All The Fine Boys NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (95)
See it if you want to see a well-written, well-acted, sobering coming-of-age play
Don't see it if you are looking for bells and whistles or a happy ending
See it if you're down for a show that deals with sex in a dramatically frank manner, you want a piece that challenges you
Don't see it if you don't tolerate stereotypically too-much-rambling teenager speak, you're not comfortable with seeing sexual acts onstage
See it if you'd appreciate an involving drama about the risks taken as we come of age. The performances are commendable, Tippett & Breslin especially.
Don't see it if you'd be frustrated by a play in which all the main characters are not equally developed. It does leave a slight sense of dissatisfaction.
See it if you like suspenseful thrillers
Don't see it if you don't like seeing dark and disturbing plays, although this has a sense of humour too
See it if You you want something to dig your teeth into, and you like a show with diverging themes.
Don't see it if You can't suspend reality, whether it's a set that serves for different scenes, or actor who play a different age.
See it if You think you"'ll enjoy a very intimate - sometimes uncomfortable - evening of theatre. Only four actors in the show and all are perfect.
Don't see it if An in-your-face coming of age story is not appealing to you.
See it if You enjoy a dark coming of edge story about teenage girls....and an opportunity to see Abigal Breslin.
Don't see it if You're looking for a light comedic play!
See it if Very disappointed.Couldnt understand the girls who spoke like Valley Girls.Joe Tippet was amazing and very convincing.
Don't see it if Want to be able to understand what is being said.
Critic Reviews (28)
"Ms. Breslin’s self-conscious, underdeveloped performance...At 20, she still comes across as older than her years, so casting her to portray a 14-year-old is a puzzling decision — one that knocks the production badly out of kilter. The cumulative impact of the play hinges on Jenny, so it is no small thing that she never seems real...The play is smarter and more deliberate on the page than it seems in this world-premiere production."
Read more
"Schmidt's raw one-act drama juxtaposes the first sexual encounters of a pair of 14-year-old BFFs...While this is hardly virgin territory, there's a stinging authenticity to their awkward interactions that's alternately hilarious and horrifying...Organized into a series of two-person scenes, 'All the Fine Boys' falls into a predictable rhythm, though a few necessarily stomach-churning sequences jolt. You'll probably know where these ladies are headed long before they do."
Read more
“More exploitative than illuminating…Schmidt doesn’t do this play any favors with her sluggishly paced direction…From its trivial opening scene to its melodramatic conclusion, ‘All the Fine Boys’ feels shallow and superficial. What seems clearly intended to be a haunting examination of lost innocence instead comes across like a cautionary made-for-television film from the '80s, the era in which the play is set.”
Read more
"It’s the one where Little Miss Sunshine loses her virginity while eating a slice of pizza. If this contrived play, written and directed by Erica Schmidt and presented by the New Group, is remembered for anything, it’ll be that creepy doozy of a scene. That’s not nothing, but still...Like the script, the acting rarely rings true in a work that can’t pick a point of view—satire, dark comedy, cautionary drama, Lifetime tale? Who knows."
Read more
"Schmidt's contrivance leaves little doubt as to where we are headed. Luckily, she is skilled enough as a director to build ample tension in a play mostly lacking suspense. The result is an engrossing bit of sensationalism...This stellar cast is able to turn their broadly drawn characters into human beings...Unfortunately, Schmidt's treatment of these subjects feels as nourishing as the Pringles Jenny stuffs in her mouth...While it's fun and tasty, you know you'll be hungry again in an hour."
Read more
"Schmidt keeps both plotlines moving in tandem, but this parallel structure results in a distinctly unbalanced drama...One narrative feels honest; the other is hopelessly overwrought...Nevertheless, all four cast members expertly bring to life these two ill-fated courtships...The most interesting thing about 'All the Fine Boys' is that neither Jenny nor Emily is a victim, although things go very badly for at least one of them...Still, it often feels like two plays stitched together."
Read more
"The point seems to be that, under the wrong circumstances, girls can grow up too fast—and too dangerously—but the scenario as constructed here stretches credulity past the breaking part, and doesn't engage our sympathy at all...Despite adroit isolated moments throughout, the play as a whole is richly unsatisfying; the men simply can't compete with the women, and are given far too many opportunities to prove it...'All the Fine Boys' is monochromatic at best."
Read more
"Unpleasant and trite, two 14- year-old girls’ romantic preoccupations with two men are tediously depicted in 'All the Fine Boys.' It features a ghastly simulated sex scene, and its violent resolution is so predictable that it’s only a matter of when it will happen. Playwright Erica Schmidt has a minor aptitude for believably snappy dialogue, but not much else. Her tired scenario is astonishingly familiar and offers no fresh insights...The strong cast makes the most of their derivative roles."
Read more