Network (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (622)
See it if you want to see a BRILLIANT, DON'T MISS performance by Bryan Cranston. if you want to see a 40 year-old plot that's amazingly relevant now
Don't see it if you want a light plot that doesn't make you think
See it if you want to see a legend simply OWN the stage and transform himself into a character thoroughly and completely.
Don't see it if a lot of noise, lights and action are too much for you or if you are looking for a happy ending.
See it if You enjoy great writing, acting and production. I can honestly say it is one of the best productions I have seen in a long time. Perfect!
Don't see it if You want light hearted entertainment. This play is going to make you rethink certain choices you make during your day-to-day life.
See it if You are a fan of Bryan Cranston. He is definitely Tony worthy. As absorbing as the film. Still relevant subject matter. So much for FOX news
Don't see it if You don’t like serious in your face dramas with lots of profanity.
See it if you love great theatre.
Don't see it if you can't deal with not having your prejudices reinforced Read more
See it if you want a piercing satire. Even though it's written during a different time, the humor and insanity feel as relevant as ever.
Don't see it if Want something lighter or less acidic. This is a dark dark work Read more
See it if you want to see one of the greatest current actors do what he does best. You're not tired of the news yet- and want to see a refreshing take
Don't see it if I don't know! You're tired about stories of the media, you don't want to be looking all over the stage at screens
See it if You like intense, high-action relevant drama with yet another incredible and riveting performance by Bryan Cranston. What can’t this guy do?
Don't see it if You prefer lighter fare.
Critic Reviews (55)
"The cast is downright sensational!...Other than a script that might need some trimming to eliminate repetition on a theme, 'Network' will hold you in a vise of straight forward and blunt veracity, and a feeling of powerlessness...It’s always an enlightening time when something we’ve seen so many years ago on the big screen punches you square in the stomach as current, truthful and frightening."
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"Cranston’s Howard Beale is such a sustained wonder of a performance that he crowds out the rest of the cast. Director Ivo van Hove is fearless, rattling our cages with visual noise and a breakneck pace. Get a ticket...Still, no matter how intense the effects are — and in this production they are a startling commingling of then and now — it still comes down to the performance. Cranston remakes Beale from the inside out."
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"It’s devilishly brilliant in construct and design, formulating the studio wind up energy with a blood pumping authenticity...The play falters a bit midway through, loosing some of its time clock countdown adrenaline...The out front dramatics beamed in from outside slice us a bit too far from the emotional core, distracting us from the true cause, but as a piece of modern theater, Ivo Van Hove, and the brilliant craftsmanship of video designer Tal Yarden rises magnificently center stage."
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“Cranston is mesmerizing...The ubiquity of the videos can at times feel like sensory overload. There were moments when it would have been fun to be given a breather...Goldwyn and Maslany are standouts. But their roles are far less compelling than Beale’s...The influence of television is the central theme but a montage of recent presidents not so subtly suggests – we are responsible for asking if what we see on screens can be believed.”
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“The satire in Chayefsky’s iconic film transfers well to Hall’s adaptation...’Network’ addresses important themes and raises equally significant enduring questions...Van Hove’s innovative direction successfully places the outstanding cast as well as the audience in the ‘live set’ of a typical news broadcast. The ability to see Howard at the news desk as well as on screen and be able to hear all conversations is a magnificent feat.”
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"Although set in the period of Chayefsky's original, it doesn't take much effort to view its themes as exponentially more pertinent now because of the Internet,…or to recognize its relation to the frustrations instigated by our media-obsessed president…Crowded with ideas (including a final diatribe about 'the destructive powers of absolute belief'), emotions, humor, and gimmickry…And, while Bryan Cranston's Beale may not blow his brains out, he's sure to blow your mind."
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"His big breakdown scene is a master class of acting, saying more with facial expression than words, and his transformation into an overconfident eminence is equally remarkable. Standing center stage (as he often does), delivering one meaty monologue after another, Cranston is consistently mesmerizing."
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"A largely humorless, tech-heavy adaptation...Cranston is the reason to see 'Network'...There aren’t that many other reasons...Broadway’s 'Network' is no longer satire. That is in large measure because Chayefksy...turned out to be prophetic...Video-intense production...Whatever point is being made about the loss of humanity is accompanied by an apparent loss of interest in the humans...only Cranston is allowed a three-dimensional performance."
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