The Rose Tattoo

See it if you want to see a different side of Tennessee Williams and a tour de force performance by Marisa Tomei

Don't see it if you are looking for classic Williams and aren't patient enough to wait for the action to get started.

Also This is not your usual southern bell's story you might expect from Williams. The heavy Italian accent and actual Italian dialogue take a while to get use to and the first half seems very slow. The Greek, albeit Italian, Chorus is an interesting touch, but the racing children don't seem to add much other than distracting noise. The field of pink flamingos and breaking waves didn't seem to relate to the story or add anything except a bit of colour, behind the flickering candles.
The second half was much stronger with some actual action. The contrast of the young lovers exploring passion for the first time and the mature couple trying to over come their past to give love a second chance sets up a counter point, with mother struggling to practice what she preaches.
Ms Tomei takes up the challenge of holding everything together, being on stage virtually the entire time, in a very demanding role that takes her on a roller coaster ride of emotion. The second act is worth the wait.... Read more Read less

See it if You like Tennessee Williams and Marisa Tomei. She does a great job.

Don't see it if If you don't like these 2 or want a play that's cutting edge and up to date.

See it if you want to experience a non-traditional staging of a T. Williams play with a great performance by Marisa T.

Don't see it if if you are not a fan of T.Williams' plays and find overuse of Italian accents making the dialog difficult to understand.

Also I have always enjoyed this particular play. The staging of this play did not enhance the story line, blurring the outdoor and indoor scenes, with the exception of the beautiful lighting projections in the background. Marisa T. gave a believable performance as Serafina, but much of the remaining cast were stereotypes of Italians . The Italian accents went from very understandable to totally difficult to decipher. Her gentleman caller appeared to me as a spoof of an Italian boyfriend, although some of his comedic antics did add several humourous touches in Act 2, that was far better than the slow moving Act 1. If, like me, you enjoy the work of T. Williams, I would definitely see this production even though it was flawed in many areas. Revivals of works of great American playwrites are always worth experiencing.... Read more Read less

See it if Hmmm, I guess if you can understand loud, thick Italian speaking & gestures & enjoy fluff, go see it

Don't see it if You want to see a play that you can understand their talking, don’t enjoy a drawn out story

See it if you want to see Marisa Tomei perform her magic on stage and like romantic plays with some twists and turns.

Don't see it if you are not interested in romantic comedy.

See it if you are a fan of Marisa Tomei. (she is fantastic) or want to see a play by Tennessee Williams.

Don't see it if you expect to see a play like A Streetcar Named Desire or The Glass Menagerie. This isn't.

Also I know that there has been a lot written about this play being a comedy. And it is funny. However, I think that the play is about sexual longing and frustration and that gets lost because the play is on the light side. Both Marisa Tomei and Emun Elliott are outstanding.... Read more Read less

See it if you must see Marisa Tomei in person.

Don't see it if you’re a Williams fan and feel like you have to see anything he wrote. This is a horrible interpretation.

See it if You like classic theater, enjoy great acting an all around great theater experience

Don't see it if You think Marisa Tomei is going to act the same as My Cousin Vinny

See it if You enjoy plays, interested in a good story line that's funny

Don't see it if You don't like plays

See it if you enjoy classic plays, solidly delivered. You're ok with a mixed bag production that ultimately founders but has moments of real quality.

Don't see it if you're looking for something new. This is an essentially traditional production albeit one that plays pretty broadly with the humor.

Also I really wanted to like this. The set is initially eye catching and the first half rollicks along effectively. The second though basically collapses under a romance that just plain lacks spark.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Marisa Tomei as she commanded the stage. Great production. Entertaining second act (If you can survive the first act)

Don't see it if you are impatient. If you are expecting something great from this celebrated author. This is his weakest play. Uninteresting characters.

Also I have to really commend the strong acting and the staging of this play (although I still couldn’t understand why the hell they have a hundred flamingos in the background). Marisa Tomei gave a tour-de-force performance as well as all the actors but unfortunately the play and the characters weren’t interesting at all.. I wish I could blame the director but I do see his vision and creativity in bringing such an excruciatingly written first act. But I was glad I still stayed because the second act was amusing and quite entertaining but still wasn’t enough to elevate the whole piece.... Read more Read less

See it if you like overacting, screaming, and badly mispronounced words in Italian uttered with the most stereotypical fake "dago" accent.

