A Walk With Mr. Heifetz NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (138)
See it if you're interested in a play that ties music with the formation of the State of Israel with personal stories.
Don't see it if you're impatient; you don't like talky plays.
See it if you want to see some good acting a beautiful set, an interesting topic & some nice background violin work. Pre Israel, Israel ..the setting
Don't see it if you need a history lesson. It sometimes gets bogged down in the minutia.
See it if you are interested in the violent development of the Israeli state, the role of art in politics, the impact of grief, brotherly relationship
Don't see it if you're not interested in 20th century history of the Israeli state, don't know much about the Sharret brothers, not into Israeli music
See it if you're strongly pro-Israel &/or would enjoy anything to do with Israeli history, even if the play itself is poorly written & constructed.
Don't see it if you want an interesting, cohesive play that gives you a reason to care about what's onstage, esp if you're not already strongly pro-Israel. Read more
See it if Covers an important time in world history, and gives an insight into the early days of Israel. I found the first act compelling.
Don't see it if But the second act was disappointing. It didn’t really go anywhere, and ultimately didn’t have much to say. However... Read more
See it if you are so fascinated with the modern history of Palestine that you don't need much of a story. Acting was excellent but did not save it.
Don't see it if You require a basic plot and not just arm-waving about principles.
See it if you really want to see something about the history of Israel/Zionism
Don't see it if you're looking for an interesting, engaging way to learn history. this is quite boring
See it if Wonderful acting, good writing, loved the story.
Don't see it if You have no interest in the history of the Jewish culture.
Critic Reviews (12)
"A play constructed for the sake of an argument...Mr. Inverne wants to make a point about the vital role of music in establishing a culture...But for all the biography in it, this play is an awkward amalgam of hastily sketched history, which will read clearly only to those who already know it, and stories told in detail to characters who would surely not be hearing them for the first time...A show that often aims much higher than it can reach."
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"These are all astute observations made by a writer who has thought deeply about Israeli history and the role music had in shaping it. Inverne, however, forgets to infuse his thoughts with dramatic stakes to make his characters more than just mouthpieces for his reflections...Violinist Mariella Haubs is the most moving element of the production...It's a peek into the emotional dimensions the play could have explored, and a disappointing realization of how much was left on the table."
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"Inverne's rather chatty and sedate drama about art, history, and politics...Its dramatic boiling point remains so high that it never escapes a certain quietude...Leynse's direction maintains a civil tone throughout, which may be a mistake...'A Walk with Mr. Heifetz' has a lot on its mind, and most of it is intelligently expressed, but it rarely rises to the level of drama. It's hard to believe in the transformative power of art when the drama onstage is so earnest and so given to speechmaking.'
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“Although an interesting idea, James Inverne's ‘A Walk With Mr. Heifetz’ has lofty ambitions which it is unable to fulfill. While the advertisement proclaims that these two encounters ‘changed the world as we know it,’ none of that comes through in the play. The thinness of the material and the two-dimensional characters fail to bring the story to life. Much more needs to be known or revealed to flesh out this intriguing but undramatized story.”
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"Interesting but didactic...Leynse does what he can to keep our interest alive...The play's willingness to keep the three characters talking about the role the artist plays in nurturing and also empowering a nationalistic musical esthetic is, however, not quite enough to satisfy our thirst for more intense drama. It is fascinating to hear how the tune that was to become the Israeli national anthem was found. What hasn't been found is a compelling enough story to tie all the rhetoric together."
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"What little drama is present is overshadowed by historical and aesthetic issues…Plays can get away with talky, polemical considerations only when they're embedded in strong dramatic circumstances, with interesting characters. Here, the characters are little more than mouthpieces for ideas; just because they're embedded in the grand drama of Israel's birth or are accompanied by optimistic visions of the future, artistic and political, doesn't make them stageworthy."
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"A seminar on the history of Israel that manages to be one-sided and absent of fireworks of any sort...Plot is nowhere to be found...No drama...The actors do the very best they can, but neither their work, nor the beautiful music, nor Leynse's direction are enough...Inverne intended this play to be a story that captured the passion of a people prepared to sacrifice anything to have a home. Instead he ended up with a play that has all the intrigue of a warm bowl of milk. A missed opportunity."
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"In his debut as a playwright, Inverne is able to convey his deeply-felt emotion about Israel but his characters are too simply drawn and he touches on too many themes. Despite a good performance by Yuval Boim as Yehuda, the character is distracting and seems unable to focus...It deals with many themes and often they become interwoven and too complicated...In a good historical drama you can actually learn something too."
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