Sweat NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%
(685 Ratings)
Positive
91%
Mixed
7%
Negative
2%
Members say
Relevant, Great acting, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Intense

About the Show

After a successful run at the Public Theater last fall, Lynn Nottage's drama about the collision of race, class, family, and friendship in Reading, PA transfers to Broadway. 

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Show-Score Member Reviews (685)

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71 Reviews | 12 Followers
95
Absorbing, Edgy, Intelligent

See it if you like timely issues, it was excellent, thought provoking. very timely

Don't see it if you don't like heavy drama and depressing subject matter

66 Reviews | 23 Followers
95
Absorbing, Masterful, Intense, Riveting, Thought-provoking

See it if you want to see an extraordinarily well-written insight into middle America. Sweat is well-acted, directed & staged but the play is the star

Don't see it if You don't like to think.

205 Reviews | 108 Followers
95
Thought-provoking, Relevant, Great acting, Great writing

See it if you want to see this year's Pulitzer Prize-winning play on Broadway. What a funny yet empathetic look at blue-collar workers in today's USA

Don't see it if you aren't interested in one of the best plays on the Broadway stage today that's passionate, ambitious, and so timely. You'll be sorry.

119 Reviews | 33 Followers
95
Great acting, Resonant, Thought-provoking, Intense, Timely

See it if You're a fan of shows about the plight of the working class or like dramas that focus on race relations.

Don't see it if You're looking for a lighter evening that's uplifting. Read more

130 Reviews | 41 Followers
95
Entertaining, Powerful, Dramatic, Thought-provoking, Absorbing

See it if You want to see a new show that will make you audibly react. You are looking to watch a moving production with good writing and acting.

Don't see it if You like to see happy things & don't want to deal with tense or upsetting topics. Not into shows about politics, unions, violence & race.

56 Reviews | 5 Followers
95
Great acting, Clever, Great writing, Intense, Relevant

See it if you care about economic injustice

Don't see it if you don't like drama or politics Read more

311 Reviews | 45 Followers
94
Absorbing, Ambitious, Great writing, Relevant, Thought-provoking

See it if the human condition, especially in times of plant closings & the consequences interest you. Should have won a Tony!

Don't see it if you don't want to see anything that might make you sad.

131 Reviews | 46 Followers
94
Absorbing, Great acting, Relevant, Must see, Masterful

See it if / to see a fearless take on how we got to where we are today politically, with characters you grow to really care about.

Don't see it if you are looking for escapism; are in the mood for a comedy. Read more

Critic Reviews (87)

Front Row Center
April 3rd, 2017

“Few great American plays take place in a bar. Nottage’s heart-wrenching 'Sweat' may well be the best one since O’Neill’s 'The Iceman Cometh'...As tightly operating an ensemble as you are ever likely to see on Broadway…Whoriskey directs with a sure hand, with minor flourishes...and major accomplishments like keeping the pacing of inevitable doom at a compelling slow bleed. This, along with Beatty’s perfectly wrought set featuring functioning beer taps, leave us thirsting for more.”
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Front Mezz Junkies
March 30th, 2017

"It still packs a wallop, this hard-edged play...What the sure-to-be Tony nominated director Kate Whoriskey has done with Nottage’s words is to not shy away from the horribleness that can surface in all of our collective hearts...Even knowing the final outcome of 'Sweat,' the power and the discomfort is still epically visceral and disconcerting...But the very last scene still feels a bit heavy-handed and the one startling component that remains implausible and manipulative."
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Exeunt Magazine
April 4th, 2017

“Worthy of all the considerable hype. Gritty, unapologetic, and never timid, the play examines the troubled lives of its blue-collar characters with stunningly compassionate introspection. Part of the play’s power comes from Nottage diving deep into a familiar and well-worn story line and bringing her masterful eye to it…The cast is universally strong…There is perhaps no better contemporary playwright at combing the rich nexus of history and humanity than Lynn Nottage.”
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Theatre Reviews Limited
March 27th, 2017

"The difficulty with 'Sweat' is that these characters seem to be stock composites of all those the playwright interviewed and they are not all likeable...They are not believable and therefore, their conflicts–as important as those are–seem less than engaging and authentic...Under Kate Whoriskey’s uneven direction, the cast of 'Sweat'–except Mr. Albán and Mr. Colby–deliver flat performances. They are not fully to blame, however: the story line is predictable."
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Broadway Blog
April 1st, 2017

"Nottage paints a complex picture of race, politics and economy in a story that could easily be pulled from today’s headlines. But in order to hit such hot-button topics, the play often feels heavy on exposition with characters talking about a situation instead of living it...Director Whoriskey keeps things moving at a brisk pace...'Sweat,' at times, feels stilted in its narrative, but there’s certainly enough thematic complexity to warrant its transfer from the sold-out run at the Public."
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C
March 29th, 2017

"Meticulously researched and populated with both realistic dialogue and true-to-life characters...A gripping tale of friendships gone wrong and prejudice run amok...Stunningly staged by Whoriskey and enacted by a flawless ensemble...Nottage has a glorious way with language...Her one major dramaturgical flaw here is not just the overwhelming amount of exposition in the play, but how clumsily it sometimes gets handled. But ultimately, Nottage succeeds in her mission."
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C
March 29th, 2017

"The timeliest and most dynamic play to hit Broadway this season...Nottage and Whoriskey, ensure that these flawed characters have depth and integrity...Whoriskey’s production pulses with tension, especially as it reaches its powerful climax. The outstanding cast shift smoothly from frivolity to fury. In the end 'Sweat' emphasizes the importance of looking out for each other when times are hard, and of the harsh consequences when rage gets the better of us."
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Theatre's Leiter Side
March 26th, 2017

“Significant but unavoidably depressing...Sweat' is...naturalistic drama, its dialogue prosaic and profane...It's more the dramatization of a condition than of an action...The play becomes a sequence of disputes forcing us to accept the barroom as...a crucible of overheated temperament...'Sweat' dramatizes a real national tragedy with careful attention to detail but it breaks no new ground, tells us nothing we didn't already know, and suggests no way out.”
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