Cardinal
65

Cardinal NYC Reviews and Tickets

65%
(170 Ratings)
Positive
43%
Mixed
46%
Negative
11%
Members say
Disappointing, Great acting, Relevant, Entertaining, Thought-provoking

About the Show

Second Stage's world premiere comic drama tells the story of what happens when a small-town girl decides, quite literally, to paint the town red.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (170)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
461 Reviews | 98 Followers
72
Entertaining, Great staging, Quirky, Funny, Thought-provoking

See it if You enjoy interesting but light fare. Great acting, interesting story line, not super deep, but entertaining regardless.

Don't see it if You need deep emotional toil to be entertained. Funnier at the beginning but still good throughout.

576 Reviews | 88 Followers
72
Cliched, Disappointing, Indulgent, Insipid, Slow

See it if you like shows about modern problems.Relationships don't make sense. Acting is very uneven. Set is terrific. Book is weak.

Don't see it if you are looking for exciting theatre or interesting issues.This takes an important problem and doesn't really address it. Not worth the time

1181 Reviews | 466 Followers
72
Disappointing, Uneven pacing, Relevant, Interesting, Good acting

See it if You want to see a couple of stars from TV turn in good performances of a story that’s interesting but moves at an artificial pace.

Don't see it if You want a perfectly paced, well written show. This is an interesting relevant topic but not quite realized.

1011 Reviews | 950 Followers
72
Entertaining, Great acting, Uneven, Funny

See it if It's cute and entertaining. First half is better, funnier and more focused. Chlumsky is especially great.

Don't see it if Mostly unlikable though mostly​ funny characters. Some resembling reality TV trainwrecks. Read more

115 Reviews | 35 Followers
71
Great acting, Great staging, Slow

See it if You like short quirky plays. Amazing performances by all actors but it's a touch on the boring side

Don't see it if You prefer uplifiting plays. This is a a slow going drama.

176 Reviews | 41 Followers
71
Slow, Refreshing, Unusual, Thought-provoking, Feels long

See it if you like unusual but relevant plots that make you think. First half needs cuts as it feels long. Second half is interesting to follow.

Don't see it if you enjoy more straightforward plots that spell the message out rather than give hints. The first half is slow and feels long.

148 Reviews | 17 Followers
70
Funny, Entertaining, Enjoyable, Light-hearted, Energetic

See it if you want to sit back and enjoy the humorous banter between the lead actors. The play is easy going, fun, and engaging.

Don't see it if you are looking for seriousness, depth and intensity.

214 Reviews | 28 Followers
70
Indulgent, Thought-provoking, Mediocre

See it if you want to see something a little off-beat that examines some ways in which grand plans have can unexpected and unintended consequences.

Don't see it if you have a low tolerance threshold for overacting. That said, several strong supporting performances - namely Becky Ann Baker and Alex Hunt.

Critic Reviews (24)

The Wrap
January 30th, 2018

"Chlumsky and Pally bring their formidable comic talents to a new comedy that's practically devoid of humor...In its promising opening moments, the performances and the premise of 'Cardinal' telegraph comedy - in fact, a big screwball comedy...Chlumsky is stuck with providing most of the energy after the script leaves her comically stranded before the end of scene one...The actress compensates by being flustered...Whoriskey attempts to direct the onstage confusion."
Read more

Gotham Playgoer
January 30th, 2018

"A forest of subplots that jostle each other without coming together...Is it a rom-com? Is it a serious look at urban displacement? Is it a commentary on racial stereotyping? It appears that the playwright could not decide...Whoriskey is a fine director, but she can't supply coherence where none exists. Despite its faults, the play has many entertaining moments and it held my interest throughout. I wish it had been given more time to find its way before getting a NY premiere."
Read more

Stage Left
January 30th, 2018

"Pierce’s effort, more sitcom/romcom than play, lacks a serious foundation upon which to build a meaningful story or develop rich characters. It is, instead, bland and platitudinous, offering a superficial patina of hot-button discussion with little resolution or ideological point of view...What could be a big and provocative story about macro and micro economic and social shifts in an emblematic rust-belt town is reduced to three pairs of wan domestic squabbles...Skip this one."
Read more

Daily Beast
January 30th, 2018

"There is plenty of humorous material in 'Cardinal', but the play doesn't know how much it wants to make us laugh versus clasp our hands together in worry and concern about the state of urban America...Wants to find the funny in something that it also wants us to not laugh at. It wants to be snappy and fun, and it also wants to be Arthur Miller. The characters are a little impossible to connect to, or to root for."
Read more

Financial Times (UK)
January 31st, 2018

"Telling a story about urban decay from such a detached and materially comfortable perspective creates an unbalanced work...Pierce’s script also awkwardly plays up stereotypes of Chinese and Jewish acquisitiveness. Another weakness here is characterisation...Under Whoriskey’s brisk direction, their on-the-nose exchanges sound as if they belong in a passable TV sitcom...Political theatre needs to create a language of its own."
Read more

NJ.com
January 31st, 2018

"Chlumsky is one of the best reasons to see 'Cardinal', Greg Pierce's likable if uneven new comedy-drama...Pierce never quite gets a handle on the show's tone, which veers uneasily from broad satire to pathos to melodrama...Still, I appreciated this show's ambitious, restless energy...Pally doesn't entirely make sense of the somewhat confusing Jeff character...but the supporting cast is solid...Chlumsky anchors the show with a performance that is wily, funny and fast."
Read more

Epoch Times
February 6th, 2018

"Although there is no real villain in the story, there’s no one to really root for either. Lydia, who’s in almost every scene, turns out to be the least developed character in the play...The story would have also benefited had the audience had a chance to see a wider cross section of townspeople. Direction by Kate Whoriskey works well. She keeps the action moving nicely, as well as making sure the tension level is kept high in the various confrontations that occur, be they comical or dramatic."
Read more

NorthJersey.com
February 8th, 2018

"Pierce finds himself here overwhelmed with ideas that go nowhere. There is an overabundance of thoughts that might be going on in Pierce’s mind but mapping them out into a play despite Kate Whoriskey’s capable direction falls flat and tiresome...Pierce has written a mostly theoretical play about how ideas to help a deteriorating town can take a downward turn but never involves the audience which is its fatal flaw. The play should pack a potency and punch which it severely lacks."
Read more