Topdog/Underdog (Broadway)
Closed 2h 10m
Topdog/Underdog (Broadway)
86

Topdog/Underdog (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

86%
(501 Ratings)
Positive
95%
Mixed
4%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Great writing, Intense, Entertaining

About the Show

The 20th Anniversary revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (501)

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52 Reviews | 10 Followers
100
Timely, Thought provoking, Engaging, Powerful, Absorbing

See it if Wow. What a powerful and gripping tale. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. This one makes you think.

Don't see it if If you are looking for something light and comedic, this isn’t for you.

114 Reviews | 26 Followers
100
Intense, Great staging, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you are ready for a mind-boggling experience that leaves you absolutely breathless

Don't see it if you aren’t ready for things to get intense

58 Reviews | 8 Followers
100
Profound, Intelligent, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you want to see a real New York City story and authentic family dynamics portrayed by two absolutely incredible actors.

Don't see it if you like a big cast and lavish set, or you want a bow tied happy ending...

95 Reviews | 11 Followers
100
Great writing, Funny, Great acting, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if You want to be entertained and intrigued

Don't see it if You better go see it

193 Reviews | 29 Followers
100
Must see, Intelligent, Great acting, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if A master class in acting! Two brothers trying so hard to get out of their low situation in life. The script gives such life to these guys

Don't see it if If you need more than two people talking about their struggle in life than this play isn't for you. It's a contemporary Waiting for Godot

570 Reviews | 87 Followers
100
Great writing, Great acting, Funny, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if you like good theatre.This play has a lot to say about racism,family,relationships.The writing is excellent, as is the acting.

Don't see it if all you want is fluff.This show is very, very funny at times, but is is basically a drama.I really think everyone should see it.Excellent.

60 Reviews | 13 Followers
100
Well-acted, Surprising, Intense, Ambitious, Absorbing

See it if I saw this twice, it was that good. Extremely intense with really funny moments mixed it. Tonys for the actors

Don't see it if A woman in the audience was crying hysterically after the show. Can't say why without spoiling it. If you're sensitive, do research before.

51 Reviews | 7 Followers
100
Great writing, Great acting, Masterful, Riveting, Must see

See it if you enjoy powerful theater. The chemistry between the actors is palpable. Parks' writing is excellent.

Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with intense storytelling and language.

Critic Reviews (27)

The New York Times
October 20th, 2022

"This “Topdog/Underdog” is never in danger of being dragged down...The ending loses none of its explosive shock even if we’ve understood from the start that the odds in a hustle are always with the house."
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Time Out New York
November 8th, 2022

"Superlative acting is at the core of the experience...Together, these two performers keep you guessing even as the play moves inexorably toward an outcome that has been in the cards all along."
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New York Theatre Guide
October 21st, 2022

"A massive Old Glory looms large and conveys a weighty sense of history. 'Topdog/Underdog' does that, too, in its own theatrical way. In this starry and stirring revival, the play unfurls in all its glory."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
October 20th, 2022

"Afro-pessimism isn’t a genre in which I’d usually place Parks, let alone Leon. But played without winking in a key of aggrieved, stressed-out toxic masculinity, as it is here, 'Topdog/Underdog' is able to hit that note convincingly."
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The Wall Street Journal
October 20th, 2022

"The characters’ passive complicity in their fates, and the play’s ultimate descent into violence, feels both simplistic and sensationalized. 'Topdog/Underdog' seems sadly retrograde."
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Deadline
October 20th, 2022

"Twenty years after it first arrived to shake up a complacent Broadway and make a Pulitzer Prize winner of its author Suzan-Lori Parks, 'Topdog/Underdog' has lost none of its vitality and power and cunning."
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New York Daily News
October 21st, 2022

"All in all, this is really a show about how much we all need love, and to be loved. By our family, our friends and our country."
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Variety
October 20th, 2022

"The first Broadway revival...crackles like a live wire — an American fable with its finger shoved in a socket. Throw in career-high performances from Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and it is a theatrical event in the most essential sense, in that it demands to be seen here and now."
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