See it if you care about Cambodian history and genocide and emigration and how they continue to resonate.
Don't see it if you have no brief with the playwright's concerns and want a purely entertaining evening of fluff. This ain't it.
Also A shout out to Lauren Yee for dramatizing a myriad of knotty issues in... Read more Read less
See it if you’re supportive of new work that doesn’t re-purpose already existing pop songs.
Don't see it if you yearn for a cohesive plot or characters to care about. A game cast cannot compensate for the lack of these critical elements.
Also Alas, I realized that this show is not for my demographic from the get... Read more Read less
See it if you’re up for a long play with serious societal concerns and broad themes. The time flies by.
Don't see it if you’re in the mood for lighthearted entertainment. This play has 100 things on its mind, and manages to explore many with depth.
See it if you’re a Yeston fan. I am but the overwhelmingly miked piano drowned out the singers much of the time.
Don't see it if you like your revues with a concept and a little panache. None here, surprising since Gerard Alessandrini directed.
Also We were in the first row and it was difficult to hear. Maybe further b... Read more Read less
See it if if you’re a longtime fan of FB. When it’s good, it’s very very good.
Don't see it if you’re not up to date with the latest Broadway shows. This has always been the case with Forbidden Broadway, however now more than ever.
Also My first Forbidden Broadway was In 1982 at this same venue, then calle... Read more Read less
See it if you like contemporary themes and music-making. Much of it is Hamilton-esque in a good way.
Don't see it if you desire happy endings for your narratives. This is a dark show.
Also I was reminded of Trip Cullman’s production of Murder Ballad at times.... Read more Read less
See it if you want to be enchanted and delighted for 90 jam-packed minutes. The goofy grin will never leave your face.
Don't see it if you have an aversion to hip-hop and/or improv. Cannot imagine why anyone would, as the combination here is divine.
Also I could see this show multiple times, that's how good it is. It would ... Read more Read less
See it if All the Way left you wanting more. It did me....and you lived through the Great Society era and yearn for more such initiatives now.
Don't see it if you’re not a fan of political dramas.
Also There are telling moments but I’m afraid the whole is less than their ... Read more Read less
See it if you like being challenged and having your expectations turned inside out.
Don't see it if you aren’t in the mood for ruminating on how America’s original sin still reverberates on societal and personal levels.
Also Is it perfect? No. The middle section needs pruning. But the 2 hours 1... Read more Read less
See it if the premise intrigues you, and it will for those of us at the same “certain age” of the characters. The execution: that’s another story.
Don't see it if you are searching for real wit. There are a couple of trenchant and funny scenes. Would that the entire show were thus.
Also It’s heart is mostly in the right place, and the actors are all game. ... Read more Read less
See it if you can empathize with an upscale hyper-competitive family dealing with a daughter's anorexia.
Don't see it if you cannot fathom that people with eating disorders are not easily cured.
Also As I forgot to get a Playbill when seated, it was not until after the ... Read more Read less
See it if you are impressed by the fact that it's been running for decades. Don't be suckered in. It is a vanity production in extremis.
Don't see it if you like a good, well-acted frightening mystery. The only mystery here is how it has played all these years.
See it if you are an Arthur Miller fan and are in the mood for an issues play that is surprisingly resonant in this day and age.
Don't see it if you cannot countenance Miller's less than rosy representation of the seamier side of capitalism. (Boeing 737 MAX8 anyone?)
Also The three main leads are so strong that you feel you are eavesdropping... Read more Read less
See it if an early version of theatrical agitprop is in your sights. Cradle has a fascinating place in theatrical history and is worth experiencing.
Don't see it if the plight and oppression of unionized workers is under your radar. Believe it or not, many of the issues raised in 1937 still resonate now.
Also I wish the Brechtian distancing did not work so well. The audience doe... Read more Read less
See it if you are a fan of Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre etc. Thus score is also gorgeously eclectic and beautifully sung.
