Bruce 6

See it if Pinter is lapidarian in constructing dialog; precisely constructed world that is incestuous & filled w secrets & 2x dealing; expertly acted

Don't see it if good but not Pinter's best; not dramatic, essentially displays class of arts-related people bored w their lives

Also Acting Pinter requires mastery of dialogue, posture and most of all the silences between words. This cast like no one I’ve seen displays those silences brilliantly so as echo the emptiness in the lives of its characters. Innovative structure: the play by starting after an affair is over and then progressively going back in time to the 1st flirtation allows Pinter to put the affair under the microscope.... Read more Read less

See it if creatively moves across centuries 2 show Catholic hospital as sanctuary 4 healing; shows key clash religion/science; spurs audience particip

Don't see it if jumps around, no sustained, deep exploration of themes; use of humanitarians Mother Seton/Pierre Toussaint as major characters is contrived

Also Spoiler alert: Experience takes place in 3 parts, in 3 different places: initially in a courtyard on a site near where St Vincent's used to treat AIDS patients where music & dance are performed to evoke the gay lifestyle in the Village; then on to Rattlestick theater where the formal play is put on; finally in a procession of cast & audience members to an AIDS memorial in the shadow of one of the St Vincent's buildings converted to a co-op/condo. Some may find this approach to be illuminating; others like me may find this to be a little too hippy dippy.... Read more Read less

See it if Jonathan Cake riveting Coriolanus, fearsome in war/awful as performative politician; K Burton fine "Lady MacBeth" figure; evocative set

Don't see it if 2nd act where C is in exile is letdown; opaque C less interesting than Shake's great ruminating characters/Hamlet, Macbeth, etc.

Also Coriolanus is not viewed as top-flight Shakespeare, missing the profusion of soaring language and insightful self-reflection of some of Shake's other plays. Nonetheless, director Daniel Sullivan's production makes a strong argument that it should be performed more frequently showing the vagaries of politics particularly the fickleness of the populace who embrace C as conquering hero then banish him because he does NOT "perform" like a politician/make gestures to the public (contrast today's reality TV-star President). Also tho C may not be Hamlet or Macbeth, he is shown to be a fascinating albeit perplexing figure, a combo of fearsome warrior, mama's boy & tone deaf politician.... Read more Read less

See it if language sometimes poetic; lead has nice voice singing songs using HS’s poetry as lyrics

Don't see it if story is simple hagiography w/o nuance; HS played in only 1 note from child 2 young woman; reminds me of overwrought college production

Also HS has become a Jewish icon of the WW II era based on her biography: her decision to relocate to Israel as a Zionist as a teen, then to volunteer for a virtual suicide mission to parachute behind enemy lines to work w partisans to save Jews. Add to this, HS wrote poetry, some of which was set to memorable music that has become part of the Jewish religious service. Her story as a poet-heroine, who [SPOILER ALERT] died too young after failing to break under torture by her Nazi captors, has resonated with the public like Anne Frank's. A more interesting play would have tried to probe more deeply to figure out the story behind the icon.... Read more Read less

See it if imaginative & hilarious absurdist send up of racial images/tropes defined by whites; unforgettable revelatory ending

Don't see it if you don't like absurdist plays; message at times is heavy-handed

Also This Pulitzer-Prize-winning play keeps u off balance about race. Initially it takes the form of a broad satire of an upscale black family. SPOILER ALERT: Then playwright pulls the rug out from under us: suggests that initial action isn't real but a sitcom, recapping initial action in pantomime (w white voice-overs on race) as if to suggest these are just images brought to us by white creators; thereafter play riotously upends convention by substituting 4 characters you expect to be black hilarious white Eminem-like rapper, not 1 but 2 battling white grandmothers and a cross-dressing white male playing a glitter-queen pixie. They all end up trashing the initially pristine home. What's going on here? Playwright seems to be saying most of what we think about race is a product of media images/tropes; & in this realm whites tropes dominate black. Final scene where audience (mostly white) is invited to trade places w black family, ending up on stage, is moving & unforgettable.... Read more Read less

