Coal Country NYC Reviews and Tickets

78%

(56 Reviews)

Positive

81%

Mixed

14%

Negative

Members say

Relevant, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Great singing

About the Show

From the creators of "The Exonerated" comes this new work based first-person accounts by survivors of the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion and their family members.

From the show:

In 2010, the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia killed 29 men, and tore a hole in the lives of countless others.

In this riveting, emotionally stunning new work based on first-person accounts by survivors and family members, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, award-winning writers of The Exonerated, and three-time Grammy Award-winning country/folk legend Steve Earle, dig deep into the lives and loss of the most deadly mining disaster in recent U.S. history.

Jessica Blank directs this haunting world premiere that gives voice to those yet unheard, and shines a piercing light on the deadly forces of greed and the enduring power of love.

Member Reviews (56)

Thought-provoking, Touching, Great music, Intelligent, Absorbing

See it if documentary theater about a fatal mine explosion, monologues based on real interviews & trial records; interspersed with folk music

Don't see it if don't want minimalist staging (a few benches are just moved around the stage); want dialogue rather than monologues Read more

Haunting true story of corporate greed

See it if You loved Come From Away.

Don't see it if You’re looking for something light.

Critic Reviews (12)

March 3rd, 2020

Elisabeth Vincentelli

CRITIC’S PICK. "Songs and Stories in a Disaster’s Aftermath: Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s show at the Public Theater, with live music by Steve Earle, is based on a real-life West Virginia mining tragedy."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

Raven Snook

4/5 Stars "A devastating documentary play...Blank and Jensen...compassionately channel true accounts of survival without editorializing, so nothing gets in the way of our empathy...The performances are gorgeously authentic and underplayed."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

David Rooney

"Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen give voice to the friends and families of miners killed in a 2010 West Virginia explosion in this haunting drama with original music written and performed by Steve Earle."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

Hayley Levitt

"Coal Country Takes Us to West Virginia Where We're Far Past Canaries: Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen chronicle the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion at the Public Theater, with original songs by Steve Earle."
Read more

March 5th, 2020

Michael Dale

"Powerfully Plainspoken 'COAL COUNTRY' Speaks The Truths of Mining Disaster Victims"
Read more

March 4th, 2020

David Barbour

"It's gripping, laced with heartbreak, and it opens a window on the current American dilemma. Of its kind, it is nearly perfect."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

Howard Miller

"An air of authenticity suffuses the production, which first-rate performances by the cast and by singer-songwriter Steve Earle."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

David Finkle

4/5 Stars. "Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen have sewn together a shocking, touching West Virginia quilt of blithe corporate corruption, offering another important piece to the annals of working-class theater literature."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

Michael Sommers

3/5 Stars. "A new docudrama regarding a mine disaster in 2010, performed by a fine company of actors and beautifully staged at the Public Theater."
Read more

March 3rd, 2020

Jeremy Gerard

"TAPESTRY OF GRIEF: As the best folk songs often do, this powerful show may make you both sad and elated."
Read more

March 6th, 2020

Deirdre Donovan

"Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen's documentary drama about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia presents a series of searing first-person accounts of the disaster, as told by the survivors and family members of the victims."
Read more