Tony 7264

See it if if you like old-fashioned American naturalistic drama in the vein of Horton Foote, Lanford Wilson and William Inge.

Don't see it if you want theatrical fireworks.

Also This is a play in which multitudes are revealed through small gestures and understated sighs. The ensemble cast is excellent, spearheaded by Judith Ivey giving the performance of an already illustrious career. Edward Donovan gives a breakthrough and heartbreaking performance as her son.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a Horton Foote fan and have never seen this particular play which won him the Pulitzer.

Don't see it if you like plays that are contemporary and cutting edge.

Also Set in the 1950's, the focus is on an aging Republican couple coping with the death of their 29 year old son which seems to have been a result of suicide. The plotting is so obvious that you can predict what will happen a mile away.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see good actors rise above pedestrian material.

Don't see it if you don't like gratuitous nudity.

Also The first act is an incisive and funny portrait of a middle-aged man recently separated from his wife and at a dead end in both his personal and professional life. Unfortunately the second act is contrived, tedious and unconvincing as it charts his downward spiral and mid-life crisis. The play suffers from its seriousness whereas satire would have been a more appropriate genre.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see two great actors make the most of sub-par material.

Don't see it if you like coherent drama with intellectual and emotional payoffs beyond simply being clever.

Also An odd mixture of Pinter and Robbe-Grillet. You spend most of your time trying to figure out what is going on and when do, there is less to the play than meets the eye.... Read more Read less

See it if you find Pinter incomprehensible as this production will change your mind.

Don't see it if you are expecting to see a star vehicle for Tom Hiddleston as he is simply one third of a perfect ensemble.

Also Betrayal is Pinter's most frequently revived play ; whether it is also his greatest play only time will tell but this production makes a persuasive case that it will be. The superb ensemble cast nails all of Pinter's pauses perfectly turning the play into an exquisite piece of chamber music.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see two actors do all they can with sub-par material.

Don't see it if you don't like monologues.

Also Two unrelated monologues by two different writers featuring two different actors. The actors do all they can to hold our interest, but the writing often goes for the sentimental and the sensationalistic. The monologues are rarely as moving as they should be.... Read more Read less

See it if you've never seen a production of "Much Ado," one of Shakespeare's wittiest comedies.

Don't see it if you are a Shakespeare purist.

Also By updating the play to the present time, some of the issues at hand(such as a woman's virginity at the time of marriage) no longer make much sense.... Read more Read less

See it if you like topical plays in big and bold productions.

Don't see it if you like quiet, introspective drama.

Also James Graham's chronicle of the Rupert Murdoch inspired tabloid wars in ENgland in the late 1960's is theatrically alive against all odds. In many ways it is a variation on the Faustus legend.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see the great Glenda Jackson tackle a titanic Shakespearean role.

Don't see it if you like cohesive and coherent productions of Shakespeare.

Also Not the worst production of "King Lear" that I've ever seen, but close to it.... Read more Read less

See it if You like book driven musicals, the kind that us hardly written if late.

Don't see it if You only like dark musicals.

Also The best book of a musical in years. The comic timing of the cast is superb.... Read more Read less

See it if you like over the top comedy.

Don't see it if you like your comedy with some sophistication.

Also Taylor Mac tries to do for "Titus Andronicus" what Tom Stoppard did for "Hamlet" with "R&G Are Dead" but the result is closer to a spoof on the old "Carol Burnett" show.... Read more Read less

See it if you like theatre that is audacious, provocative and original.

Don't see it if you like plays with tiny ideas and tidy emotions.

Also Arguably this is Suzi Lori Parks' best play to date. The quartet of actors is excellent, anchored by Daveed Diggs' spellbinding performance. Utterly urgent and compelling. I hope that the Public Theatre moves this play to another venue for an extended run as it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.... Read more Read less

See it if you admire the plays of Lynn Nottage even though this is not among her greater plays.

Don't see it if you have no interest in satires on Hollywood and the way that African American women have been stereotyped.

Also One associates Lynn Nottage more with moral earnestness than social satire and the satire here is funny, but a little obvious.... Read more Read less

See it if you like plays in school settings such as "The History Boys" or "Tea and Sympathy."

Don't see it if the idea of dramatic scenes punctuated with choral musical interludes seems unappealing (even though it works superbly here).

Also The cast is superb, especially Jeremy Pope. A star is born!

See it if you are a Fugard fan and have not yet seen a production of this play.

Don't see it if you like dramatic plays that are riveting rather than repetitive.

Also Tedious, repetitive, and obvious; the production cuts out the intermission but it might have been better to cut out the repetitions of the play.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to be reminded of what being human means.

Don't see it if you like theatre that is larger than life rather than theatre that holds a mirror up to life.

Also More of a character sketch than a play. Lucas Hedges' final monologue is beautifully delivered and will lodge a lump in your throat.... Read more Read less

See it if Neil Simon type gag lines are your idea of great dialogue.

Don't see it if you're homophobic.

