About Love
78

About Love NYC Reviews and Tickets

78%
(75 Ratings)
Positive
88%
Mixed
11%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great acting, Entertaining, Romantic, Absorbing, Enchanting

Based on Ivan Turgenev's short story, this new play with music tells the story of a young man whose summer in the Russian countryside changes everything.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (75)

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63 Reviews | 5 Followers
93
Great writing, Great acting, Great singing, Great staging, Enchanting

See it if You love excellent storytelling and seamless, fluid staging with a cast so impressive they will surely become crazy famous pretty soon.

Don't see it if You want a traditional musical.

1166 Reviews | 464 Followers
92
Enchanting, Great writing, Absorbing, Riveting, Entertaining

See it if You enjoy great storytelling. This is an engrossing story, made even more enjoyable with the addition of music. Great acting/costumes.

Don't see it if You don’t like bare bones staging. Six actors playing multiple roles and using mostly only an assortment of chairs for a set. Read more

65 Reviews | 17 Followers
90
Great staging, Great acting, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if You’re looking for great acting, an appealing cast, an Intriguing story and creative staging. Overall very enjoyable evening of theater.

Don't see it if You’re looking for a cookie cutter traditional play. Read more

519 Reviews | 256 Followers
90
Entertaining, Absorbing, Profound, Great acting

See it if A charming play w songs inspired by Turgenev's First Love,retains the realism &depth of the Russian original. Strong inclusive cast & band.

Don't see it if you are not patient w a story theater genre where all characters, but the 2 leads, play multiple roles including the narrator's role. Read more

276 Reviews | 38 Followers
90
Great singing, Great acting, Delightful, Enchanting, Clever

See it if It's almost a fairy tale. Everyone in it impresses. The staging is minimal but effective, the story is great, the music suits the plot.

Don't see it if It's not wholly happy, but it's a Russian story, so you knew that, right? You should see this; it's remarkably good.

1108 Reviews | 377 Followers
89
Poignant, Well staged, Strong acting/singing, Enchanting, Absorbing

See it if you like coming-of-age stories. Joys/woes of 1st love. Gr perfs fr 2 leads. Clever adaptn. Modern songs underscore timeless emotions. Go see

Don't see it if you only like political focus; this is ABOUT LOVE (tho social status matters). Untradl story-telling. Gr band. Effective barebones set/costu

86 Reviews | 10 Followers
87
Intelligent, Absorbing, Resonant

See it if You are interested in period pieces and coming of age stories

Don't see it if You like a musical to be a lot of songs strung together or need a full orchestra or full set You dislike actors playing more than one charac Read more

62 Reviews | 12 Followers
87
Sad, Romantic, Great singing, Great acting, Delightful

See it if you're looking for an enchanting hour and a half that never lags, everyone is on top of their game.

Don't see it if you're looking for something grounded in realism or don't want any music at all. Read more

Critic Reviews (6)

Talkin' Broadway
May 19th, 2022

"Directed by Pomerantz with original music and lyrics by Nancy Harrow, 'About Love' remains a lovely and engaging piece of story theatre. The play uses the first-person narrative of the 1860 novella, and the six-member company (most of them assuming several different characters) provide the exposition while dramatizing the events of the story."
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Theatermania
March 5th, 2020
For a previous production

"About Love Is Actually About Power and Blinkered Notions of Masculinity: Ivan Turgenev's First Love receives a new stage adaptation"
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Lighting & Sound America
March 5th, 2020
For a previous production

"I can't speak to the wisdom of musicalizing 'First Love' because the people behind 'About Love' haven't really done the job…you could remove them from the production with no material difference in the storytelling."
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Talkin' Broadway
March 4th, 2020
For a previous production

"'About Love' is a rewarding and melancholy theatrical experience as it taps into the folly and heartbreak associated with first love. Additionally, the play makes a compelling case for reevaluating Turgenev's contributions to world literature."
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TheaterScene.net
March 12th, 2020
For a previous production

"The lovely show is best described as story theater in which all of the characters narrate at one time or another...and all but the hero and heroine play multiple roles. If one is looking for a musical, this is not it but it eventually is a captivating staging of the story, if a bit on the long side."
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Front Row Center
March 5th, 2020
For a previous production

Score: 92% "...an intriguing lovely evening about first love, and forbidden love, and confusing hard love, and the games that get played in-between. Everyone is picture-perfect."
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