Torch Song (NYC)
Closed 2h 40m
Torch Song (NYC)
88

Torch Song (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%
(415 Ratings)
Positive
98%
Mixed
2%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great acting, Funny, Absorbing, Entertaining, Great writing

About the Show

After a hit run Off-Broadway, the revival of Harvey Fierstein's Tony-winning comedy heads to Broadway. Starring Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie and Oscar and Tony winner Mercedes Ruehl.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (415)

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112 Reviews | 36 Followers
100
Relevant, Profound, Hilarious, Great writing, Great acting

See it if You’re interested in LGBT history or love michael Urie

Don't see it if you don’t like stories that are funny and also make you cry

460 Reviews | 188 Followers
100
Gorgeous story-telling you won’t soon forget, Intelligent and sharply-funny, Well-acted by the entire cast, The show everyone should see more than once, Meaningful to anyone with a pulse

See it if a profoundly-sensitive, intelligent, humorous, sometimes-bawdy show by Harvey Fierstein, brought to life by a perfect ensemble, excites you.

Don't see it if you dislike stories about homosexuality or that have moments of quite frank talk; need a neat-and-tidy resolution; can’t commit to 3 hours. Read more

55 Reviews | 12 Followers
100
Funny, Great acting, Great writing, Must see, Clever

See it if MIchael Urie's performance is superbly funny and gut wrenchingly moving. A must see before it closes.

Don't see it if You don't like plays about gay men and their relationships.

247 Reviews | 61 Followers
100
Absorbing, Masterful, Relevant, Must see, Amazing acting

See it if you want to see a wonderfully moving play about love and family, and what it means to gain/lose a loved one. All actors are sensational!!

Don't see it if you don't care for LGBTQ or family. You might care after all, though, after somebody brings you to this play and you realize you love it. Read more

50 Reviews | 5 Followers
100
Absorbing, Funny, Great acting, Great writing, Relevant

See it if This is one of the best shows I have seen in a while. Michael Urie and the rest of the cast are amazing. This show is just so so good.

Don't see it if Just see it. With a friend. With your significant other. With your mom. Anyone can relate to this show.

168 Reviews | 24 Followers
100
Delightful, Great acting, Funny, Relevant

See it if you love great theater, great writing and acting.

Don't see it if you don't like gay themes. Read more

88 Reviews | 30 Followers
100
Relevant, Resonant, Hilarious, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you love a great well written truthful play about love, family, loss, loneliness, identity and valuing one’s self.

Don't see it if you do not like very frank and honest portrayals of LGBTQ. your loss though. Read more

92 Reviews | 25 Followers
100
Absorbing, Funny, Great acting

See it if You want to see a play that is going to touch your heart and make you think about your own family relationships

Don't see it if You aren’t a fan of swearing or “long” plays - even though it did not feel long at all.

Critic Reviews (34)

The New York Times
November 1st, 2018

"As embodied by Michael Urie in the happy revival of Harvey Fierstein’s 'Torch Song,' Arnold is just the guy and gal to pull you out of your election-season weariness...Mr. Kaufman’s staging now feels smoother and quicker on its feet. It also feels, well, bigger...That’s Ms. Ruehl’s part, which she walks, not runs, with and nearly steals the show in an expertly coiled performance."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
November 2nd, 2018

“’There’s something mechanical about the production’s particular brand of glossy camp...I kept wanting ‘Torch Song’s’ flow of winks and witticisms to feel a little less automated, a little more undergirded with real stakes, anguish, and risk...Without more ferocity and friction under the facade, the play’s hijinks start to feel less like a statement about how gay men find and protect their power and more like a series of hat tips to an audience who’s come looking for a laugh.”
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The Wall Street Journal
November 1st, 2018

"Mr. Fierstein’s play might not have been quite so radical as it once seemed...‘Torch Song’ is looking more like a commercial comedy about a nice Jewish boy and his impossible mother—and a pretty good one, too...The only thing wrong with Second Stage’s off-Broadway revival of ‘Torch Song,’ which has been very effectively directed by Moisés Kaufman, is Mr. Urie, a fine actor who is miscast as Mr. Fierstein."
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Deadline
November 1st, 2018

"Director Moisés Kaufman and Fierstein have streamlined things, not ideally but smoothly enough. The play’s connective tissue was always more spirit than plot anyway. And even with the cuts, 'Torch Song' seems like the pal you haven’t seen in ages, forgotten charms resurrecting themselves before your eyes...The creeping feeling that 'Torch Song' is more dated than we’d hoped takes hold...As if to confront and wrestle down any datedness head-on, Kaufman and his cast go broad."
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Variety
November 1st, 2018

“An affectionate if ill-considered revival…As imperfectly directed here by Moises Kaufman, Urie has made little attempt to make the role of Arnold his own…The trimmed-down show has kept its basic storyline but lost some of its grace notes…Arnold’s story is as sweet as ever…Does this history piece hold up? Yes, in the sense that the show is kind to its characters and true to its dated sensibilities. No, in the sense that the characters are unbelievably sweet and its sensibilities are dated.”
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The Hollywood Reporter
November 1st, 2018

"Perhaps there's something liberating about being back within these historically significant walls that has coaxed Michael Urie out from behind the author's shadow to seize ownership of the heart-on-his-sleeve protagonist in a virtuoso turn... Not only does he now feel more like a flesh-and-blood person, but the staging has acquired greater fluidity and emotional richness...Kaufman and his cast hit every note of humor and heartache in a durable work."
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Chicago Tribune
November 1st, 2018

"On Broadway, the heart always has sold the most tickets and this show has all the right feels...Under-appreciated for years, Urie is a fantastic physical actor — an atypically precise and detailed master farceur as adept at physical shtick as at making you care about his eminently lovable character...Miscast Jack DiFalco, who does not come off even remotely as a teenager...But even this unfathomably bizarre choice does not change the play’s poignancy."
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Entertainment Weekly
November 1st, 2018

"In the exquisite new Broadway revival, Michael Urie establishes himself as a fearless and compelling leading man — delivering a master-class in physical comedy and dramatic authenticity that, in the play’s most gripping scenes, brings laughter and tears nearly simultaneously...Some of those cuts are missed, though 'Torch Song‘s' flame still burns bright. This fresh production, skillfully directed by Kaufman, shows that Fierstein’s words are as poignant now as they were then."
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