See it if Will’s brilliant play fits together like a Swiss watch; speaks 2 today’s MeToo, hypocrisy of those in power

Don't see it if acting by certain recent acting school graduates is awkward and unsubtle; truncated version loses grandeur of full play

See it if the safe anodyne Oklahoma is replaced by a dangerous version that challenges our romanticized history of the growth of America

Don't see it if humor at times is cartoonishly broad; still, a revival not to be missed

Also Production from smaller venue (St. Ann's Warehouse) was moved to larger Broadway one (Circle in the Square). Most of the production including the set was left intact. Things that are better: (1) Laurie's Dream dance sequence improved; (2) performance of Ado Annie (Tony Award winner Ali Stoker) even sharper and funnier; (3) tighter interplay between actors & the band; and (4) more inventive use of the sound system. Things that are worse: Some of the actors are swallowed by the larger setting. Others compensate by playing roles so broadly that they border on caricature. Nonetheless, in all, this continues to be an extraordinary new take on this classic, going back to its country and western roots and moving past the way it has been played w a romanticized, triumphalist view of America's past, to bring out the class-based and violent roots of our history. As Frank Rich has noted, MAGA is an empty slogan since the past captured by Oklahoma was never OK.... Read more Read less

See it if converts Chek's "Three Sisters" into absurdist world where characters are hilariously frank & vicious

Don't see it if turns characters into cartoons; sheds no new light on play's central concern: dreams of escape from life's existential hell are empty

Also This play is going to divide audiences. Some may view it as a comic tour de force, turning what is subconscious into something overt, subversively taking Chekhov's relatively staid characters and turning them into those without a filter who do and say whatever is on their mind, taking the angst roiling beneath the surface in "Three Sisters" & replacing it w a twitchy, assaulting hell on earth. Others, like me, who prefer subtlety and wit in their humor, will find this to be too broad & over-the-top. Even if that's your perspective, you have to admire the audacity of the creators.... Read more Read less

See it if hilariously meta; satire of E Morris documentaries about "truth" turns Morris into character in play that itself examines what truth is

Don't see it if like NY Times, u find this to be thin & cartoonish & lacking drama; look deeper, it's much more clever & ambitious

Also Satire. Errol Morris (M) is famous for such documentaries as The Thin Blue Line & The Unknown Known that focus on a search for the truth & the uncertainties about what truth is. The play satirizes M's super-serious approach, even using the portentous Philip Glass music he uses, by turning its focus on something as trivial as making a commercial, played as farce. Drama: But the stakes are not trivial. Spoiler Alert: The show raises the stakes by showing how the ethics of the crew shooting the commercial are tested by the director's cruel demand to pelt an actor's head w hard gum balls. In the process, it shows how evasive truth can be, displaying several versions of the shoot, leaving the audience guessing as to what really happened. Revenge on Errol: Using M's MO to make the famous squirm, it also deliciously makes the M character squirm w accusations that he himself elides the truth when doing commercial work for corporations (this is, in fact, true). Wow!... Read more Read less

See it if 1 of Will's great comedies; high-energy, laugh-out-loud production; beautiful singing & kinetic dance

Don't see it if best when Beatrice & Benedick jousting w each other are equals, here Bea dominates Ben; broad in your face production lacks wit

Also The core of this comedy deals w how dangerous and corrosive artifice ("fake news") can be. And how easily people are taken in by fakery. The central event: the faked seduction of "Hero" leads to her denunciation by her future husband, even her father. Even the hilarious bringing together of Beatrice and Benedick through trickery shows how people can be easily manipulated. But since this is a comedy, everything works out well in the end. The director has said he intends to use the production to show how joy and optimism can prevail over today's cynicism and gloom. In that he succeeds. But in updating the play, he also could have used its core message to underscore how dangerous our times have become, where the population is routinely manipulated w lies or even worse has stopped caring about the difference between truth and lies.... Read more Read less

See it if very clever script; turns Chek's characters into passionate fully-drawn characters; hilariously breaks 4th wall

Don't see it if cleverness of play hard 2 appreciate unless u know Chek's play well; loses fervor when becomes gen'l consideration how 2 lead a happy life