Don't see it if you respect Tennessee Williams and do not think that this play should be a clownish farce, but rather a raw, sensual display of emotions

See it if you enjoy high emotion pieces

Don't see it if you do not enjoy plays

See it if You are a Tennessee Williams enthusiast. See it if you are looking for something to bring your own interpretation to ....

Don't see it if You get annoyed when you are not easily able to follow the English and Italian dialogue done with a southern accent - like I was ...

See it if you are a tennessee williams completist and if you are a big fan of marisa tomei and if you enjoy slapstick & farce.

Don't see it if you dislike slapstick, forced humor, and overacting.

Also the slapstick courtship between serafina & alvaro plays like an episode from the imbecilic TV sitcom "three's company." at one point in this misguided fiasco, marisa tomei actually fans her vagina in an effort to abate her sexual arousal ... just one of myriad bits of low humor director trip cullman has stooped to for cheap laughs. his farcical approach is even more disastrous when forced onto the tender romantic yearnings of 15-year-old rosa & her sweet sailor boy. from start to finish, tomei's version of passionate sicilian behavior involves exaggerated yelling & gesticulating. emun elliott effectively channels bobby cannavale, but for all their efforts there is little heat between the two lovers. it's all shtick. ultimately, everything that is wrong with this revival -- from the loud & insistent pre-show music to the incomprehensible set to the relentless over-acting -- must be laid at the feet of director cullman. please god he never gets his hands on "a streetcar named desire."... Read more Read less

See it if you like Marisa Tomei (you should, she's always excellent); you want a light, breezy evening of comedy

Don't see it if you're expecting a deep or profound play or something more akin to Williams' more dramatic works; you can't take the datedness of the plot

See it if you enjoy T. Williams plays, Marissa Tomei, or slow burn dramas

Don't see it if you want something new or relevant, don't like Williams style, or aren't able to put your mindset in a different time

Also I enjoyed this show and the staging was impressive. It's the lighter of all the Williams play, but of course, filled with all that southern drama. Conflicted on the Italian accents, but easily overlooked.... Read more Read less

See it if You are a fan of Marissa Tomei or Tennessee Williams

Don't see it if You are looking for something exciting or fast-paced

See it if you are a Marisa Tomei fan

Don't see it if you hate shows with excruciating first acts; if you want to understand what the actors are saying

See it if William's foray into comedy with development of classic woman lead role, in deep South, but infused with catholoc Sicilean heritage.

Don't see it if Critics complained that it is a failed comedy, and if you want levity, the laughs are few and far apart. Hindsight, read about play before.

Also Marissa Tomei is fantastic; Tony Award performance, of woman emotionally destroyed by husband's death, challenged by raising daughter on immigrating to Louisiana with deep routed Catholic principles, who pulls herself out of depression at end with brilliant message of hope from despair.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Marisa Tomei or Tennessee Williams

Don't see it if you don't like dreary plays

See it if You’re a fan of a well-done Tennessee Williams show

Don't see it if You don’t like conceptual sets and whimsical choices as part of a classic American drama

See it if you like Marissa Tomei. She was great in this role.

Don't see it if you are looking for a substantive story.

See it if You love Marisa Tomei. You like Tennesse Williams writing. You just want to be entertained. You like Italian accents and traditions.

Don't see it if You are expecting a classic. Its different. You mind heavy accents - some are difficult to understand. You expect passion - its fluffy.

Also Marisa Tomei was fabulous as was the rest of the cast. The hype on the show had my expectations built up too high. I was fully expecting smoldering passion, and what we saw was like teenage lust. It wa more funny than passionate. I really enjoyed the show, but had expected something more intense and meaningful. Also we had nice seats, but parts were hard to hear - like they were not loud enough combined with the very very thick italian accents. HOWEVER Marisa does a WONDERFUL job of portraying a hormonal crazy old world italian woman living in modern america. Most entertaining! I wanted to be able to rate this show a 90, but its just an 80 for me! Worthwhile but others are better.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy Tennesee Williams, Marisa Tomei, happy endings.

Don't see it if you don't like Tennessee Williams, stories about widows.