Beneath The Gavel NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (41)
See it if ..you need 101 class in contemporary art and art dealing world. If you enjoy elements of interactive theatre and want to play the "auction".
Don't see it if ..you expect a fully developed narrative. If you don't like physical theatre and can't stand sloppy and cluttered set design.
See it if you'll have fun with the occasional bidding, you'll enjoy laughing at the art world's absurdities.
Don't see it if you're looking for plot, or depth. There are lots of disconnected scenes, many are done well, but no time for develpment.
See it if You want to learn more about how art is valued and how to run an auction. Not very effective as a play. Not much of a story.
Don't see it if You don't care about paintings and auctions.
See it if This show says it will 'expose' the art auction business. Well not so much. It has a bewildering back-story and hokey pretend auctions
Don't see it if You like plays that you don't have to ask yourself, 'What is happening here?' The cast is clever, perhaps too much so.
See it if you enjoy the contemporary art world and pseudo-immersive theatre.
Don't see it if half baked execution of a pretty good idea frustrates you.
See it if You like art auctions. You like shows with audience participation.
Don't see it if You don't like gimmicks. You don't like shows that pander to the audience.
See it if You have nothing else to do. The play has little structure and terrible flow. Even if you are involved in the auction world it is boring.
Don't see it if I would say just don't see it. Theater 59E59 offers many great productions. This is not one of them.
See it if You are ready to participate and enter the world of art auctions. Most fun I've had at a show in a while.
Don't see it if You can't get behind interpretive dance and art history lessons scattered throughout
Critic Reviews (11)
"Offers a mêlée of perspectives on the visual art world...While each one of these approaches would make for an interesting and meaty show, 'Beneath the Gavel' tries to treat them all, and suffers because of it...Unfortunately, many moments of humor rely on gimmicks...'Beneath the Gavel’s' other flaw is that it tries to do too much...'Beneath the Gavel’s' saving grace is that it does offer documentary-like moments of exposing the fast-paced world of the billion-dollar art industry."
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"Conveys something of the electricity, adrenaline rush, and energy which invariably accompany evening sales at such institutions. Equally, it deftly skewers trendy downtown culture vulture types...Of course, nothing attracts moss faster than the avant-garde, and parts of the play feel instantly dated...By the third ‘auction,’ the joke has worn thinner than Pollock’s paint...On balance, however, 'Gavel' does a decent job at conveying the madcap antics of an endlessly fascinating milieu."
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"If you’ve ever imagined what it might be like to play with the big guys at an auction house like Sotheby’s or Christie’s, this is your golden invitation...In pantomime, with dance and movement, in scenes of a behind-the-canvas look at art auctioneers, the art world is revealed, warts and all...Grab your paddle, don the fancy patron of the arts glasses as a gift, collect as much fake moola as you can, and enjoy the theatrical endeavor that is the creative whirlwind 'Beneath the Gavel.'”
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