Also The characters incessant talking and whining about their lives is a reminder of why the 1970's were the "me decade." The first half is more structurally innovative, but it is the more traditional second half that is actually emotionally and dramatically richer.... Read more Read less

See it if you feel that you need to see yet another retelling of the story of Joan of Arc.

Don't see it if you think historical dramas should have insight and use interesting language.

Also Quite simply, it was hard to understand why this play existed as it offered no new insight into an oft-told tale.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy great acting and a play that beautifully meshes the personal and the political in complex ways.

Don't see it if you like plays with tidy emotions or in which the characters have to be likable.

Also Stockard Channing is giving the performance of her life in an already illustrious career. The play is well written and beautifully structured.... Read more Read less

See it if you need to be convinced that Beckett is a great writer.

Don't see it if you don't like one man shows.

Also The result is insightful and illuminating, affording greater appreciation into Beckett's genius. It's like taking a master class with a great professor.... Read more Read less

See it if you like clever wordplay.

Don't see it if you don't like British humor.

Also You can count good plays about sports on one hand. The Nap is definitely one of them. Richard Bean's sensibility is a mixture of Joe Orton and Ben Jonson.... Read more Read less

See it if you want the opportunity to see a revival of this rarely produced musical.

Don't see it if you want to see a fuly staged production as this one is just a step up from a concert version.

Also This show is so stripped down and minimalistic, they do not even give out printed programs. Not printing a program listing the credits is an insult to all those involved; Actors Equity should complain at the very least! CSC says this is part of their "green initiative" and yet they had plenty of printed flyers in their lobby advertising their upcoming season. I for one will not be patronizing CSC in the future unless they reverse this policy.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy obscure, rarely staged musicals

Don't see it if you like musicals with a strong book as well as a strong score.

Also There are many musicals with glorious scores attached to silly books, but On a Clear Day may be the silliest musical ever written. Even the glorious singing of Melissa Errico and Stephen Bogardus can't do anything to redeem the show once the singing stops.... Read more Read less

See it if you have never seen Glenda Jackson perform live.

Don't see it if you only like plays that are strictly naturalistic.

Also Glenda Jackson is alone worth the price of admission, but this is one of Albee's greatest plays and the set by Miriam Buether is astonishing.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a very fine production of an O'Neill classic.

Don't see it if you do not like somber and serious drama with little to no comic relief.

Also Though Denzel is the raison d'etre for this production, there's a dozen other great actors on the stage as well. Though it runs nearly four hours, I was never bored.... Read more Read less

See it if you want the chance to see a rarely staged play that has achieved cult status from a writer referred to as the mother of the avant-garde.

Don't see it if you do not like theatre of the absurd.

Also One must be grateful for a chance to see this play but one wonders what all the fuss was about. Much of what was once radical about the play has been much imitated that the play no longer seems audacious or original.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a great Irish theatre company at the height of their craft.

Don't see it if you don't like Shakespeare.

Also I've seen many a production of Richard III over the years, including such standout productions as Richard Eyre directing Ian McKellan (at the National Theatre in London) and Sam Mendes directing Kevin Spacey (at BAM). This production is nearly equally as good.... Read more Read less

See it if you don't mind plays that are more narrative than dramatic with a minimal of staging.

Don't see it if you like dramatic tension with clearly defined characters and conflicts and meaty themes.

Also Ostensibly a two hander about a creative writing teacher with terminal cancer and her allegedly talented student, the play is really closer to a dramatic monologue as so much of the play is the teacher narrating events.... Read more Read less

See it if you like political drama, even those that are more a pageant of events than real drama.

Don't see it if you are not interested in recent American history.

Also It feels more like a history lesson than a play. Although it covers some of the most tumultuous years in American history, it offers no new insights into either the events or any of the cast array of historical figures. Brian Cox is fine as LBJ but some of the other key roles are oddly miscast.... Read more Read less

See it if you like to leave the theatre thinking and discussing what you have just seen.

Don't see it if you are squeamish about sex on stage or don't want to think about race and power - both in the past and in the present.

Also This is a provocative play about the endurance that the ante-bellum South has over our collective imaginations when it comes to the intersections of power and race. The play can be repetitive and uneven at times, but by the end it is so shattering that it allows one to overlook whatever flaws there are along the way.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see two excellent actors make the most out of a dated play.

Don't see it if you don't like sexually frank dialogue and situations.

Also This is a play that needs to be rethought for the "me-too" age.

See it if you like one-person autobiographical shows such as John Leguizamo's "Latin History for Morons."

Don't see it if you are a conservative or anti-choice ... or maybe, see it if you are!

Also More a combination of lecture and debate rather than a play but a rousing and provocative theatrical evening that combines personal memoir and Constitutional History.... Read more Read less

See it if you like musicals about theatre folks such as "The Drowsy Chaperone" and "Something Rotten."

Don't see it if you're homophobic.

Also Highschool students might be the ideal audience for this musical which is partially about highschool students. One can envision it becoming a staple of many HS drama club productions in the future.... Read more Read less

See it if You are a fan of Sam Shepard's writing and are unfamiliar with this rarely produced play.

