Barbecue NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (60)
See it if You love great acting and an interesting and unique idea for a play.
Don't see it if You don't like surprises and somewhat confusing plots.
See it if you like family drama presented in an unexpected, fresh way, with lots of laughs and satire, and a big act 1 curtain reveal
Don't see it if you don't like uneven plays - the first act is stronger than the second, or plays that sharply change tone from one act to the next
See it if u want another absolutely absorbing and wild play by Robert O'Hara. Very well produced and acted. Ending is a bit skit-like and shallow.
Don't see it if I don't see any reason not to see this if you like theater and want to celebrate new playwrights. So enjoyable! Surprises abound!
See it if You like unpredictable and smart writing
Don't see it if You want a linear, direct plot
See it if you want to see a show with a new spin
Don't see it if you are turned off by shouting and addiction themes
See it if want a fresh take on family interplay and ambition in an unexpected setting. 1st act was very strong and funny. 2nd act lost some steam.
Don't see it if you're looking for a straight-forward comedy setup. You do need to let go and get involved with the characters and their odd situations.
See it if you're looking for something that makes you think, but is still on the lighthearted side.
Don't see it if you are easily offended, you don't like stories about drugs.
See it if you like shouty comedy which exacerbates cultural stereotypes, want huge (unconvincing) plot twists. First half: hilarious, 2nd: wtf.
Don't see it if You don't want to be really confused by the end of the play, if cussing and dirty jokes offend you, if you want more nuanced acting.
Critic Reviews (32)
"'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.”
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"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"'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."
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"'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."
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"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."
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"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."
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