Chemazzo

See it if Unusual combination of music and words, ideas and feelings

Don't see it if you dont like jazz or issue plays

See it if you're young and self-involved

Don't see it if you enjoy reading (and read instead)

See it if you want to be pleasantly surprised by a fast-paced, deceptively simple but ultimately moving, funny love story

Don't see it if you don't like supratitles

See it if you know the play intimately and want to check out a whimsical iteration

Don't see it if you don't; you'll feel abandoned.

See it if you like political figures brought to life on stage. Don't let the one-person show structure discourage you, the staging is excellent.

Don't see it if you don't like speculation about real-life history or one-person shows.

See it if You like political allegories.

Don't see it if bare sets turn you off.

See it if you miss incisive satire and insightful comedy

Don't see it if you think we've learned all our lessons from the seventies

See it if you like the Cohen brothers and Tarantino

Don't see it if you want more than to be entertained or dislike gruesome scenes played for laughs

See it if you like crooners and intimate, believable and complex stories

Don't see it if you are not interested in gay history or issues

See it if you appreciate live music performance and intimate storytelling

Don't see it if you just want to be entertained as opposed to also challenged

See it if you like the premise of "Neurosis, a musical" but don't like musicals.

Don't see it if you've seen "Neurosis the musical". Same idea, better execution.

See it if you want to lighten up

Don't see it if you expect your Sondheim shrine to be toppled over

See it if you don't mind virtually plotless abstract, impressionistic self-indulgence set to tolerable music

Don't see it if you like staged performance to have an absorbing plot or a compelling message

See it if you like intimate stagings of delicate issues.

Don't see it if you like conventional/mainstream/safe.

See it if you've only seen it live with big names. It doesn't get more poignant than this.

Don't see it if you need a full orchestration or stars.

See it if you like smart standup comedy

Don't see it if you want the standup comedian to stand up.

See it if you love language, poetry and silly fun

Don't see it if you think escapism can't be smart.

See it if you like low-key, subtle performances and timeless ideas

Don't see it if you don't go for "talky theater"

See it if you liked Disgraced and think it missed addressing a few issues

Don't see it if you don't care about race, class or gender issues addressed in gripping, realistic, human situations

See it if you like irreverent musical spoofs

Don't see it if you can't handle irony or audience participation!

See it if you are a Spanish speaker and are not familiar with this rare classical comedy

Don't see it if you need subtitles; they're available in some performances but erratic.

See it if you believe in the conjuring power of theater

Don't see it if you have no imagination or patience.

See it if you enjoy being spooked

Don't see it if you're... squeamish

See it if You don't know anything about these historical figures.

Don't see it if You expect to see a coherent combination of drama and ideas, not just two disjointed half-baked halves trying to make a "full-length" play.

See it if you like equal doses of intellectual stimulation and humor

Don't see it if you have trouble with abstract ideas.

See it if you enjoy reality-based fables or wonder about this Pulitzer prize winner

Don't see it if serious, straight plays are your thing.

See it if you are versed in philosophy; if the piece had a heart, it must have come up in act two.

Don't see it if you are not; I found it too brainy for its own good and could not engage to stay past intermission.

See it if you need to ease into Chekhov (and who doesn't?!?

Don't see it if you think the classics should not be tinkered with.

See it if You like animation and fables

Don't see it if You rely heavily on the spoken word

See it if you like obscure revivals, musical revues and dark humor

Don't see it if you expect "production values" in the above

See it if you've heard of this seventies cult classic and can't find the movie

Don't see it if you expect minimum off-broadway production standards

See it if you like Nielsen or O'Toole or Williams's writing

Don't see it if minor Williams is not your thing

See it if you liked Spring Awakening and Jason Robert Brown

Don't see it if you expect the main character to be the author of the poetry you hear

See it if you want to see live theater actors give dated movie performances for no apparent reason

Don't see it if you expect a subtextual reason for an obscure forgotten movie to be revived on stage

See it if you love intellectual, moral, ethical issues being dealt in a direct way

Don't see it if you'd like to escape the current political climate

See it if you want to see a remote current event in three dimensions

Don't see it if you only want to be entertained

See it if you like one-person shows, no matter the story

Don't see it if you've seen enough one-person shows to expect a tighter, less monotone story and some kind of arc/realization

See it if you like to be challenged and yanked out of your privileged comfort zone.

Don't see it if you like a staging of the how, more than the why or the what.

See it if you appreciate spinoffs and twists of classics

Don't see it if you don't have an American theatrical background

See it if you want to experience this concept album in an intimate staging

Don't see it if you need big broadway productions to appreciate a book/music/lyrics

See it if you'd like to have seen all major TW works live.

Don't see it if you expect a reinvented classic.

See it if You love moving, evocative and dynamic one-person shows

Don't see it if you lack imagination or empathy

See it if You like Tom Waits, concept albums and Eastern European sounds

Don't see it if You don't like it to get too loud or profane

See it if You get a kick out of British accents.

Don't see it if you enjoy the "dinner play" subgenre. This slow-cooker was a bit on the underdone side.

See it if you don't know anything about those birthright trips

Don't see it if you expect ideas to be exposed dramatically or at a digestible pace

See it if you haven't seen As You Like It recently. Great performances.

Don't see it if you expect the refugee angle to give new relevance to the piece other than the contemporary setting and the background of the performers.

See it if you study acting and are in monolog class

Don't see it if you like theater. Kept asking myself why this story (an otherwise good movie script/novel) had to be staged... and have all that music!

See it if you want your empathy and your funny bone to be equally engaged

Don't see it if you are rigid.

See it if you like to discover obscurer Williams plays and missed recent productions of this one.

Don't see it if it's been a hot few days. The production turns the A/C off and hands out fans and water.

See it if Ibsen and Strindberg are your thing.

Don't see it if you judge obscure theatre finds by the same high standards as classics.