“Kaplan's colored his play with so much commentary...the result disorients rather than illuminates. The staging, under the sloppy direction of Audrey Alford, adds to the confusion…It's hard to see what's happening…Which, frankly, is just as well…While the puppets are underwhelming, the human characters are overdone…If Kaplan and other members of this production had studied reality more closely themselves, they might have given audiences a real play."
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“This cleverly staged show provides a view of how parenting, education, and government policy can affect a young child...‘A Real Boy’ effectively challenges ideas about individual values, acceptance, and the role of institutions...The cast features a group of thespians that capture their roles...'A Real Boy' is a unique and thought-provoking piece of theater."
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“A real muddle, a weird tale about the plight of marionettes that gets thoroughly tangled in its own plot strings…In all my decades of theatregoing, I cannot think of another play that used its central plot device more awkwardly and to so little effect…The problems abound in Alford's production. The puppet characters lack any sense of individuality…The performances are shrill and overwrought throughout, a clear sign that nobody in the cast has a clear notion of how to proceed.”
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"A work-in-progress...'A Real Boy' veers off into far too many directions...'A Real Boy' contains some wonderfully absurd situations and dialog...But neither the director, Audrey Alford, nor the diverse cast have quite figured out the tone or the direction they want to go with this. The plot...needs to be more sharply focused, and the characters need to be more clearly drawn...The play is in sore need of honing and polishing in order to escape its thematic tug-of-war."
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"Stephen Kaplan's 'A Real Boy' is about a pair of puppets, named Peter and Mary Ann Myers, who adopt the eponymous child named Max, and it proves about as preposterous as such a premise suggests. It isn't helped by director Audrey Alford's often awkward staging, or by a muddled and confusing conclusion."
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"'A Real Boy' certainly raises some interesting and uneasy questions, but unfortunately it gets tangled in symbolism and loses emotional connection with the audience. But despite the fact that the play gets confused by its own conventions and, as a result, suffers from muddled direction and acting, 'A Real Boy' bares a grain of noble intention."
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"'A Real Boy' is trying very, very hard to be a real story about real issues...The fact that it fails in spite of the talent is disappointing...Michael and George seem to have some real acting chops. What they have not been guided to do is handle a marionette...The reality of this choice–to make the marionettes, well, marionettes instead of 'people'–creates a conflict that buries the story...The parable sputters across the finish line, and the good intentions are for naught."
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"The play deals with the essential ideas of self-acceptance and acceptance of others, and the emotional intensity of the performers is commendable, but, the use of the puppets was a hindrance rather than an enhancement to metaphor and emotion. I wanted to see George’s face as Mary grappled with what was best for Max, but I was distracted by the clumsiness of the expressionless puppet. Selznick also gives a moving performance and their vulnerable portrayal of Max was a highlight."
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