See it if hilarious, scabrous, heartbreaking; clever lyrics; convincing lead, ensemble used inventively 2 embody artist's inner obsessions

Don't see it if involves a lot of navel gazing; cliche-ish portrayal of intolerant parents; explicit gay sex not 4 everyone

Also Congrats to Michael Jackson, who is the creative force behind this work which bravely lays bare the life & thoughts of the leading man. The best thing about the production is Jackson's unique critical, funny and neurotic voice (e.g, he is inspired by white chick singer-song-writers who don't give a sh** and thinks Tyler Perry, wildly popular w black audiences, is a hack who exploits black stereotypes). Some however may find the obsessive focus on self, as does the NY Times critic, a little too solipsistic.... Read more Read less

See it if fascinating intersection of stories white girl & Asian boy dumped in US, struggling 2 assert indep., build a home; strong cinematic scenes

Don't see it if play overwritten: tries 2 hard 2 neatly resolve girl/boy's problems; last 1/4 misfires w contrived scenes

See it if satirizes vanity of "Hollywood" actors, moviemaking; clearly shows how much movies get wrong about global warming/yes we're doomed

Don't see it if meh storytelling; does not weave serious science organically into the play; has feel of play cobbled together

Also Multiple uses of "continuity" in play: stands for (i) the film-making term continuity that refers to consistency in the backdrop of a scene to make it look seamless; (ii) the continuity between land masses when earth is viewed from space that reminds us that they we are all subject to the same climatological systems even tho we artificially divide ourselves into countries; and (iii) most portentously the likely extinction of the human race, that is the break in continuity of our existence, that will occur as a result of global warning.... Read more Read less

See it if gorgeous tone poem/opera-like production shows how extreme optimism/pessimism can reconcile; memorable music; towering Audra/ Shannon leads

Don't see it if repetitious; after volcanic 1st act, we know this couple's MO; starting midway thru 2nd act play drifts until reaching uneasy rapprochement

Also Opera: One can see this play as a type of opera where 2 different life forces (controlling optimism & reserved pessimism) run head-long into each other. Playing Frankie and Johnny: Here Shannon's Johnny is an overwhelming force of nature, while Audra's Frankie is primly resistant, a firm believer in reality. Result of their confrontation is often painfully hilarious. Meaning of Clair de Lune (moonlight) in title of play: name of Debussy's haunting bitter/sweet musical piece that becomes the anthem for the play & is revealed to be part of Frankie's formative childhood memories. In artistic terms, moonlight is symbolic of the strange, almost supernatural, atmosphere that draws this unlikely couple together. On second viewing, Audra's Frankie has become more confident in her own skin, providing for more balance w Shannon's force of nature.... Read more Read less

See it if devastating effect sexual assault by son on his parents; mediates mom's guilt thru relationship w young gay man; heartbreaking K Erbe/mother

Don't see it if cliche-ish; unsurprising exploration of guilt by parents, fraying of their relationship, mother "cleaning" up garbage metaphor obvious

See it if primal & explosive; searing portrait of dysfunctional family in the west ground down by rapacious capitalism/exploitation; hilarious at time

Don't see it if loud, unsubtle production; meanders at times; doesn't always achieve balance btwn realism/surrealism that characterizes Shepard at his best

Also (1) Starving: The sense of "starving" is employed in many ways in this play including the presence of an empty refrigerator that has almost totemic significance for the family and the family members' yearning to escape from their cycles of poverty and destructive behavior. (2) The Lamb: For those who are fans of symbolism, the maggot-filled lamb on stage appears to be more than an agricultural prop. In traditional literary terms, it is a stand in for Christ and as such its slaughter both indicts the characters in the play and serves as the basis for their salvation. Viewed in the context of the play, the lamb in captivity represents the plight of the rural family. (3) Trump (again): In talk-back it was confirmed that this late 1970s play was remounted, in part, because it speaks to our times where Trumpian forces, under the guise of helping the rural underclass, are manipulating and exploiting them.... Read more Read less

See it if High-spirited, joyous production filled w music and dancing

Don't see it if stripped down production misses full array of the Tempest's magic; hard to hear dialog over music/sound effects

