A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (142)
See it if You think there can't be humor in a cancer hospital. This will have you laughing a lot. Beth Behr from 2 Broke Girls was terrific.
Don't see it if You can't find or enjoy the humor that is to be found in every human situation if it's presented right, like it is here.
See it if Disarmingly heartfelt study of irony as a weapon and a balm, contemporary riff on Private Lives, a gem. Scabrous & impeccable Emery & Behrs
Don't see it if you don't like raunch, or if you're looking for laughs without feelings- it's more of a drama with jokes.
See it if You like a well written play with talented performers telling a story that will have you laughing one minute and breaking your heart the nex
Don't see it if You get offended easily by sex jokes and if you don't like plays about a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.
See it if U know the uncomfortable, sad feelings when a close relative has cancer, Estranged, distant family emotions arise New friends become family
Don't see it if U had a heartbreaking experience with cancer Do not like explicit sex or profanity See no reason to use "rape" as a joke topic
See it if You want thought-provoking and riotously funny in equal measure. Terrific acting and writing. It stays with you. as long as you can remember
Don't see it if The idea of a "comedy" set in an oncological unit of a hospital seems either off-putting or not possible to pull off (it's not and it does).
See it if You enjoy fresh and contemporary writing by an upcomng writer. I love Feiffer's last play too. A bawdy, funny and sad romance. Great acting.
Don't see it if You are offended by rauncy language and sexual references.
See it if you like pitch perfect acting.
Don't see it if you object to lots of simple profanity
See it if you like dark comedies and relationship plays, or if you are a fan of Two Broke Girls.
Don't see it if raunchiness or adult language is a turn-off or if cancer is too close to home to be funny.
Critic Reviews (20)
"'Funny Thing' makes a convincing case that hard laughter is an absolutely appropriate response to those moments when life seems like too bad a joke not to respond otherwise...For its intermissionless 85 minutes, 'Funny Thing' abides by the rom-com rules that a couple who meet antagonistically have to be attracted to each other. But to render 'Funny Thing' in synopsis doesn’t do justice to Ms. Feiffer’s exposed nerve of a script, or to the open-wound performances."
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"Well, the title is funny. It is hard to know what else to make of Halley Feiffer’s 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City,' a play ravaged by central miscasting...There is good writing in the play, and one can only wonder how it might work with a different actor in the lead role...Loaded with jokes about death and rape, the play aims for very dark comedy but gets no farther than dim."
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"A disappointing thing happened on the way to this MCC production. The talented Halley Feiffer takes a step backward as a writer. She earns points for audacity. But otherwise she obeys rom-com conventions and lets this black comedy peter out. Karla is a struggling millennial comedian. Don is a shaggy middle-aged mogul. They meet in a hospital, where their mothers fight for their lives. Karla and Don hate each other at first. No surprise — that changes."
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"'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York City' only sporadically lives up to its strained title...Other than the abundance of raunchy one-liners, this play has little to recommend it. Neither the characterizations nor situations ring true; practically everything feels forced...For all the performers' efforts, the play ultimately feels as artificial as its derivative, overlong title."
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"Raunchy and fearless, bound to delight some audience members with its audacious mix of crude humor and deep feeling, while displeasing others for the same reasons...Under Trip Cullman's perceptive direction, Feiffer's funny and moving script is presented with a beautifully recognizable naturalism...The weakest aspect of the script is its predictability...Still, her distinct voice is on fine display throughout, in all its uniquely unsettling glory."
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"The playwright and director soon make it clear that these are two very troubled people whose social ineptitude and downright nastiness is a defense against acquiring new wounds, and that's when 'A Funny Thing...' turns interesting and, yes, funny....Reaching the possibility of a romance between the two does not appear to be the playwright's point. 'A Funny Thing...' is more about surviving the first baby steps of emotional healing and feeling safe enough to try one more."
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"The author is a master at switching between a killer laugh line and a moment of exquisite pain, often in a matter of seconds...If the later scenes of 'Funny Thing...' seem a little pro forma, even sitcom-ish, it's partly because Feiffer's skill at writing scenes of tentative reconciliation isn't as distinctive as her knack for invective and shock tactics...Still, under Trip Cullman's nimble direction, the actors traverse the high-wire script with remarkable agility."
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"As a result, the only thing about this play that's truly funny or insightful is its title…The action (a term I use quite loosely) putters around until the expected, or several variations on it, occurs, and things reach a sufficiently tidy arbitrary point to collapse back into the theatrical ether. There are moments along the way that almost qualify as entertaining…And there are occasional jokes that earn, perhaps, a mild chuckle."
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