The Parisian Woman NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Contrived claptrap...Willimon’s uneven script has the creaky feel of a century-old potboiler...Popular progressive sentiment fails to save this 'Woman' from soapy suds and unconvincing characterization both in the writing and acting...MacKinnon fails to make these cardboard figures believable even though her staging is smooth and sleek...Thurman and Lucas are both beautiful to look at, but cannot overcome the impossible switcheroo demands Willimon has placed on them."
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“The setup is simple, the stakes feel low, and for the first half of these 90 minutes, it’s not very clear what we’re doing here...MacKinnon’s characteristically serviceable direction does little to generate heat. Willimon, a keen observer and wordsmith, turns out some memorable truisms...Thurman, whose poise and assurance is impressive, if not equal to the total self-possession and command of the stage her character would seem to require”
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"Uma Thurman plays this coldly calculating, incredibly glamorous figure, conveying the character’s allure with a film star’s confidence. Her interactions as an arch manipulator, however, are too brazen to be really believable. As much as the play pulses with intrigue and unease, it also feels wildly improbable – even by the standards of the new ‘normal’ of the Trump era. That’s as much a fault of the too-pat writing as it is the rather actorly performances."
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“Slight though enjoyable, but it seldom achieves the intimacy it strives for...MacKinnon directs with a sure hand...but the play suffers from Willimon’s repeated references to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Kelly, making it feel more like liberal propaganda at times...Not without its merits, but it ends up being akin to a good episode of ‘House of Cards’, which will not be enough for more discerning theatergoers.”
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"Willimon’s play feels market-fresh, stuffed as it is with references to Donald Trump...Thurman’s performance is truly intriguing: Physically and verbally, you are never quite sure which direction she will go in. Under Pam MacKinnon’s tight direction, Thurman slinks, stomps, charms, cajoles, threatens, and sometimes, fleetingly, she is upset. It’s a performance that feels a little unpredictable and roughened."
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"Thurman delivers a commanding performance...While Willimon’s dialogue can sound too polished, 'The Parisian Woman' remains both plausible and entertaining under Pam MacKinnon’s brisk direction...The townhouse setting, measured conversations and tightly woven plot end up seeming rather genteel and thus fail to capture the delirious condition of US political life. Only a more eclectic, fragmented style of theatre could convey that sense of chaos."
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“A drawing-room comedy of the old school, where emotion and plot are intriguing if not quite real...Willimon lards his romantic twists and turns with a lot of political savvy giving the script a contemporary edge...Under MacKinnon’s rather middling direction, the acting isn’t quite as assured...She may not elevate Willimon’s writing, but she rarely denigrates it...In short, a lot of ‘The Parisian Woman’ may be old hat, but like an old chapeau it still has its chic.”
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“McKinnon has staged the play with fluidity, and Thurman in particular moves about the beautiful space with command and great grace. She belongs in this elegant environment...Willimon has turned to his earlier version of the play and moved it up to Trump time by inserting a quote from our president’s tweets. They get the laughs, but they seem out of place...The lighthearted banter that serves the first half of this play is darkened somewhat as the gears of the plot kick in.”
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