The Great Society NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (284)
See it if You’re interested in learning more about LBJ & that time in politics. Interesting set. I ended up liking it more that I anticipated
Don't see it if You prefer a high energy story or have no interest in the storyline
See it if You’re ready for a very big play featuring LBJ’s ambition for a Great Society & thwarted by the tragedy of the Vietnam Wat
Don't see it if Lots of characters, plots & sub plots exhaust you. Lots of loud voices
See it if You like historical plays and are interested in the LBJ era. Very well acted and cleverly staged. Fast paced but too long.
Don't see it if You don’t like long plays with large casts and historical subject matter and many plot lines.
See it if U wish to fathom deeper the legacy & problems some towering political figures of the 60s had to face. Great acting,writing and direction.*
Don't see it if Expect more abt LBJ's personality rather than facts. Brian Cox is brilliant but would be even more convincing with a pronounced TEXAN drawl Read more
See it if You are interested in LBJ, the events during the Vietnam War, and the beginning of the Civil Rights Era. As a Baby Boomer I enjoyed it.
Don't see it if You dislike political plays, and have no interest to learn about the U. S. struggles in the 1960’s to set the world straight. Read more
See it if you want to watch a solid cast, led by Brian Cox. Or if you enjoyed "All the Way." Impactful storytelling, with some very powerful moments.
Don't see it if you're looking for a broader context for the storytelling. It's very much through the LBJ lens and MLK Jr's death is almost an afterthought.
See it if If you enjoy history from the 60s. Good acting,well staged. It’s a bit confusing but if you pay attention you will get it
Don't see it if It’s to long and sometimes confused you have to be in the mood for this play
See it if you like American history, want to know more about LBJ or follow up "All the Way," fan of Brian Cox, recall that period or lived through it
Don't see it if you don't like hectic history, characters not given chance to develop, too many events off stage, don't care about that time period
Critic Reviews (25)
3/5 Stars "'A Leader in Shades of Gray, in Another Troubled Time': Brian Cox plays LBJ in Robert Schenkkan's sequel to 'All The Way'"
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3/5 Stars "'A Not So Great Play About LBJ': Troubled 1960s events overwhelm a President and dishearten a drama"
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"Brian Cox takes on the role of LBJ in Robert Schenkkan’s follow-up to All The Way."
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" LBJ receives a lengthy reprise in ‘The Great Society’"
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"If you invest the time and money to watch Cox's LBJ get all these bills that made America greater than ever passed, I suspect you'll exit the theater fervently hoping that Robert Shenkkan -- or some playwright -- will soon have the facts to write a play to fit the title 'The Rise and Fall of Donald J. Trump.'"
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"Less a drama and more a chronological list of the destructive events the plagued his second term in office. Too much information is packed into the nearly three-hour verbal onslaught and none of it is new or delivered in a fresh manner that results in entertainment."
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"A sequel to 'All The Way' that offers some of the same pleasures. It too employs a big cast - 19 actors portraying some 50 characters - for a sweeping lesson in history and politics. It is smoothly directed, competently acted, and often fascinating, But it is ultimately less satisfying."
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"Examining practically the entire presidency of LBJ in less than three hours, Schenkkan has crafted a somewhat compelling -- if overstuffed -- play that too often regurgitates well-known history at the expense of a deeper character study of the man in the Oval Office."
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