See it if very well made play; outstanding Letts, Benning/O’Brien’s direction show how evil can co-exist w the commonplace

Don't see it if dated script w obvious anti-war & capitalist messages; ending should be devastating, isn't

Also (a) Parallels between Germany & America: It seems less than coincidental that this play written after WWII - when Naziism was under the microscope - captures from an American perspective the "banality of evil" that took place during the war in the heartland of the USA. (b) Greek tragedy brought alive: In this Greek-style tragedy, the play insightfully shows how people build elaborate fictions to mask their pain and guilt. (c) Well-made play: I first read this play in HS and have seen several productions since. One of the things that impresses me every time is how well-constructed the play is: it shows how one event - the craven & deadly choice of the Letts character during the war (a failure to act) - casts a shadow over all the other characters & serves as the center of gravity for the play pulling everyone and everything into it.... Read more Read less

See it if brings new depth 2 Brutus as combo idealist/warrior; graphically shows how political violence he unleashes can’t be put back in bottle

Don't see it if several misses: symbolic fighting 2nd Act unconvincing; Caesar not enuf of foil 2 Brutus/see below

Also In my view, this version of Julius Caesar (JC) - which humanizes Brutus (B) and presents him as the vital force in this tragedy - is much more successful than the recent stylized, more overtly political, one directed by Oskar Eustis. However, the Eustis version works better in one important way: The play needs to provide a rationale for B to assassinate JC. In the Eustis version that is provided by the grandiose, yes Trumpian, self-regard of JC. Here as sturdily played by Rocco Sisto as a man-in-charge, JC is not dangerous enuf to explain B's certitude that he needs to stop JC for the good of Rome.... Read more Read less

See it if powerfully dramatizes story of S vs Athens establishment & politics behind his death sentence; passionate performance of M Stuhlbarg as S

Don't see it if 2 many speeches; not delve deeply into what made S’s moral philosophy revolutionary; death scene so long, u think:drink the hemlock already!

Also Principle: S falls short of A Man for All Seasons/Sir Thomas More in dramatizing how principle can overcome fear of death. Democracy: In play there are not so subtle lessons S has in era of Trump. S, man who lived/died for truth, stands in contrast to a man who cares nothing about truth (audience murmurs in assent). Trump 2 - also underlines vulnerability of democracy 2 manipulation by demagogues like Trump. Structure: Frame tale - Plato has taken on a new student to whom he is explaining the life & times of S - is clunky premise that does little to deepen the drama. The other structural problem: there is no worthy intellectual foil for S. The play might have been much more interesting had the playwright structured it as a debate between the two giants of philosophy, Plato and S.... Read more Read less

See it if 2 see super-slick, high energy choreography mated to the Temp's iconic hits; appreciate how racial environment affected group

Don't see it if biopicish: conventional story of group's rise/fall; tho performers are strong singers, there's no way you'll confuse them w the originals

Also This show, more or less, faithfully tells the triumphant but ultimately sad story of the Temptations in a routinized way, primarily thru narration by the founder of the group. Not surprisingly, each member comes to a bitter end. But you need more than this for compelling theater. First, since you only get to know the founder's story in any depth, there is little drama/pathos attached to the downfall of other members. Also, certain questions beg to be addressed but aren't such as: Is it impossible to keep a group together whose success is fueled by the egos of its members? Overall assessment: tho songs & performances are rousing, due to an uninspired book that presents the story of the Temp's as a series of discrete events, without perspective or insight, the show doesn't soar.... Read more Read less

See it if 1st act starts off w bang w A Brightman as BJuice amusingly breaking the 4th wall; SA Caruso/Lydia has some pipes; clever lyrics, lighting

Don't see it if other than Belafonte's Banana Boat Song, music's meh; starting w 2nd act, goes downhill as BJuice's audacity becomes mere shtick

Also In the 1988 movie, Michael Keeton's BJuice was unforgettable: mean, unpredictable and genuinely scary. In this musical, he's no more than a crazy uncle without a filter who has a bag of tricks. SPOILER ALERT: So in movie when Lydia bests BJuice it's genuinely cathartic/feeling as if Faust had bested the devil; here it's a shoulder shrug.... Read more Read less

