The Humans NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,424)
See it if you want a thought-provoking show with some powerful and evocative scenes.
Don't see it if you want a more mindless form of entertainment.
See it if you are a new yorker
Don't see it if you are looking for something light
See it if Best new original show in town! 90 minutes of full entertainment.
Don't see it if if you're not into "small", one set plays. There's no reasons why not to like it.
See it if You want a quality, family story; but beware, this is not "watching a story," this is like looking into a mirror. My favorite all time play!
Don't see it if You like to follow a plot or a story line, or don't enjoy realistic dialogue as a theatre. Every actor gives a stunning performance.
See it if you can look beyond the dysfunctional family trope to find the deeper meaning and sentiment playwright Stephen Karam is trying to evoke.
Don't see it if you are under the age of 23. You may not be able to relate to the characters at all.
See it if want to see the best straight play of the last season, many will identify with the worst thanksgiving dinner ever
Don't see it if don't want to see a well written play about a family with many issues to deal with.
See it if You are interested in keeping the Fun in dysFUNctional . Irish drama. Family dynamics
Don't see it if You don't like screwed up family dynamics. Cheating husbands or dementia laughs
See it if you value great drama with fine, fine actors skillfully and artfully directed .
Don't see it if you are fearful of seeing today's world displayed well without a wince of "Let's overlook this bit of reality."
Critic Reviews (75)
"The story has all the elements of a crisis-by-the-numbers, formulaic drama, but what sets it apart from others is the crisp, often hilarious dialogue and the onstage chemistry of the cast...What’s most remarkable here is the great ensemble acting, expertly directed by Joe Mantello...Credit must also be given to the technical wizards of the show because 'The Humans' relies heavily on the set, sounds and lighting to evoke the mood and take the audience on an emotional ride."
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"This is a major play, no doubt about it...'The Humans' is a deeply humane and compassionate play, and, in spite of tackling difficult subjects, a sparklingly funny one...The cast is uniformly extraordinary, with my personal favorite being the always sparkling Houdyshell. Director Joe Mantello delineates ever turn of this intricate play, never missing a detail or a nuance. Highly recommended."
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"'The Humans' is a play that, on the surface, seems simple. The family drama isn’t life or death, and most of the play is playful banter at the Thanksgiving table. Yet, powerful performances and a remarkable set design combine to create a true recreation of everyday life on the stage."
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“The play takes a familiar template but gives it a ghostly twist. Joe Mantello’s tight direction and the sterling, deeply-felt performances from a magnificent ensemble cast of six is intact from the Laura Pels engagement. David Zinn’s two-tiered set might have some sightline problems but that is the only quibble for this stunningly accurate snapshot of how we live now.”
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"Mr. Karam’s comedy-drama depicts the way we live now with a precision and compassion unmatched by any play I’ve seen in recent years...All the actors in 'The Humans' are at their best…Mr. Mantello orchestrates the complicated action and shifting emotional currents with admirable dexterity; this may be his finest work in an already distinguished career...Mr. Karam’s haunting, beautifully realized play is quite possibly the finest we will see all season."
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"A nuanced group portrait of life in the shadow of disaster, 'The Humans' unfurls in a single 95-minute scene, but it never feels static. As incarnated by a seamless ensemble cast that includes some of New York’s finest stage actors, expertly conducted for the Roundabout by director Joe Mantello, the Blakes are constantly moving around and adjusting their defenses."
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"Karam’s thrilling mastery of polyphonic dialogue would be enough to sustain the play as a superb slice-of-life story. The halting, eddying, and often-diverted flow of conversation makes for an uncanny naturalism…That this is all completely legible onstage is the result of one of those miracles of producing that has brought the perfect cast (and designers) together under faultlessly confident direction."
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"As the evening moves like nature from light into darkness, Karam and his incomparable director Joe Mantello take this first class ensemble and us interlopers along a journey that’s part family drama and thriller...None in the cast could be bettered...'The Humans' is tremendously exciting theater...You won’t see a better play this year."
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