Don't see it if you prefer naturalism to absurdism.

Also Shepard once seemed the quintessential theatrical voice of the countercultural generation.
Now the work seems dated and obvious.... Read more Read less

See it if you're a fan of Adam Driver.

Don't see it if you are not an ardent fan of Lanford Wilson's plays.

Also "Burn This" was never one of Lanford Wilson's best plays though it has some very moving moments. The romance at its core remains unconvincing and the production is sluggish - except for Adam Driver's theatrical performance.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy classic Broadway musicals and appreciate Cole Porter's clever lyrics.

Don't see it if you have fond memories of the Marin Mazzie/Brian Stokes Mitchell production.

Also Tamed down for the "me-too" age, the production is enjoyable but never catches fire.... Read more Read less

See it if you relish the opportunity to see this rarely staged Jacobean tragedy.

Don't see it if you do not like modern updates of classic works.

Also John Webster's dark and violent revenge tragedy comes off in this tone-deaf production as a mixture of farce and campy melodrama. This is a great play but you would never know it from this production which is more likely to induce laughter than shivers.... Read more Read less

See it if you are an ardent fan of Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano or Sam Shepherd.

Don't see it if you have fond memories of previous productions.

Also The first posthumously produced revival of a Shepherd play is a vehicle for two actors to chew up the scenery which they do with relish, but little more than that.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Edwardian drawing room comedy.

Don't see it if you don't like Shaw or Galsworthy.

Also The Mint Theatre's most ambitious project since its resurrection of the reputation of Teresa Deevey, Elizabeth Baker's play is the first of several projected stagings of her work. While not great, it made me look forward to other plays in the series.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Irish drama.

Don't see it if you find Irish accents hard to understand.

Also One of the greatest plays I've seen in the last decade. They don't write plays like this anymore: plays with a large ensemble cast and with the richness and panorama usually reserved for novels. This is a play that will no doubt stand the test of time.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a play exploring the lives of characters rarely seen on the NY Stage.

Don't see it if you think drama should reveal characters and their dilemmas rather than having them tell about their dilemmas.

Also Using "A Doll's House" as a sort of template, the play explores the lives of Iraqi Christians in exile. Because of the original premise, I wanted to like this play ... but found it less insightful than I was hoping for.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a contemporary play that addresses issues of race, gender and class in bold and honest ways.

Don't see it if you want theatre that allows you to escape from the world rather than plays that hold up a mirror to the world.

Also Only 90 minutes long, but the play packs a shattering wallop. This is why we keep going to the theatre!... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy plays exploring theatre history or, more generally, with theatrical settings.

Don't see it if you like plays that are complex and thoughtful.

Also It would be more rewarding to see Janet McTeer actually playing Hamlet (as she did Petruchio in Cental Park a couple of summers ago) rather than seeing her playing Sarah Bernhardt wanting to play Hamlet.... Read more Read less

See it if you are intrigued by two actors (one speaking English, the other ASL) perform the same roles simultaneously.

Don't see it if you want to see a play with well rounded characters and where the theme is dramatized rather than simply discussed.

Also Craig Lucas tackles the Book of Job which in retrospect seems to be constant motif in so much of his work. Somewhere in here is a potentially good play; though it is currently rather dramatically inert.... Read more Read less

See it if you want the opportunity to see an obscure play by Tennessee Williams.

Don't see it if you are not interested in minor plays by major writers.

Also Towards the end of his career, Tennessee Williams returned to Depression era St Louis, the setting of his first great play. Unfortunately, lightening did not strike twice! The cast of characters consists of four lonely spinsters of varying dispositions and sensitivities, but instead of Williams' usual pathos and sympathy, they are treated as comic grotesques.... Read more Read less

See it if you are an A.R. Gurney completest.

Don't see it if you think theatre should offer something richer than TV.

Also Sub-par Gurney.

See it if you want to see an example of a classic 20th Century American musical ever so slightly tweaked to make it suitable for the 21st Century.

Don't see it if you like musicals with a lot of razzle-dazzle rather than musicals that are character driven.

Also My Fair Lady is indeed one of the great American musicals mostly because of the intelligence and depth of Shaw's original play on which it is based. The melodic score is merely the icing on the cake.... Read more Read less

See it if you like the plays of G.B. Shaw

Don't see it if you do not like polemical romantic comedies.

Also An obscure play well worth reviving. The Mint Theatre continues to astonish with the high quality of their productions and their ability to restore forgotten plays.... Read more Read less

See it if you have not seen a production of "Othello" in awhile.

Don't see it if you think tragedy should be compelling and cathartic.

Also There's something wrong when a racoon running cross the stage is more riveting than anything else. Shakespeare upstaged by a racoon!... Read more Read less

See it if you want to become better acquainted with the writing of Marina Carr.

Don't see it if you do not like obvious and heavy-handed drama.

Also It evokes memories of both "Three Tall Women" and Sebastian Barry's "Our Lady of Sligo," both much better plays.... Read more Read less