. Story not very interesting.

See it if If, like many New Yorkers, you left home to find your dreams here and find your family alien as a result, this show will resonate with you.

Don't see it if I feel this has greater appeal to women; if stories about daughters/mothers is not appealing to you, don't go. Direction and acting great.

Also This play leaves you with much to think about and discuss. My companion was a man who had no feeling whatsoever for what was happening on stage. He comes from a fairly happy family background, and hence this subject matter was foreign to him.
Nothing here will hit you between the eyes, but things will sink in slowly and haunt you. One line especially: Loneliness was my first flavor was especially poignant.

It's not a long play, but it feels much longer. There were several times toward the end when I felt it was wrapping up, but it kept unfolding. Be prepared to be enraptured by this piece, which does have a few minor surprises. Linney is totally believable and is masterfully directed by Richard Eyre, who keeps it at a steady pace.

Imagine life as a jigsaw puzzle that you start putting together as you age. Sometimes pieces fit easily and the picture is complete at an early age. Then imagine pieces that don't fit together easily, and seem to belong to another puzzle entirely.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see Laura Linney give a phenomenal performance with some subpar material

Don't see it if you aren't convinced that this novel should be a one-woman show; it felt uncomfortably between an audiobook and a play

See it if want to see Laura Linney's exquisite performance in a play you might not relate to; a play doesn't have to be fun or funny for you to enjoy

Don't see it if you don't like one-actor plays; you like fun shows and/or musicals

See it if Profound journey starting from a single event and flowering open to see a portrait of an individual and her immediate family

Don't see it if Difficult to get a ticket at this point; unclear if a solo monologue in the theatre is everyone's cup of tea

See it if seeing the dazzlingly talented Laura Linney do ANYTHING is enough for you. Repetitive; needs to be edited down; not well-constructed.

Don't see it if you don't like Laura Linney (how is that possible?) or you don't like one person shows.

See it if Laura Linney. A painful recollection of a daughter trying to come to terms with a difficult mother who she loves.

Don't see it if I really think this show would resonate more with women who could identify with Lucy Barton in terms of difficult mothers and childhoods.

Also Surprised I didn't like this one more than I did. I couldn't sense the dramatic arc and as it went on it seemed to be wandering and repeating and I didn't feel it was headed for an ending. It just stopped, had a nice end line"all life amazes me" and went to black.
But Laura Linney is something special, as daughter and as mother.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to watch a complicated story unfold. You appreciate fine and subtle acting to tell the story.

Don't see it if You are looking for a lighthearted romp.

See it if you want to see first-class acting in a one-woman tour de force

Don't see it if 90 minutes of a monologue with no intermission is too much for you to handle or stay awake through (especially if you are seated onstage)

See it if you loved the book. See it for a wonderful performance by Laura Linney.

Don't see it if you thought the book was just ok, or if you are tired of dysfunctional families.

Also Don't side on the stage or on the extreme side, or you will miss Ms. Linney's face much of the time. On the Saturday matinee I went to, Elizabeth Strout, the author of the book, was there for a talk back. She was a delightfully honest author.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Laura Linney and want to see her at her personable best.

Don't see it if you don't like solo shows Or shows with a clear ending; just let if flow if you go.

See it if You want a master class in acting. You're a Linney fan. You like one-woman shows. You like shows featuring mature women.

Don't see it if You want lots of action. This is one woman on one set. She's amazing, but there's not a lot of visual interest.