Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

"Director Sullivan has done brilliant work with this revival. His casting is flawless, his team of designers couldn’t be better chosen, and the technical detail that has gone into the production is amazing. But he took a chance in letting two A-list stage actors alternate in the roles of Regina and Birdie—and the coup pays off because it encourages us to look deeper into both characters." Full Review

"Exquisitely rendered in every detail in this gorgeous production...It never feels old-fashioned or dated; instead it highlights the play’s freshness and relevance to today’s world...The cast for the 2017 revival is simply brilliant...Sullivan directs with impeccable attention to detail; nary the smallest matter is overlooked, and the pacing is wonderful, with two well-timed intermissions over two and a half hours...Don’t miss it." Full Review

"A classic Broadway drama and an American theatre warhorse. Manhattan Theatre Club's bracing new production is fresh and invigorating. It’s so good you may want to see it twice...Daniel Sullivan's finely calibrated production isn't just a vehicle for these two fine performances, it’s also a glorious ensemble production that crackles with tension and there are terrific contributions from Richard Thomas as Regina's husband and Michael McKean and Darren Goldstein as her two brothers." Full Review

"Lillian Hellman’s 'The Little Foxes,' superbly staged in revival at Manhattan Theatre Club, is as satisfying as theatre gets...Hellman’s drama is a model of structure...The direction by Daniel Sullivan is as direct and straightforward as the playwriting itself...The cast is superb...Linney’s performance as Regina, played with grand, stylized cunning and cruelty is so terrifying, it’s breathtaking...Hellman’s themes are timeless." Full Review

"The doubly brilliant and most becoming talents of Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon are trading off the challenges of breathing new life into the characters…The sense of dedicated ensemble performances from this director and cast of expert character actors, as well as the two afore lauded ladies, is altogether inspiring in their collective service to Hellman’s classic tragic tale, which could not be more relevant to our day’s country and beleaguered culture." Full Review

“'The Little Foxes' is an example of old-fashioned but still magnetic playwriting: a tightly constructed play with crystal-clear exposition, sharply defined characters, a theatrically colorful time and place, and a powerful, anticapitalistic theme, as resonant today as during the Depression. Linney's Regina, as good as it gets, captures all this vixen's charm, craftiness, daring, viciousness, unscrupulousness, and ambition. Nixon makes Birdie a completely convincing counterpoint character.” Full Review

“An engrossing revival with a superb cast…Finely directed by Daniel Sullivan…Linney and Nixon wouldn’t shine so brightly without a supporting cast full of stand-out performances. Richard Thomas is exactly right as the goodly, dying Horace Giddens…The play’s craftsmanship and its intensity have not diminished in this fifth, fierce, Broadway production…And I believe the changing times—and these particular times—have invested ‘The Little Foxes’ with greater significance.” Full Review

“Whichever version of ‘Little Foxes’ you attend, you are in for a memorable time…As Regina, Linney brings the fire and Nixon, the ice…The actresses' interpretations of Birdie are also strikingly different…I don't want to suggest that Linney and Nixon, as good as they are, are the only attractions in this superlative revival. Thomas is a sterling Horace…McKean is a study in suave villainy as Ben…Goldstein simmers effectively as Oscar…Everything else about Sullivan's production is first-class.” Full Review

"A nimble, exhilarating revival...In Regina, Hellman created one of the stage’s great antiheroines and a glide bomb of a role. Now, in Daniel Sullivan’s production, two actresses get to detonate it...You should see it twice. When top-drawer actors bestride the stage in a tremendous role and some truly killer gowns, it’s time to clear the calendar...Mr. Sullivan’s confident production doesn’t deny melodrama, but it prefers psychological and social detail over Southern gothic fripperies." Full Review

"Daniel Sullivan's impeccable production for Manhattan Theatre Club never overstates that modern-day relevance; he simply lets the play's rock-solid construction and lucid themes speak for themselves via a first-rate cast and exemplary design team...This is a superbly cast production with incisive character work from McKean, Goldstein and Benz...This is a production as classy as it is smart, shining a spotlight on a playwright who is too seldom revived on Broadway." Full Review

"Lillian Hellman’s 1939 play 'The Little Foxes' is a considered a classic of 20th-century drama and after seeing Manhattan Theatre Club’s version, I understand why...A master class in acting...Expertly directed by Daniel Sullivan, this production is strong in every aspect. 'The Little Foxes' seems to predict a future that is here...The cast is all at the top of their game and this is a splendid production." Full Review

"The Manhattan Theatre Club production, staged with a rock solid hand by Daniel Sullivan at the Friedman Theatre, is flawless. Which is to say tastefully mean-spirited without any need to overemphasize what is eminently self-evident. Visually, it’s sumptuous...The casting couldn’t be better...The revelation of the production, however, is Thomas...In all, a rich, satisfying deep-dive into miserableness and ill-will. Couldn’t be more fun." Full Review

