See it if you want to see the amazing Judith Light span her vast emotional range
Don't see it if You are uncomfortable with sex spanning different generations within a relationship.
See it if You want to see a varyingly absorbing one man show about living with a lie and its consequences. Simple set, interesting lighting.
Don't see it if You dont like monologues, you are disturbed by the subject matter of a teacher having an affair with a student. Read more
See it if one side of a story is interesting or intriguging enough to judge a history
Don't see it if you find one handed plays difficult to appreciate or trust
See it if you want to see Judith Light performing her craft.
Don't see it if you are not a fan of one person shows or feel playwright Neil LaBute trivializes women. Or dealing with a delicate sexual situation.
See it if you're a Judith Light fan and want to see her rip through material
Don't see it if the quality of that material is important
See it if you want to see Judith Light emotionally tear through the play.
Don't see it if you don't like single character, one-sided plays.
See it if you love a good one woman play performed with excellence by Judith Light
Don't see it if if you want a more full multi character play This play is more a character study
See it if You like plays about difficult subjects, and can take the playwright's views about women with several grains of salt, & JUDITH f'ING LIGHT!
Don't see it if You are triggered by misogyny, sexual talk, anti-sex polemics, and "she had it coming" retributive karma.
"Neil LaBute’s new play is really just an hour-long monologue for an actress on the far side of 50. But when that actress is Tony winner Judith Light, who’s going to complain about it?...Those expecting the usual dose of bile and surprise from LaBute will be disappointed. Light is impressive but her performance is too often overheated with few quieter moments to relieve the intensity...I wish director Leigh Silverman had gone for a wider emotional palette."
Read more
"A searing play...Judith Light’s performance is an extraordinary master class in exacting technique. The actress has given herself up to the role, allowing memory to violently course through her character. It’s as raw a monologue as you may ever have seen...What might’ve been a tirade emerges as a roller coaster of palpable reactions under the skilled direction of Silverman. Harrowing signs of losing grips never sacrifice intellect for feeling. The two ride wrenchingly effective tandem."
Read more
"If LaBute himself is trying to convince theatergoers that the play is any less half-baked than some of its many predecessors, it’s a hard sell — even with a luminary like Light commanding the stage by herself for 60 minutes...LaBute provides scant context for Light’s performance, powerful though it may be under Leigh Silverman’s direction. Without knowing to whom Faye is confessing, we have no idea what the stakes are."
Read more
"'All The Ways to Say I Love You' hinges on the ability of the actor playing Mrs. Johnson to show her gradual descent from a needy woman who knew at the time that what she was doing was wrong to one who becomes hollowed out by the deed in its aftermath...And who better to do all of that than the always-remarkable Light?...Under Leigh Silverman's attentive direction, Light delicately peels back the layers until the emotional viscera of Mrs. Johnson is fully exposed."
Read more
"Leave it to Neil LaBute to find a heretofore unknown way to express one’s love...As anyone who knows LaBute’s work can expect, a creeping primal darkness ensnares us in what appears to be an ordinary life...Light seems just a bit uneasy in Mrs. Johnson’s more revealing sexual exclamations...Under Leigh Silverman’s astute direction, she flips between girlish and matronly, giddy and unseemly in a character study that veers toward flippancy before digging in deep."
Read more
"Judith Light's eminently capable of holding a stage by herself, but LaBute doesn't make it easy for her...That technique of having Mrs. Johnson rapidly cast doubt on her assertions is something LaBute resorts to throughout the evening, giving an unfortunate predictability to the rhythm of her narrative...LaBute wants us to appreciate the burden of carrying around an enormous lie, but the character he uses to communicate that message doesn't ring true, which badly blunts his point."
Read more
"It’s hard to imagine Judith Light being locked up for anything except an unpaid parking ticket. But as Mrs. Johnson, a high-school English teacher, she offers a compelling portrayal of uncontrollable desire in a culture gripped by a set of intensifying taboos...This play does not have the visceral misanthropic power of the earlier work ['Bash'], but under Leigh Silverman’s restrained direction, Light’s Mrs. Johnson emerges as a more fully rounded female character than her precursors."
Read more
"Light must track a range of emotions for an hour, with barely a break for a sip of water. She does so magnetically, animating LaBute’s material with her husky voice and wide, dark eyes...LaBute’s 10th piece is somewhat threadbare, but don't let that dissuade you from seeing it: he's reaching for exquisitely interesting material. Director Leigh Silverman teases out a layered performance from stage veteran Light."
Read more