See it if delightful; great tunes/clever lyrics; Kelli in fine form as combative leading lady/hell-cat Kate; superb dancing by supporting cast

Don't see it if conventional; pure vaudeville w broad, obvious humor, slapstick battle btwn Kelli and ex-husband 3 stooge-ish; cut below top musicals

Also STATING THE OBVIOUS: Tho "Kate" is ostensibly about a battle between an ex-husband & wife theater team reflected in & played out thru the play w/i the the play, a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew" that goes awry, what it really is about is the romance of putting on a show. As such the show begins backstage before rehearsals have begun w the cast and crew, lit by a ghost light, filtering in singing "Another Opening, Another Show" and ends in the same place after the curtain of "Taming" has been rung down. This is beautifully portrayed in this production. A MINOR SPOILER ALERT: It follows that the reconciliation of ex-husband & wife at the end is really about the magnetic qualities of theater that inexorably draw the couple as devotees of theater back together. Since the show must go on, so must their relationship ...... Read more Read less

See it if endearing/laugh out loud story of character unlucky in love/life; talented cast dashes around stage 2 act/sing/play instruments, wow!

Don't see it if not heavy; music is forgettable; structured as an unpolished college show; but, heh, that’s part of its immense charm

See it if hilarious slave master role playing; delicious satire of overwrought group therapy; shows how farcical perspectives on race have become

Don't see it if slapdash & illogical; group therapy satire goes on far too long; conclusion unsatisfactory

See it if clever script which fluidly moves back/forth in time; see major talent in Kane in NY debut

Don't see it if tale of racial oppression/violence does not pack wallop of novel; does not sharply explore moral ambiguity of Bigger/victim & victimizer

See it if raises interesting questions about how children model dysfunctional parents; & effect of a traumatic childhood on adulthood; NYT loves it

Don't see it if listless; does not satisfactorily answer the Qs or resolve the plot points it raises; U r unconvinced by NYT review

See it if Sond's lyrics brilliantly capture the time/characters' complexities; fine performances B Uranowitz, Jin Ha & R Esparza

Don't see it if plot repetitious, no arc to story; hard 2 figure out larger pt of musical: Am dream is a big con? melodies unremarkable

See it if 1st 15 mins promising Saturday Night Live-like satire of oily Televangelist (TE)

Don't see it if after 15 mins play goes flat; weak plot; God who shows up is dull, spouts cliches re cruelties of organized religion

Also Take downs of phony preachers are old hat dating back to Elmer Gantry and even before (The Scarlet Letter). For a play like this to succeed dramatically, the TE [spoiler alert], who is revealed to be Satan, needs to be clever and put up a fair fight vs. God. Otherwise, as in this play, he's just a theatrical punching bag.... Read more Read less

See it if shows extreme danger in Uganda 2 be openly gay; how religious homophobia can poison a family; strong acting

Don't see it if sheds no new light on roots of homophobia; dialog writerly & artificial; why write this play rather than an essay?

Also This play deals with rank intolerance vs. homosexuality, a well-trod area. The best way for a play like this to succeed is to have qualities that give it universal appeal or relevance like "The Crucible." Plays like "The Crucible" are sociological studies that ferret out the sources of suspicion and intolerance and show the real human toll these take. "The Rolling Stone" does not achieve this universality.... Read more Read less

See it if ethereal evocation of utopian cult of black women beekeepers; hypnotic music performed by troupe of super-talented singers

Don't see it if meh fairy tale: "magic negroes" come 2 aid of white girl fleeing abusive father; civil rts incidents add little; songs need more variety

See it if insightful at times moving lyrics; strong performances particularly by Chris Jackson; shows how work links the generations

Don't see it if song showcase, rather than a musical w a plot; few show-stoppers; dated view of work not addressing MeToo/ inequality/the undocumented

