A Parallelogram NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (179)
See it if You can tolerate uncertainty and dysfunction
Don't see it if You want something straight forward Read more
See it if you want to feel involved with unraveling the storyline, like plays that provoke conversation & make you think.
Don't see it if you aren't interested in non-linear structure, don't like excellent acting.
See it if Like off-kilter story done well.
Don't see it if Want more traditional/linear plays.
See it if you like plays that offer food for thought and very good acting. It's a "what if" kind of play.
Don't see it if you don't like time-shifting, non-linear plots that could be confusing.
See it if you love good acting, strong female leads and clever premises. Celia Keenan-Bolger and Anita Gillette are terrific.
Don't see it if You don't like quirky time-travel shows and plays that make you work a bit hard.
See it if You appreciate fine acting and Anita Gillette
Don't see it if You like realistic plays with a rigid structure.
See it if you like a little mind exercise. It's worth seeing. Second half is much better than first half. So be patient
Don't see it if you're depressed or in bad mood. This play will make you feel worse
See it if like non-linear storytelling; it has excellent performances, especially Anita Gillette. The show is definitely original
Don't see it if Need a linear, sensical story.
Critic Reviews (31)
"Under Michael Greif’s direction, the time-twisting tale unfolds in knockabout style thanks to Norris’s slick, Seinfeldesque dialogue and the cast’s deadpan comic talents. The badinage is a little too refined at times...But Norris makes up for such lapses with his flair for on-the-nose similes..But...'A Parallelogram' never fully develops its philosophically rich premise...It remains broadly entertaining, but 'A Parallelogram' ultimately seems to be missing a dimension."
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“You can see the ideas of class and status explored in 'Clybourne Park' percolating in this earlier existential comedy…Director Michael Greif allows Norris’s misanthropy to creep slowly into the proceedings…‘A Parallelogram’ is a dark piece that argues we’re unlikely to emerge from the primordial muck of our own creation.”
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"The first half is clever and funny, with Norris making deft use of a sort of metaphysical remote control...As the story unfolds, though, a certain cynicism takes over...This playwright never seems quite so satisfied as when he's pitilessly anatomizing his characters' worst impulses and flaws. This approach can be entertaining, and certainly 'A Parallelogram' has its moments. But Norris fails to say anything here about fate, destiny and free will that hasn't been said countless times before."
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"'A Parallelogram' is a thought experiment...Director Michael Greif...keeps this conceit from ever feeling corny by milking its humor...This is a more playful work, with many plot holes. Norris is less concerned with his characters' actual lives than with exploring a philosophical idea about what moral actions people should take when faced with the inevitability of death. It's more a parable than a social study."
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"One of the few magical plays out there this season...A clever loophole and a fascinating theory fill this play with mystery and wonder...Don't expect all the answers. But expect a wondrous, funny, heartwarming performance by all the actors in what might be Mr. Norris' second-best play."
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"Every time you say, 'Ah! This is what this play is about!' it takes a turn that may make you say, 'Now what’s going on?'...As the play continues on its two-and-a-quarter-hour journey, there’s some collateral damage that makes a confusing experience into an ultimately unpleasant one...No need to blame director Michael Greif or the cast. Keenan-Bolger is one of our best actresses at making exasperation seem cute...Gillette gives an astonishing, multi-award-deserving performance."
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“A fascinating and occasionally humorous play about self-motivation. Specifically, what would you do if your older self came back in time and told you what your future holds? And nothing you do changes very much. Beautifully acted and directed, the show tackles a big question with intelligence. Taking place over a year of one young woman's life, it all works beautifully until the last 60 seconds, when too much is revealed. The end frustrated me, but I loved it for two hours.”
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