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 enjoy comedic shows and enjoy dark humor
Don't see it if You want a classic show and/ or are easily offended
See it if you are a Halley Feiffer fan and enjoy good writing. It goes from hilarious to heart wrenching in an instant.
Don't see it if you are easily offended.
See it if You like odd ball characters You like to laugh
Don't see it if You could never find anything about cancer, hospitals and dying entertaining
See it if Can find humor in hospital situations
Don't see it if Has a bad experience with relatives suffering from cancer
See it if You enjoy uncomfortable situations and crass humor.
Don't see it if Off-color jokes offend you.
See it if You want to be moderately entertained by something funny in a hospital and how people might cope under stress.
Don't see it if You are offended by stupid jokes about sex, or don't want to see somewhat of a sexual scene.
See it if If you want some clever writing, interesting performances
Don't see it if You're expecting an insightful, though provoking play
See it if You enjoy quirky comedies with unusual characters who are at odds, improbable romances, endearing performances
Don't see it if You don't like absurd situations, difficult to like characters, discussions of cancer and its impact on loved ones
Critic Reviews (20)
"If you are not offended by the idea of a black comedy with cancer jokes, raunchy language and sexual situations set in a hospital room with two cancer patients lying silently in their beds, you are in for some very funny moments...The ending is weak. Nevertheless, the dialogue is snappy, the acting is fine and the attempt by playwright Feiffer to try something different is admirable...Those not turned off by the play’s premise are likely to enjoy themselves for most of the time."
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"The message, I suppose, is that needy people can be rich or poor and there’s someone to love the most unlovable. More interesting, potentially, are the mothers—including the always-formidable Lisa Emery as a worn-out, nasty single mom, and Jacqueline Sydney, who never speaks but whose expressions suggest she hears everything. I would have preferred to hear what she has to say."
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“A dark and often funny look at some highly unlikely bedfellows in a cancer ward...One of Feiffer’s favorite themes happens to be a running thread here: the importance of parent-child communication and the roadblocks that get in the way of achieving that...While the play sometimes strains, Feiffer deserves such a pat for giving a healthy edge to a potentially sitcom situation.”
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"'A Funny Thing…' takes a very sensitive topic and flips it around to be humorous and dark, but also compassionate with in-your-face realism...It shouldn’t work, this dialogue-heavy performance on a single set, with minimal characters and walking room, but it does. 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City' isn’t a show for everyone, but it’s definitely a show everyone should see."
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