Also Musical attempts to draw together the songs by focusing the show on the working lives of long-time workers at City Center (ticket takers, ushers, etc.). The point is that it's the people who work in a building who make it what it is. Nice sentiment. But it still does not turn this into a compelling musical.... Read more Read less

See it if experimental feminist musical; inventive set; beautiful singing/harmonizing by 3 actors playing 3 versions of H at same time

Don't see it if audience falls asleep @ repetitive & obscure vehicle; music boring; does not explain well medieval backgrd or what made H so noteworthy

See it if captures rhythms of baseball team thru offbeat kinetic choreography; poetic tribute 2 playing baseball; A Matthis' fine perf humanizes Toni

Don't see it if by 2nd Act show starts 2 run out of steam; sexist confrontations w teammates predictable; upbeat ending contrived

See it if audacious & hilarious, changing focus on a dime; fine perfs by duo; jarring/makes u think anew about slavery

Don't see it if broad & in your face; purposely shocking, sadomasochistic shtick gets your attention but may be off-putting to some

Also Ta-Nehisi Coates has been writing memorably about the visceral aspects of slavery: Slavery allowed white slave owners to own the bodies of their slaves, to view/treat them like animals. SPOILER ALERT: "Railroad" dramatizes this insight theatrically, but w a twist, reversing "slave/master" roles by turning white teacher into a "sexual slave" of his black teaching colleague in front of the audience/stand-in for the students. The play is audacious, satirizing and subverting politically correct school house lessons about slavery and traditional concepts of romantic love.... Read more Read less

See it if rich set, solid performances, interesting perspective on how fate's tied to genetics but individual decisions can override

Don't see it if largely predictable family melodrama, betrayals have no sting, not particularly insightful, in all meh

See it if shows high testosterone atmosphere of newsroom in 1969/70 thru fabulous mise-en-scene (set, lighting, etc.) & amusing stylized acting/mvmnt

Don't see it if largely spectacle; not probe deeply into Murdoch's motivations; 2 much acting is animated shouting, words hard to understand

See it if far ranging/imaginative exploration of our addiction 2 technology "monster", how tech defines us; striking music/lyrics; amazing a/c singing

Don't see it if u don't like modern a cappella or complex, poetic lyrics w obscure techno-speak; little plot development/character interaction

See it if shows how mother's obsession w acting coincides w self-absorption, misanthropy, losing touch w reality, fine comedic M Ireland as caregiver

Don't see it if watered-down "Sunset Boulevard"/broad flabby comedy w/o much bite until unexpected ending; S Sarandon brings little depth 2 lead

See it if shows how death of husband/brother in Iraq haunts those left behind; how brutalities in personal lives linked to war/Abu Ghraib

Don't see it if dated; don't care about characters; static/dull performance by ME Winstead as decedent's wife; how was this finalist 4 Pulitzer?

See it if shows arbitrariness/dehumanization of prison; remarkable performances by Keith Smith as prisoner & Zenzi Williams as volunteer joined at hip

Don't see it if stereotypical "Lifetime channel" melodrama/prisoner & volunteer find humanity in each other; but fine performances bring this alive

See it if this is one of Will's must see plays

Don't see it if steps on all of Will's great lines

Also I have seen some extraordinary Tempests including a recent production in Stratford, Canada with Martha Henry as Prospero and Patrick Stewart in that role in a 1995 production by The Public in Central Park that each displayed the magic of the play. These productions brought out the major themes of the play including the transformative effect of the theater, and how reconciliation and paying forward to the next generation can be responses to the impulse towards revenge and the act of aging. No such luck w this production.... Read more Read less

See it if passionate advocacy 4 union movement vs co-opting capitalism; Tony Yazbeck's intense acting/dancing as union organizer is high point

Don't see it if boring & preachy; capitalists painted in 1-dimension as corrupters of society, literarily throw around $s; strident music; thin piano backup

See it if edgy; starts w surreal date btwn seductive male sociopath/bravura H Linklater & masochistic woman

Don't see it if bizarre & confusing; discomfort ratchets up as relationship becomes physically toxic, ends w strange "sisterhood of the abused" (see below)

