Trouble in Mind (Broadway)
Closed 2h 10m
Trouble in Mind (Broadway)
81

Trouble in Mind (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

81%
(297 Ratings)
Positive
88%
Mixed
11%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great acting, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Great writing

LaChanze stars in the Broadway premiere of Alice Childress's 1955 play.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (297)

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113 Reviews | 18 Followers
100
Profound, Great writing, Intelligent, Great acting, Exquisite

See it if You respect theater as a medium for smartly exploring social issues by holding a mirror up to your own history and present-day.

Don't see it if You turn your brain off when you enter a theater - this is prescient writing, intelligently performed.

141 Reviews | 29 Followers
96
Resonant, Intelligent, Great writing, Great acting, Exquisite

See it if you appreciate an incredibly beautiful story that finally gets its moment on Broadway. This play is intensely emotional and unforgettable.

Don't see it if you don't like to be confronted with uncomfortable societal issues.

90 Reviews | 22 Followers
96
Refreshing, Intelligent, Great singing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if For being a 60+ year old play, this feels fresh and new. LaChanze is stellar.

Don't see it if This is a play about racial conflict on many levels. It lives in the 50’s, but is not about placing blame.

87 Reviews | 5 Followers
95
Must see, Masterful, Great writing, Great acting, Epic

See it if you want to honor a show in its original form, you are interested in race relations in entertainment, or you care about original content.

Don't see it if you dislike plays, want something frilly, dont want to be challenged. Read more

90 Reviews | 14 Followers
95
Relevant, Must see, Masterful, Great acting, Clever

See it if you want an old play that feels relevant to the time we live in now, a play that actually has to say something about the industry and race

Don't see it if if plays that realistically look at race issues make you uncomfortable

75 Reviews | 7 Followers
95
Relevant, Masterful, Great writing, Great acting, Funny

See it if You want to see how profoundly contemporary a play from 60+ years ago still is.

Don't see it if A play about making and working in professional theater spaces seems too inside baseball for you.

193 Reviews | 29 Followers
95
Masterful, Great writing, Great singing, Great acting

See it if You love tight ensemble pieces. These pros all work so well together. There are two so-so performances but overall great show

Don't see it if It deals with Jim Crow era which many people still agree with. Don't see this show of the Black American's struggle is not your cuppa

88 Reviews | 26 Followers
95
Relevant, Must see, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if You want to see LaChanze kill it! Damn she's amazing in this. Have always been a fan, but now I'm a superfan. Plus, the play rocks.

Don't see it if 1. You don't like plays about plays. 2. You're a racist. 3. You can't wear your mask above your nose. Read more

Critic Reviews (12)

The New York Times
November 18th, 2021

"Critic's Pick! What begins as a backstage satire of white cluelessness and Black ingratiation gradually broadens and darkens into something far more mysterious: a peculiarly American tale of lost opportunity."
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Time Out New York
November 18th, 2021

"“I hate the kind of play that bangs you over the head with the message,” says Wiletta’s blustery white costar Bill (Don Stephenson). What keeps Trouble in Mind from being such a play is the texture that Childress provides: astute points about financial realities, funny observations about backstage power dynamics."
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New York Theatre Guide
November 22nd, 2021

"Trouble in Mind may have come to Broadway 66 years too late, but in a time when the American public is currently leaning towards comfort and wanting to hide America’s racist past from the classroom, the play is holding up a mirror to society, especially the sector that considers itself progressive. Sixty-six years ago, society chose to look away. Perhaps the play’s premiere on Broadway is a sign we are finally ready to truly look at ourselves."
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The Wall Street Journal
November 18th, 2021

"As for LaChanze, she is extraordinarily fine, and while it is easy to see why Wiletta is tired of working in musicals, her singing in “Trouble in Mind” is as thrilling as her acting. Mr. Zegen, lately of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” is unafraid to be totally unsympathetic, and the six supporting cast members are all very good. Charles Randolph-Wright, the director, has worked mainly in musicals until now, and he weaves speaking and singing together with sure-footed skill."
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Deadline
November 18th, 2021

"Sixty-four years late and right on time, Alice Childress’ wise and stirring backstage comedy-drama Trouble in Mind is making its long-in-coming Broadway debut tonight, and to describe the play as prescient would be an understatement. Uncanny rings truer. With a star turn by LaChanze that takes a strong place in a theatrical season already formidable in its roster of performances, Trouble in Mind takes a behind-the-curtain look at the racism, coded prejudice, self-flattery, sexism and built-in bigotry that Broadway has always professed to eschew."
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Variety
November 18th, 2021

"It seems unbelievable this play from the 1950s fits so neatly into the 2021 Broadway puzzle...What helps smooth this show’s slow race to the crux is the stellar acting from a cast led by Tony winner LaChanze, under the marvelous direction of Charles Randolph-Wright."
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The Washington Post
November 18th, 2021

"Alice Childress’ searing play “Trouble in Mind” has finally made it to Broadway and the only frustrating thing about the show is that it has taken this long. The two-act play takes place — appropriately enough — on a Broadway stage and is an uncomfortable exploration of the racial divide in the 1950s. So it works perfectly in the 2020s."
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New York Stage Review
November 18th, 2021

"Director Charles Randolph-Wright doesn’t successfully balance the play’s comic and dramatic elements, with the result that the evening sometimes feels like a backstage comedy and other times like a polemic on race relations. The performances, too, vary in effectiveness, with the most memorable work coming from the luminous LaChanze, the veteran Cooper, and Dukes, who makes the most of the sardonic Millie. From a historical perspective, Trouble in Mind is an important, groundbreaking work. It’s just a shame that it feels so dated now upon its long belated Broadway premiere."
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