Building the Wall NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (133)
See it if You're interested in extremely current, topical plays about societal issues & what our future might look like under a Trump administration.
Don't see it if You're already seething about Trump and need theatre to de-stress you instead of reminding you of his agenda.
See it if You are interested in speculative depictions of near future events
Don't see it if You want something visually stunning or if you want to escape current politics and fears
See it if you're interested in a what-if scenario regarding immigration, deportation, and going too far. Gives you something to think about.
Don't see it if you get bored by a play with only two characters, you don't like matter-of-fact dialogue or political theater
See it if you want a political thriller with drama so real that you might find it on an episode of Homeland or even in the news.
Don't see it if you don't want to be confronted by heavy political themes or are looking for something comedic/uplifting.
See it if you wish to see new work addressing the current socio-political climate in the US
Don't see it if you do not enjoy speculative, political stories
See it if You hate Trump, have nothing better to do, and can't get cheap tickets to anything else.
Don't see it if You have anything else to do. I really don't bash shows--I can almost always find something good--and I just couldn't find it in this. Sorry
See it if I can't think of a reason.
Don't see it if You want to see something fresh and engaging.
See it if you want to tether on the waiting-to-exhale insanity of what is currently happening in politics but set two years into the future.
Don't see it if Wait. Why wouldn't you see this play? See this play! It is freakin' brilliant.
Critic Reviews (31)
“For all its irritating familiarity, hearing the issues bantered back and forth between two solid actors has a certain fascination…Riveting as much of this is, it fails the credibility test. It's impossible to believe that the ‘truth’ of an incident that makes Abu Ghraib sound like kindergarten hazing is being revealed only in a prison interview with an academic...Although neither character is fully believable, Dale does a good job at humanizing Rick's jittery combination of defiance and guilt.”
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“An 80-minute shocker of a play…The thing about ‘Building the Wall’ is that the drama is contained in the gathering horror story told — but not necessarily in any mounting tension between the two characters conveying the story. Indeed, there is not very much of that…Under Edelson’s economical direction, Dale and Tunie are perfectly fine as Rick and Gloria…If ‘Building the Wall’ is more like reading a story than attending a theatrical production, it’s a mighty scary tale at that.”
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"A bleak and terrifying look at the immigrant situation...An urgent cry of warning...Dale’s performance doesn’t make amends, he accepts his responsibility. Director Ari Edelson lets us see his humanity, his pain, and the out of control situation he has been placed in...This play is hard to take and in all honesty, I just wanted to throw up after seeing it, but it needs to be seen."
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“‘Building the Wall’ is powerful in its preposterousness. Just when you think the revelations can’t get any darker, they turn another, deeper shade of black…Gloria never changes…In a better, even more disturbing play, she might also be shown to bear some responsibility for what went wrong in America…Dale rivets in his evolution and manipulation of Rick’s many faces. It’s a performance unlike any other on stage right now...What Schenkkan puts in Rick’s mouth is unforgettable.”
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“Edelson gives the work a taut edge. Dale makes Rick a believable three-dimensional being…Tunie imbues Gloria with individual details. But neither character changes or learns anything new. Much of their dialogue consists of previous actions, statistics, headlines, and talking points…Yet despite the shortcomings, our interest is held for its 80 minutes..Schenkkan has allowed his passion to overrule his dramaturgy and we get the theatrical equivalent of a hastily drawn political cartoon.”
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"You can call the situation dramatized far-fetched but, nonetheless, it makes for an unsettling projection of events in this tightly presented two-hander, grippingly performed by Dale and Tunie...I was thoroughly riveted by the talk between Rick and Gloria as a result of the convincing acting by Dale and Tunie and the issues that the playwright puts on the table...Schenkkan, his cast and director Edelson, whose staging is admirably taut, do a service with this riveting dramatic warning."
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"Dale is electrifying as a prisoner in 2019 telling his story to a historian in Schenkkan’s gripping, of-the-moment 'Building the Wall'...Schenkkan and director Ari Edelson slowly unfurl the narrative to make it all wholly believable rather than the ranting of a liberal sore loser...Dale is intense and affecting...Tunie cannot quite keep up with Dale, her delivery too static, unable to get past the expository nature of some of her dialogue, something that Dale pulls off in the meatier role."
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"Under Ari Edelson’s direction, the ensuing dialogue, though an effective plot device, can feel a bit formulaic...James Badge Dale more than makes up for such deficiencies with his all-too-human portrayal of Rick...Schenkkan conveys a grimly persuasive message: Yes, it could happen here...'Building the Wall’s' dire prophecy may prove unfounded in literal terms. But its parting shot will surely continue to resonate, whatever happens."
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