Barbecue

"A rawly funny but uneven new comedy...The fun stops a little too early: Mr. O’Hara springs a big reveal at the close of the first act that ultimately turns the play in a more serious and less satisfying direction...Mr. O’Hara jolts us with a twist that ends the first act on an admittedly intriguing note. What follows, unfortunately, lets the helium out of the balloon, as the second act mostly dispatches with comedy entirely." Full Review

"Robert O’Hara’s cruelly funny new play, 'Barbecue,' shrewdly turns the formula for the American domestic comedy on its head, forcing uneasy thoughts about the facile presumptions we make about poverty, race and social class, as applied to dysfunctional families." Full Review

"Robert O’Hara’s brash, taboo-flouting roast of race and representation... As in the playwright's hilarious 'Bootycandy', most of the scenes involve extreme, broadly drawn comic conflict. I suspect that Barbecue could be even stronger if it took a longer step out of caricature, but that’s clearly not what O’Hara is after. For better or worse, his satire is relentless." Full Review

"A wild theatrical experience that defies logic and explanation. O'Hara has created a true satire, laden with as much humor as there is criticism...The fact that everything is given equal weight and thought, and is presented with such audacious originality, sets it far apart from the competition. Easily one of the funniest plays of the year and one of the most searing appraisals of contemporary culture, 'Barbecue' proves O'Hara can cook with gas." Full Review

"Robert O’Hara’s new play, 'Barbecue' (directed with vigor and understanding by Kent Gash), is my idea of an American classic, or the kind of classic we need. Although its fecund imagination seems unlimited, the work wouldn’t exist if it didn’t have the junk of our times to feed on—and spit out. Set, for the most part, in a nameless public park in the middle of the country, 'Barbecue' unfolds in a kind of electrified space, filled with leaf-curling light." Full Review

"I’ve not laughed as hard in the theater, or felt as uncomfortable about it, since O’Hara’s 'Bootycandy...' I’m not categorically opposed to plays whose logic doesn’t track, or those that move from yuks to yikes; but this one loses its sprightliness and sense of direction. It is not without its moments of levity, its piercingly apt observations of certain kinds of people. But after such a furious boil of comedy in Act One, the attempted drama of Act Two can only feel like a comedown." Full Review

"An outrageous, sly comedy. Some of O’Hara’s surprises turn this funny but uncomfortable story of a family who would not win any NAACP Image Awards into something clever and thoughtful. 'Barbecue' winds up much more satisfying theater than it initially promises to be...'Barbecue' manages to roast its raw characters, while at the same time basting the audience in juicy observations about race and class, truth and 'authenticity,' and modern addictions, including to fame." Full Review

"I can say with full confidence that, even if 'Barbecue' takes nearly a full act before it fully roars to life, O'Hara has pulled off a dazzling sleight of hand that makes any number of deadly accurate points about the social industry that produces our perceptions of race and myths of self-invention. Not only is 'Barbecue' filled with surprises; each of them packs a wicked sting." Full Review

"'Barbecue' may be a little more flawed but it confirms O'Hara as a playwright you don't want to miss....A flawed play with a strong first act, a sputtering second act, a good cast and solid tech elements. O'Hara tosses a lot of plates in the air and - while many of them crash - it's invigorating to watch...I can't recommend 'Barbecue' as strongly as 'Booty Candy'. But O'Hara is clearly a talent you want to watch develop. By all means go." Full Review

"Robert O'Hara's biting play takes raw concepts of truth, fiction and entertainment and grills them over a well-lit flame. He confronts America's love affair with suffering, the obsessional nature of celebrity and the tricky issues of race and class and skewers them to a crisp...A smack upside the head on the nature of 'reality,' 'Barbecue' is a smart, sassy original." Full Review

"'Barbecue' is a finger lickin’ good, frequently hilarious, marvelously directed, and outstandingly performed satire on racial stereotypes, Hollywood, addiction, rehab, family dynamics, overweening ambition, memoir writing, and the relative value of truth versus lies...Seeing the actors go at this material with turbojet energy, spewing profanities like they were sunflower seeds, and squeezing every moment for total impact, is a joy.” Full Review

