Come Back, Little Sheba NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (83)
See it if Tremendous writing and acting, about a late middle aged couple struggling with their lost youth. Emphasis on the bygone sexuality.
Don't see it if While some of the 1950's gender roles and sexual mores are dated, the deeper themes are eternal. Read more
See it if you enjoy very good acting with unusual sets
Don't see it if don't like the story or location of the theater
See it if a moving & professional revival of a classic American play. DO NOT MISS IT!
Don't see it if you don't want to think or feel or be moved. Or want to see HAMILTON.
See it if you're interested in serious drama; you like the idea of sitting close to the action; you liked the movie
Don't see it if you want a light or humorous storyline Read more
See it if Transport Group is fantastic re: staging of shows. The cast is great.We have not seen a production in more than 20 years, Inge is a fav.
Don't see it if you only need new works. You must be ready to "sit in the laps" of the actors" Only disappointment was seeing David Greenspan for (cont.) Read more
See it if You want to see very good performances. Enjoy spare, well staged shows. Like serious work that explores passage of time's effect on self.
Don't see it if You don't like sort of dark theme personal exploration stories. You aren't a fan of the Inge style.
See it if you want to understand the mores of the Cold War era and be able to question the values we've lost since then. The acting was superb.
Don't see it if you don't have patience for a non-90-minute play that takes its time to tell a poignant story. You don't care about the 1950s. Read more
See it if You want to see great acting. You want to see a housewife that longs for more. You want to see a husband battling issues.
Don't see it if You don't like up close and personal performances. You don't want to be entertained. You are not interested in a play from 60+ years ago. Read more
Critic Reviews (19)
"The shows depict lives in turmoil with deceptive simplicity — an elusive quality that the Transport Group captures...Inge's work burst with generous humanity and possessed a sure grasp on the power of intimacy — something these productions skillfully bring to the fore...The productions work well together because Mr. Cummings and his cast are in sync with Inge’s sensibility, aware as he was that understatement is powerful."
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"Lola has a lot going on under the surface, as she navigates the thin ice that is spousal sobriety. It takes a tedious two hours, however, for the playwright and performers to delve to that level...Mac Rae never convinces as a fully rounded, credible character—partly because Mac Rae, at 70, is seriously miscast...Inge does not hold back on the psychosexual subtext—naughty territory for the time period, but heavy-handed today."
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"These revivals, staged by Jack Cummings III and acted by a first-class ensemble cast, will leave you in no doubt that Inge was one of America’s half-dozen greatest playwrights...Simplicity and intimacy are the keys to these stagings...This kind of bare-bones staging works only if the actors are strong enough not to need to hide behind the production. Mr. Cummings’s cast delivers the goods...In the end, though, Mr. Cummings is the hero of the piece."
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"Two excellent productions featuring a terrific cast that blows the dust off these somewhat dated classics...Jack Cummings III directs these plays with loving detail...Inge's depiction of women is decidedly of its time...But then there's Elless...Elless' performances are, by themselves, worth the price of admission...Cummings can't prevent the plots from veering toward the melodramatic at times, but their power for us today is that they open windows into a past that we often forget existed."
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“Transport Group's superb mounting of both of these plays in repertory is staged by director Jack Cummings III in an intimate environment that allows natural performances and gentle nuances…The lengthy playing space allows for scenes on one side to be countered by silent actions on the other...With riveting simplicity and realism, Heather Mac Rae gives a heartbreaking performance...The finely acted pair offer beautifully subtle glimpses of human longings.”
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""If these productions don't convince you that Inge is one of our finest playwrights, nothing will...If 'Come Back, Little Sheba' is a little less successful, it's not entirely the company's fault...'Come Back, Little Sheba' is tricky to stage, especially the first act...In addition, the performances don't quite rise to the level of 'Picnic'...Still, Kolinski catches the turmoil raging under the surface of Doc's character, and he and Mac Rae get full value out of the brutal Act II encounter."
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"Despite heavy-handed direction, these revivals of two well-known, insightful and meticulously written works succeed...The play and the actors transcend Mr. Cummings’ intrusive direction...Ms. Mac Rae’s personality shines through, and ultimately it’s a moving performance that holds interest...Mr. Kolinski gives a knockout performance that skillfully alternates between sunny, sullen and roaring...Despite its presentational excesses, this production affirms the play’s power."
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"If Inge seems outdated and somewhat clumsy to current theatergoers, his plays still have the insights and dramatic tension that make them worth revival...But there are problems. Presenting Inge in repertory makes it painfully obvious just how similar his plays are...If much of 'Picnic' and 'Come Back, Little Sheba' is overwrought and obvious, the two plays do give us a picture of middle America back in the 1950s."
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