17 Minutes

See it if You can examine the psyche of the grieving mother, the officer who was afraid to respond, his Captain, and others in a poignant portrayal.

Don't see it if You feel that some subjects are too sensitive to dramatize, in this case, a school shooting.

See it if you'd like interesting angle on school gun violence. 17 starts slow, but keeps improving w strong final scene. Small stage w bad sightlines

Don't see it if you want a fast pace; 17 drags a bit. Some chars in just 1 scene. Freq set chgs. Plot holes, but captures the devastation of a town.

See it if Really great performances and insightful writing. New take on a timely theme.

Don't see it if issues around mass shootings are not for you.

Also The show is missing one scene for the main character to come to terms with his actions. A catharsis scene was missed.... Read more Read less

See it if Interesting perspective of the aftermath of a school shooting told through cops eyes. Really great performances! Last scene was WOW!

Don't see it if If the subject matter is too upsetting for you. This is the aftermath, so no violence is depicted on stage.

See it if You feel like there can never possibly be closure for the senseless gun violence that has taken hold of our society-especially in schools.

Don't see it if You’ve lost someone in a mass shooting or to gun violence of any sort this might hit too close to be tolerated.

Also I went into this without knowing what it was really about and it really shook me up. Really well done. Well written and acted. It’s also interestingly staged with great lighting, costumes and even sound design was excellent. Not an easy show to sit through but REALLY WORTH SEEING!!!... Read more Read less

See it if A well written play that deals with a school shooting and its aftermath.

Don't see it if Could have been better directed. Acting was not that good and made this play ordinary.

See it if powerful acting, profile style stage perfect for this production, lighting perfect, great topic, how tragedy affects so many

Don't see it if needs more publicity

See it if you like character development where trauma leads human beings to act strangely. Here the cast enacts the individual tensions of a shooting.

Don't see it if you want a lot of action. This is a set of seven scenes mostly between two characters talking in a room. Triggers: shooting & realistic gun.

See it if Professional & domestic discord arise for deputy who doesn't step up,but his femme colleague does.Guilt;butno reenactment/gunshots/flashback

Don't see it if Fallen Everyman case study measure of a man: "I don't want to be known for something I didn't do/I know I'm supposed to engage the shooter."

Also Title:"I came here to see what 17 minutes is like."

See it if you appreciate a giant of a play on a tiny stage. This is a powerful and relevant drama for our times, very moving and thought provoking.

Don't see it if you don't like talk about school shootings or violence. There is no actual violence, just talk of what happened.

Also You become involved with the characters of this wonderful play. They react to a horrible situation and you react to their reactions. I loved that this was not a judgmental play. You are free to make your own decisions on how you feel about what happened..... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see the aftermath of a school shooting from different points of view of those affected. Raw emotions.

Don't see it if The detective doing the questioning in 1st scene is miscast. This is his off Broadway debut and he felt one dimensional. Rest of cast great.

See it if Want to see a play that deals with the aftermath of a school shooting.

Don't see it if You are expecting a big lavish production. This is very much blackbox theater.

Also “The thing with feathers”, Scott Oregon’s last play was one of my favorites of 2018. I had this play on my list of plays to see from the moment I found out about it. I will admit that my expectations were very high and I was definitely disappointed by this.
I thought the first scene was incredible. The acting was perfection. The detective looked, acted and even wrote like a detective.
The costumes and the lighting were great.
After the first scene I felt no emotion from any of the characters and I just didn’t care one bit about anything that was happening.... Read more Read less

See it if Want to consider psychological aftermath of trauma from unexpected POV. Character studies shown as series of vignettes. It mostly works.

Don't see it if Difficult subject plays out somberly w solid performances from ensemble cast. But, it has few moments of drama & parts stretch credulity.

Also The pace is slow and might be improved during the preview period as actors settle in. I was slightly disappointed given the very high scores (and reviews) I had read beforehand.

However, something didn't quite gel and I'm a little unclear whether this was a fault of the writing or direction. The staging is on a barebones set and there's very little stage business (w exception for the 1st scene) given to the actors other than pouring coffee, drinking coffee, nursing a drink or cleaning a gun. The first scene sets up high hopes that the crisp direction/acting evident there will continue. Sadly, that's the high point (although the last scene comes close) and the remaining scenes play out w/o the same tension (or interest.)

