20 Seconds NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (203)
See it if You are not afraid of seeing life without a sugarcoat; you are ready to cry and to laugh at the same time.
Don't see it if no if. It is a must see
See it if Amazing true life story, you want to be by Tom’s side forever . I w have loved more longer songs.
Don't see it if Just go.
See it if You like sincere meaningful theatre.
Don't see it if You don’t want to feel.
See it if It takes you to a journey of life, love and forgiveness. Very real, you laugh and cry. Magnificent!
Don't see it if No reason not to see it - it is brilliant!
See it if you're interested in the autobiographical story of a man's childhood and how he became who he is today
Don't see it if you're looking for a large elaborate production
See it if You enjoy great acting with a very important message. Forgiveness, hope, humanity. He lives to create value in the lives around him.
Don't see it if You don’t like one person performances or if you’re looking for a fluff piece with no meaning or purpose.
See it if you want a laugh/cry for 90 minutes; his true story is so compelling; and he presents it with such passion. I was engaged the whole time.
Don't see it if one person shows don't interest. Make an exception in this case; you will not be bored!
See it if you want to have a heartfelt, engaging experience in the theatre.
Don't see it if you don't want to see a play about a turbulent childhood. See it anyway.
Critic Reviews (4)
Sweitzer inhabits over a dozen characters in this play entitled "20 Seconds: A Play with Music," albeit two of them are him when young and him telling us the story now…two people he knows intimately. He is never so broad as to suggest caricature. His female characters are vibrant and flesh-and-blood enough for you to suspend disbelief that you aren’t actually seeing his mom Kathy, and Erdean, and Ms. Ruth, the fleabag hotel manager, and Denise, the girl next door, and finally his creation, Vivian Delgrosso, a drag homage to the Italian women his mom’s age. He brings the same depth to his male characters, with the masterpiece being his sadistic, yet eventually repentant father Tom.
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“While ’20 Seconds’ almost feels like an advertisement for his non-profit organization, it’s really an affirmation of why he makes music and how one man can build a better future.”
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Sweitzer does a decent job of capturing his autobiographical selections, but the material, for all its sincere inspirational goals, is not especially interesting, illuminating, unique, funny, or, sad to say, inspirational. His acting covers the spectrum from buffoonery to sentimentality to operatic Weltschmerz, but the personalities he introduces are mundane, and, occasional ripples of laughter aside, the comedy tends toward flatness.
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The story starts out fairly generic and universal, then strays down a dark path of increasing specificity as Sweitzer enumerates unique, haunting detail. Every time Sweitzer sat at the piano, I was expecting musical brilliance. He instead confined himself repertoire that was simple and generic. Sweitzer chose easy pieces, hammering home the idea that music therapy is accessible to everyone. The disappointing nature of the music selections limited my ability to enjoy the show.
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