Don't see it if you want a coherent structure to your musicals. This one, despite its premise - the internet can be addictive and dangerous- meanders A LOT.
Also Glad I saw it but I wanted more.
See it if you are open to an honest, brutal and amazingly funny trip through the African American experience. No one escapes unscathed.
Don't see it if you lack empathy and a sense of humor.
Also I hope this transfers. It deserves to. The playwright is also in the s... Read more Read less
See it if you care about how we got to where we are today: Brexit, Trump and rampant populism are foreshadowed brilliantly in this play.
Don't see it if you don’t care one whiff for history and its complicated relationship with the Fourth Estate.
Also This rollicking and rapacious play reminds one of David Hare and Howar... Read more Read less
See it if you like political theatre and the Clintons and Lucas Hnath. The play is funny and mostly provocative.
Don't see it if you hate the Clintons and have no appetite for 2008 Presidential primary revisionism.
Also I must confess I wanted a little more, having adored Hnath's Red Speed... Read more Read less
See it if you desire to see yet another variation on the themes in Uncle Vanya, which seem to be limitless.
Don't see it if you have little patience for having the fourth wall broken often, with a soupcon of audience participation on the side.
Also Aaron Posner can write! After stellar Christopher Durang and Richard N... Read more Read less
See it if you are up for a fascinating exploration of gynecological history. This will get you thinking, a lot.
Don't see it if you are not up for another expose of the evils associated with slavery.
Also Beautifully designed and acted. One caveat: Do not read the Playbill f... Read more Read less
See it if you are primed for a visceral and not always subtle dissection of South Africa's brutal apartheid regime.
Don't see it if you cannot sit for two hours without a break. Is this too much to ask of our bladders?
Also You appreciate the design, direction and acting immediately, but at a ... Read more Read less
See it if you are an uber Great Gatsby fan and long to hear the text spoken.
Don't see it if you would be majorly bored by hearing Gatsby as a book on tape during an eight hour road trip.
Also I must add that I am glad I returned after the dinner break (two of my... Read more Read less
See it if even if you feel you know enough about school shootings. This is a nuanced 85 minute high wire act.
Don't see it if the subject matter upsets you or you “just want to be entertained.”
Also I hope people see this play with an open mind. It’s not an anti-gun po... Read more Read less
See it if you have passing knowledge of the pre-code Hollywood weepies it satirizes. Even if you don’t, go.
Don't see it if you are unfamiliar with Busch and his modus operandi. He’s a New York treasure but not to everyone’s taste.
Also It’s amazing how some of the melodramatic scenes are so emotionally ac... Read more Read less
See it if if the fact that one in two gay African-American men will contract HIV startles you, and you want to hear more.
Don't see it if you cannot empathize with those on the margins. This is an enlightening antidote to the mostly white world in The Inheritance.
Also Bravura staging and brave actors.
See it if you hanker for a minutely observed portrait of America.....Not for nothing is the major male character named Will.
Don't see it if you lack patience. This play and production takes time to build, but the total is way more effective than the sum of its parts.
Also Kristine Nielsen at first seems miscast.... She’s always a force to be... Read more Read less
See it if you are a Lloyd Webber fan (I am generally not) and want to hear one of his best earwig scores again.
Don't see it if you like your history served honestly. Eva Peron was a monster, as was her hubby, but in ALW and Tim Rice's telling - not so much.
Also Act 1 is basically irony-free, and the performers do no make much of a... Read more Read less
See it if you are comfortable with an author's tinkering with the play as a "break the fourth wall" part of the experience. And what an author!
Don't see it if you are not a Kushner fan, or a fan of revisiting 20th Century history in order to shed light on our current political mess.
Also The writing is, no surprise, consistently compelling, and the three ho... Read more Read less
See it if you like extravaganzas and just want to be entertained. It’s gorgeously designed and expertly performed.
Don't see it if you are a fan of the film. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor has real heat. On stage: zilch, sorry to say.