A weird aside, but unless the entire cast all came down with a cold at same time, I was annoyed & distracted that to the person, EVERYONE sniffled. What the heck was that about? Plz actors, grab a tissue and use onstage in CHARACTER!

Saw this early previews at TBG... Read more Read less

See it if you are interested in examining the same event from several POV's; a scared deputy's lack of action described..

Don't see it if dark, uncomfortable subject matter turns you off; you prefer light comedy or musicals; you dislike guns on stage.

Also I found it interesting to view this deputy's lack of action as perceived by his wife -who seemed in denial; the father of the shooter; the mother of a victim; his partner at the incident; and his own self denial of his cowardice.... Read more Read less

See it if You like topical and relevant plays

Don't see it if You want a deeper more satisfying work.

See it if Grim aftermath of a school shooting. No violence in the play. Resonant, relevant story. Fine performances by the lead cop and his wife

Don't see it if Intense one hour and 15 minutes drama. Begins with cop's interrogation. Dramatic encounters with shooter's father and a victim's mother.

See it if Character study about aftermath of school shooting dealing with guilt, responsibility, judgement. Great acting, simple, effective staging.

Don't see it if Can't handle difficult subject matter. A few scenes in the middle section could be tightened a bit.

See it if An intimate character study of those affected by a school shooting. Realistically acted and directed.

Don't see it if The topic is difficult for you or you are looking for a big political drama.

Also Even though the theater is small, the actors were hard to hear at times.... Read more Read less

See it if you like an extremely well crafted play with superb acting/directing that tackles the psychological crisis of an individual & his community,

Don't see it if you dislike serious delving into a story of a mass school shooting and the horrible effects it had on a main character & the community.

See it if you want to experience almost first hand the emotional trauma and effects on relationships to everyone involved in a school mass shooting.

Don't see it if you can’t handle deep sadness/fear from living terror act with indirect victims of it/sit 90 min, you’re closed to multiple perspectives.

Also Every actor in this play is real and very talented.

See it if you want to see a well conceived character study, watching a man's "manliness" fuel his descent.

Don't see it if you need profound drama or action in your shows. You need unpredictability

Also This is a really well-written character study with great acting and staging. The show is propelled, both positively and negatively, by Solomon Weisbard's extraordinary Lighting Design.

His proper use of LED color for a bout 5 seconds before each scene informs the audience of exactly what direction that scene will take before the scene begins. The positive result of this is that scenes that would otherwise be triggering are signalled to the audience before they begin. It makes the audience much more comfortable. The bad thing is that the great lighting makes the audience much more comfortable. Perhaps the audience should be disturbed and made to face its owns prejudices.

The supporting characters have story lines introduced that would make very interesting sequels especially that of the killer's father. I wouldn't mind seeing any of them.... Read more Read less

See it if More focus on the police's perspective in a school shooting than the family / victim. The moment of an angry mother was the most powerful.

Don't see it if Guns / school shootings are triggering. Puts some blame on the police, when it really should be on gun control, not more police in schools.

Also Diversity: almost all White cast except one cop was Black. Set in a working class American town.
Ticket from Show Score for $5.... Read more Read less

See it if Powerful & moving theatrical experience which gives a prospective of the aftermath of a school shooting, in a small town. I was on my seat!

Don't see it if This is not a feel good play. If you want to walk out feeling great then skip this one. This is a very realistic drama.

Also Go see it before it moves to a larger house! This is a small gem! Bravo to the entire cast!... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy well-constructed slice of life, "ripped from the headlines" dramas, performed by a good ensemble cast.

Don't see it if you're looking for an in depth study of the why of school shootings or a fully staged play.

Also This was good, but I didn't like it as much as The Thing with Feathers, the most recent Organ/Barrish offering by TBG. No real twists in this one. Moreover, at times it seemed as if each scene were a separate mini one act play without good transitions from one scene to the next. Seemed written for tv anticipating commercial breaks, if that makes sense. It's the acting rather than the writing that's the reason to see this one & the acting really was good. IMO,everyone was excellent, but Lee Brock stole the show as the mom of one of the victims.... Read more Read less

See it if as a timely piece on a relentlessly tragic phenomenon that engages instantly & keeps you in a slow burn. Cast & writing don't disappoint.

Don't see it if Definitely worth seeing. Emotional and painful, yes, but effective & on point. "In-the-round" stage; cast & staff deftly manage few props.

Also Once again the Barrow Group has produced compelling play worth experiencing. New seating/staging is great.... Read more Read less