"Daniel Sullivan's production is thrilling. In a stroke of casting genius, Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon alternate in the Regina and Birdie roles at different performances. You can see both — and you should...What struck me hardest is how rounded these characters are...The best part? Both women characters are too strong to be merely victims. This is a compelling play about power and its abuses...It's also a complex character study. This is one you shouldn't miss." Full Review

“It is so intricately constructed, timeless, and a classic…An outstanding revival…The true beauty of the show is how Ms. Hellman’s story holds up nearly 80 years after it was first mounted…The show is flawlessly directed, designed and acted. Laura Linney as Regina is evil incarnate, and Cynthia as Birdie Huddard, Regina’s sister-in-law, is the charm that was the South…Richard Thomas is simply wonderful…One of the year’s best revivals.” Full Review

"Powerful and chilling...The story is filled with delicious twists and turns up until the end. But the fun in this production is watching these two extraordinary and captivating actresses at play, no matter which role she's tackling. Each at the height of her game, the veteran performers were clearly given latitude to interpret their characters as they will...Both prove to be equally effective in either role — a sign of each actress' talent and the production's overall perfection." Full Review

"A handsomely mounted Manhattan Theatre Club revival...Both actresses are excellent, and excellently distinct...The contrast of Regina and Birdie, and the emerging prominence of Alexandra highlights this as a play at least partly about what power a woman can assert and exercise having grown up and into a patriarchal world...We are never left in any doubt that a triumphant Regina is as damaged as Birdie." Full Review

“With Mr. Sullivan's fine vision, I really felt I was in the South…These two actresses are masters of their craft…And what a tremendous supporting cast these two marvelous actresses get the pleasure of working with. Regina's brothers, Michael McKean and Darren Goldstein are the perfect mix of evil and jocularity. Richard Thomas knows how to inhabit his deceptively revengeful character with aplomb.” Full Review

"It’s an old play. And it could have been written yesterday...Manhattan Theatre Club’s decision to revive the play under the brilliant direction of Daniel Sullivan is in itself commendable. But what’s even better is their gathering of a superb cast and creative team to bring this revival to spectacular life...Linney gives Regina a certain charm that surrounds her stony heart like a silk glove covers sharp claws...Nixon makes Birdie an object of pity but never ridicule." Full Review

“Easily the most entertaining serious play I’ve seen so far this Broadway season…The night I saw it, Linney was a steely marvel as Regina, and Nixon heartbreakingly vulnerable and sincere as Birdie...Sullivan has crafted a production so rock-solid, and intelligently observed in its details, that any skilled actor would feel secure and supported…The supporting cast is every bit as potent as the leads…A ripping yarn and this production gives that full play. Highly recommended.” Full Review

“Despite three acts and two intermissions, ‘The Little Foxes’ manages to be riveting…Linney is masterful and downright scary. In contrast, Nixon as Birdie is tremulous and nervous. Even her voice quivers...Under the capable direction of Daniel Sullivan, 'The Little Foxes' is a play worth seeing with much to discuss, especially about the treatment and attitude toward women. The supporting cast, particularly the family members, is commanding, but the play is really about the two women." Full Review

“An excellent production…If there is a criticism of Linney’s performance, it would be that it is almost too cold; the charm seems so obviously fake…Cynthia Nixon gives us such a multi-layered performance, you can barely keep your eyes off of her…Richard Thomas is outstanding as Regina’s husband, Horace…In fact this entire cast is very good…What is most impressive is the way director Daniel Sullivan has kept the play from becoming an overwrought melodrama.” Full Review

"Daniel Sullivan‘s riveting production shows the full potential of this much-neglected play...'Little Foxes' is a very unconventional play which turns period gender roles delightfully on their heads. It would certainly be worth seeing this production twice to witness both actresses in the leading role. To see two of today’s leading actresses devour the role of a lifetime is a rare opportunity indeed." Full Review

“Sullivan's genius is not to contort the play into a funnel for banal message-making, but to let a team of virtuosic actors loose onstage and let them battle as viciously for our sympathies as they fight one another…Flint-eyed and sharp-hearted, Nixon was at her best as a fierce, clever negotiator...Less convincing are the role's notes of full-Southern, staircase-draping melodrama…It's a fantastic play about flawed human beings.” Full Review

"What fun this play is. The 2 1/2 hours flies by without a thought to the time. Regardless of who is playing the fox, and who is the bird...Linney’s Regina is a formidable force to be reckoned with and, as expertly directed by David Sullivan, Birdie is no match, nor does she even try. Nixon embodies her to perfection...Do yourself a favor, and try both on for size...That black gown seems to fit these two women equally well." Full Review

“As Birdie, Linney makes a showstopper out of her third-act monologue, but Nixon's presence in the role is more tragic, as her character forces smiles and charm while being abused. It's not a competition, of course, and personal taste will come into play as to which combination audience members will prefer. Fortunately, ‘The Little Foxes’ is a fascinating play and Sullivan's superb production is easily worth a second visit.” Full Review