Also Remember when You used to go trick-or-treating, and you would fill you... Read more Read less
See it if you live in this world and care about how we got to where we are now. Still resonant after all these years.
Don't see it if you lack empathy. Sorry to be so blunt, but this piece pierces the heart.
Also Silly me - I thought Smith was going to star in this revival. No regre... Read more Read less
See it if you savor acting and writing of the highest order. It’s short but you never feel shortchanged.
Don't see it if you aren’t up for a play about the challenges of old age and dementia.
Also While not untrodden territory, this exquisite 85 minute sonata of a pl... Read more Read less
See it if you are interested in African history and the confluence of the political and the personal in contemporary life.
Don't see it if you want a cogent exploration of how war impacts one’s entire existence. Runboyrun is so diffuse it becomes unbearable.
Also Full disclosure: this was an early preview and there will be considera... Read more Read less
See it if you are a Jim Steinman fan. I am not, really. But friends wanted to go and I reluctantly agreed.
Don't see it if you loathe most jukebox musicals, as I do, and have never been a Meat Loaf fan.
Also I was the only one in our group who had a good time. It is loud, rauco... Read more Read less
See it if you can sit through 40 minutes of child actors not enunciating or projecting well, unless you are way up front.
Don't see it if you find that huge time lapses between acts do not make for lucid transitions.
Also I really enjoyed Small Mouth Sounds. This time the small mouths were n... Read more Read less
See it if if you enjoy raucous comedies about millenials, in this case with a fascinating African American slant.
Don't see it if you are not into very loud comedies. This one is directed with such an emphasis on screeching that there is frequent loss of comprehension.
Also About an hour in, the scene with Justin is hilarious and touching and ... Read more Read less
See it if you are a Sam Shepard completist and revel in dysfunctional family dynamics.
Don't see it if you are a Sam Shepard fan and are looking for cohesive style. For me the disparate acting choices were all over the map.
Also It just did not jell, which was a surprise coming from the estimable T... Read more Read less
See it if you, like I, know nothing about the title character and are open to having a wild ride and learning something along the way.
Don't see it if you must have linear plot development in order to enjoy a play.
Also Stick with this, because the total is way more than the sum of its par... Read more Read less
See it if you love Cole Porter and one of the best of the Golden Age musical scores.
Don't see it if you saw the previous revival with Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Alas, this one pales in comparison.
Also Don't get me wrong: it's likely that you will have a helluva time. How... Read more Read less
See it if you're a fan of new musicals. Yes, it's based on a perfect movie, but at least it's not a jukebox musical. The cast is terrific.
Don't see it if you want your memories of the film left intact. The film was nigh perfect. The musical is not, but has lots to recommend it.
Also David Yazbeck's score is lively, catchy and clever. The lyrics are oft... Read more Read less
See it if you are charmed by high school musicals that remind you (often lovingly) of many others of the genre.
Don't see it if you have low tolerance for aggressively over-amplified hyperkinetic shenanigans.
Also Somewhere there is a more cohesive show here. There are many very ente... Read more Read less
See it if you are in the mood for an evocative and sui generis experience.
Don't see it if you are expecting a linear traditional "play." This is definitely not that, but you will be rewarded.
Also I could see this again with many of the rotating roster of actors. Tha... Read more Read less
See it if you are a Lynn Nottage fan. I am. She's a wonderful writer with lots to say.
Don't see it if you are loathe to acknowledge the racism that has long plagued Hollywood casting and writing.
Also While imperfect, this is a hugely entertaining and smartly serious sat... Read more Read less
See it if you loved the film Moonlight. Here again the lives of African American men, both gay and straight, are examined with empathy and insight.
Don't see it if you feel like you've seen and heard the story before: harassment of gay males in a Christian private school. But you'd be wrong.....
Also A terrific group of actors! Kinetic direction by Trip Cullman makes th... Read more Read less