"The first act concludes with a major revelation, and the comparatively toned-down second act essentially serves as a discussion of what we've already seen, with a few more surprises thrown in for good measure. 'Barbecue' may be rough and scattershot, but it is intellectually vigorous, often hilarious and quite exciting." Full Review

"There's a whiff of superiority about his intentions...But then the cunning dramatist pulls a fast one. He shifts gears in as radical a manner as any sleight-of-hand playwright has in recent, and even not so recent, memory...Whether the elongated nature of the first act is compensated for by the second act--which surely depends on falling for the second-act development--is up in the air. But O'Hara can be thanked for taking the risk as well as for much of the furious humor he unleashes." Full Review

"After all the zany chance-taking of Act I, the second act just doesn't offer enough to make the loss worthwhile. Because what's good is so good, it's difficult not to wish that 'Barbecue' were evenly cooked all the way through." Full Review

"This is the funniest and most original play I've seen in a long time...This is a big, meaty, uproarious satire that's sure to be another hit...O'Hara has a lot more on his mind than telling his version of such a story with over-the-top familial stereotypes. Both acts are full of surprises...all the actors are terrific....director Gash has helped the cast to seamlessly inhabit their challenging roles and added to the play's pleasures with a deluxe physical production...Thumbs up. Don't miss it." Full Review

"Robert O’Hara’s raunchy and raucous new play at the Public Theater is full of surprises...O'Hara's inventiveness does not flag...While the satire is far from subtle, the play is so entertaining that I didn’t mind the heavy-handedness." Full Review

"It’s wickedly funny. But the real delight of “Barbecue” is watching its bold, audaciously structured story unfold...The first act is tough to follow...The actors all perform way over the top and each of them deserves to be there." Full Review

"O'Hara has thrown a lot of ingredients into a big pot in 'Barbecue,' and they don't blend perfectly. But messy as the narrative sometimes becomes, there's something exhilarating about the enthusiasm, and bright humor, with which he explores the possibilities of theater. His play might be flawed, but it's also very entertaining." Full Review

"O’Hara has written a comedy about getting reality to fit the truth we’ve previously constructed for it. 'Barbecue' is different and definitely worth seeing -- but after a point, I had to give up listening for anything fresh and just let the playwright bat me around with the figurative stack of Us magazines he so ably wields." Full Review

"'Barbecue,' the sly satire that opened this week at the Public Theater, is filled with so many surprises that the ushers won't even hand out programs until the intermission...There is plenty of fun to be had, particularly in the first act, even though it may not be the kind of humor appreciated by the politically correct, among whose numbers I've been known to be on occasion. But even I couldn't resist the dare-you-not-to-laugh antics that playwright O'Hara has his characters commit." Full Review

"'Barbecue' shines with equal doses of comedic gold and intellectual stimulation...Despite murkiness, O’Hara succeeds in planting some questions that linger long after the play’s celebratory ending. He is once again preoccupied with who gets to tell our stories, and luckily in this case it is O’Hara who has the pen." Full Review

"Go see 'Barbecue.' You’ll be intellectually inspired and comedically delighted...In this season of disappointing experimental theater productions, 'Barbecue' is proof of concept. Chances are taken and reality is distorted but, unlike those other plays, it works here. It really works." Full Review

"I wish I could tell you all about Robert O'Hara's terrific new play, 'Barbecue.' I wish I could tell you about the Brechtian breaks and just why the play is so provocative. But to dive into the details would be to spoil the fun of sitting in the theatre and watching it unfold...He continues to tantalize the audience with the unexpected, constantly shifting any sort of home base...Bravo to the terrific ensemble." Full Review

"Well this is one of the more surprising shows I’ve seen lately. Perhaps its structural twists and turns won’t surprise you, but I was very happy to go along for the crazy and unexpected ride that is 'Barbecue'...So glad I took a chance on this one." Full Review

"'Barbecue' is both hilarious and thought provoking...Above all, it's great fun. O'Hara's theatrical world is always a bizarre cartoon-like distortion of reality. Director Kent Gash and the large cast has given the play an excellent, perfectly paced production. Highly recommended." Full Review