The Ferryman (NYC)
Closed 3h 15m
The Ferryman (NYC)
88

The Ferryman (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%
(1080 Ratings)
Positive
95%
Mixed
4%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Great writing, Intense, Masterful

About the Show

After a critically acclaimed run in London, Jez Butterworth’s ("Jerusalem") new Northern Irish drama comes to Broadway. Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Play.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (1,080)

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94 Reviews | 28 Followers
100
Absorbing, Exquisite, Great writing, Masterful, Must see

See it if you want to see the best play of the new century. The play is epic. It should not be missed. This play will be remembered for a lifetime.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy longer works like O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh.

154 Reviews | 31 Followers
100
Absorbing, Great acting, Masterful, Must see

See it if you want to see one of the best new plays ever! so engaging and well written and acted. THE BEST!

Don't see it if no reason Read more

131 Reviews | 12 Followers
100
Absorbing, Masterful, Intense

See it if You are interested in "The Troubles," dark humour, irish history, great storytelling.

Don't see it if You don't like violence, or long nights at the theatre.

781 Reviews | 249 Followers
100
Intense, Masterful, Epic, Thought-provoking, Stunning

See it if Passions of love, war and revenge simmer in an Irish pressure cooker. Deep characters, outwardly virtuous, inwardly tainted. Chilling.

Don't see it if You are not interested in a long 3 act play with a large cast and lots of character development. You are not up for a dark journey.

428 Reviews | 53 Followers
100
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Masterful, Riveting

See it if Brilliant storytelling....crafted like the finest films. See it.

Don't see it if Irish accents takes time to tune in ...so what! It's beautiful.

66 Reviews | 6 Followers
100
Exquisite, Great acting, Epic, Masterful, Profound

See it if you want to see the best Broadway has to offer right now, transplanted beautifully from Britain. The story is profound & educational.

Don't see it if you only want fluffy entertaining theatre. This can be agonizing but very wonderful and you will learn a great deal.

70 Reviews | 38 Followers
100
Epic, Masterful, Must see, Riveting

See it if You possibly can. It’s a sweeping, riveting play, telling a gripping story, told by a huge cast, all brilliant.

Don't see it if You have a weak bladder. It’s over 3 hours. But it’s so good, it’s worth wearing Depends for! Read more

168 Reviews | 64 Followers
100
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Masterful, Must see

See it if you want to see an amazing performance, that will leave you feeling you've witnessed something special in the theater. A masterpiece!

Don't see it if There is no reason not to. Its one of the best plays to hit broadway in years.

Critic Reviews (78)

Theatre is Easy
October 21st, 2018

“A shattering masterwork...An astonishing work about storytelling...Seeing ‘The Ferryman’ a second time reveals its monumentality in a new light. Not only does the play shimmer with repeated viewing, but many of the performances have grown even more persuasive...The inevitability of the play’s harrowing final moments newly illuminate Butterworth’s meticulous but unstrained construction of each brick in this formidable fortress of a play.”
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Theater Pizzazz
October 22nd, 2018

"While the drama surrounding Seamus that’s at the heart of 'The Ferryman' is compelling on its own, the play’s real strength is its portrayal of the Carney family: their interactions, their humor and their unyielding familial bond through thick and thin. And with it come terrific performances from the staggeringly large cast...Boosted by Mr. Butterworth’s terrific dialog, nearly all the play’s children are whip-smart, precocious, and hilarious...It is a joy to witness."
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Front Row Center
October 26th, 2018

"This brilliant production...This is not so much a play as it is a communal aria. The writing is choral. The characters move in and out like wild folk dancers slipping in and out of the light. Each of the performances is crafted to perfection, and Sam Mendes direction insures that everyone has their spotlight and their glowing place by the hearth in rotation...Butterworth knits characters into characters, then into stories...then into worlds that are larger than the stage that holds them."
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Front Mezz Junkies
October 23rd, 2018

“This is storytelling at its most intricate and expansive. There isn’t a moment that should be sliced away, nor a visual you’d want to miss. It’s a delicate creation...’The Ferryman’ has so many levels...each enhancing the other like flavors in a Jameson Irish whiskey, blending aromatically for all to savor...As powerful as anything you have seen in years...All of the cast and design crew is perfection, literally filling the stage with authenticity and dimension that can’t be ignored.”
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Exeunt Magazine
October 23rd, 2018

“Like one of those Celtic knots...‘The Ferryman’ wills and weaves itself into focus right in front of you. But the thing about a knot is that you’ve got to be careful not to leave loose ends to tug at, lest the whole thing unravel...Pull too hard, and you’ll find yourself left with two or three really strong dramatic sequences to hang your hat on, but not much else of substance. Which is also to say, a play shouldn’t unravel so easily.”
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Theatre Reviews Limited
December 14th, 2018

“Riveting, filled with monologues that coax laughter...tease tears...and reveal secrets that bring the plot closer to the explosive climax. The cast...is impeccable...The actor’s movements are choreographed in perfect harmony capturing the bucolic life of a rural Irish family...A monumental piece of theater...A thrilling drama of crime and passion...The humor is dark, the sentiment is light, and the suffering runs deep within the characters souls...One of the must-see productions of season.”
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New York Theater
October 27th, 2018

"A breathtaking mix of revenge action thriller, romance, melodrama, family saga, and a feast of storytelling...Butterworth’s play about farmer Quinn Carney and his sprawling, colorful family is rich, sweeping entertainment — epic, tragic….and cinematic...Some theatergoers might wonder at how plausible the ending is. But they’re likely to reflect on this only after they’ve had a chance to catch their breath back home...The most thrilling play of the Broadway season."
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Broadway Blog
October 27th, 2018

“'The Ferryman,' directed by Sam Mendes, is essential theatre-going…Butterworth makes the play's three hours and 15 minutes fly as black comedy mixes with darker tragedy, familial bonds clash with unrequited desires, and music, dance, confessional sanctity, and brutality intrude into a mashup of politics, poetry, profanity, and prophecy…There are, of course, contrived and overdone elements…Regardless, even people with colds hold back their coughs…’The Ferryman’ is theater at its best.”
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