Also My guess is that playwright Halley Feiffer is presenting her vision of the plight of women in a Trumpian world. SPOILER ALERT: The woman in the play becomes disabled w lyme disease in the course of her dysfunctional relationship with the sociopathic man who named "Guy" becomes a stand-in for abusing men. The illness appears to be a metaphor for the infantilizing, life-sucking nature of these type of relationships/Guy is physically connected w disease as he, insect-like, compulsively bites the woman. Then the woman finds out the wife of Guy has been supporting her while she was having her affair. The toll on the wife: she has been suicidal. Perhaps what Feiffer is saying here is that the only solace for women who have been abused in this Trumpian patriarchy is to join forces and support each other in a type of "sisterhood of the abused." Strangely comforting but also very dark.... Read more Read less

See it if hilarious satire of focus group from hell; fine ensemble passionately explores different views on values/character 2 instill in children

Don't see it if focus group format limiting, becomes redundant after 90 minutes; ending letdown; still by end feel as if tapped into psyche of community

Also Set in the 1970s, it's refreshing to see a time when people could talk, really talk to each other frankly, before political, racial, gender-based tribalism made that close to impossible. Also refreshing that characters are individualized w their own stories and complex biases that inform their views. Finally, tho focus group format has its limitations, it does allow for an interesting portrayal of group dynamics in the form of shifting coalitions of agreement/disagreement among participants and accommodates exchanges and asides that are laugh-out-loud funny and revealing.... Read more Read less

See it if great combo serious (focus on gender identity) & silly (satire Bdway, laugh out loud book); S Fontana (F) as T w quirky cast are marvelous

Don't see it if few memorable tunes; many groan-worthy jokes; preserves cliches from movie about consequences of F cross-dressing (see below)

Also Tho the musical skillfully updates the movie by laying bare the gender fault lines that inform the MeToo movement & thru its secondary characters deals more frankly w sex, it is still somewhat old fashioned. The movie trope (old as Shakespeare) that an attractive cross-dressing man attracts both men & women is continued, as is the cliche that a man can be a better person when acting as a woman. The musical also does not delve deeply into contemporary LGBTQ issues. But hey that may be asking too much of this show, which should be appreciated for what it is: a very entertaining & superbly-performed musical that makes some serious (though not novel) points about gender.... Read more Read less

See it if scabrous satire; series of surrealistic sketches performed by bravura actors deal w full range of black responses 2 post-Obama America

Don't see it if not an integrated play; you need a taste for the bizarre 2 appreciate this

Also Thru hilarious satire gives arresting view of how the black population looks at post-Obama/Trump's America. After initially magically thinking that Obama would change the course of racial politics forever, they have come to believe that white America now intends to seek revenge on African-Americans (AAs). Plot vehicle: the law has been changed 2 require ALL AAs to leave America for Africa or they will lose their identities. One sketch shows high-achieving blacks, living the "American dream," who despise "lower-class" blacks, as disbelieving they are covered by the new law until cruel reality sets in: no one is exempt. Doesn't sound too funny but in one scene after another picture of disorientation, fear & hopelessness among black population is hilariously tattooed on your brain.... Read more Read less

See it if Chavkin turns stage into funky wonder; clever songs/fine band; emotional-singing E Noblezada/Eurydice & thundering bass P Page/Hades

Don't see it if at times has feel of dramatized concert; don't feel deep emotion in Orph/Euryd relationship/ending should be devastating but is not

Also Political Commentary: Tho show predates Trump, it prophetically shows hell w workers frenetically laboring to build a WALL to preserve their freedom from outsiders. It even hints of global warming. Boldly Expressionistic: One critic has noted that this production reminds him of the expressionistic "The Hairy Ape" by O'Neill. That is an astute observation as Chavkin's presentation is uber-dramatic, boldly portraying w striking lighting and muscular choreography the action on a set that evokes the capacious Preservation Hall, celebrated jazz venue in New Orleans.... Read more Read less

See it if dancing by a talented troupe particularly prima ballerina Sara Mearns is heavenly; solid cast

Don't see it if pre-feminist plot assumes women need to deceive 2 succeed; particularly silly plot; few memorable tunes & Hart is no Hammerstein