Curse of the Starving Class NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (183)
See it if you want to see a show-stealing performance by David Warshofsky. Also, if you have never seen a production of this Sam Shepard classic.
Don't see it if your taste runs from light comedies to musicals. This play is intense and edgy.
See it if you’d like to see a fine accounting of the play that sent Sam Shepard off in the new direction for which he is best known.
Don't see it if you do not like Sam Shepard’s writing, even at its most “naturalistic”. Read more
See it if bold, complicated characters excite you, or you’re tired of conventional shows. The brashness of this play will shake things up for you.
Don't see it if you like shows that play it safe. This production pulls no punches.
See it if You want to see a visceral staging of a play by one of America's quintessential playwrights. The actors go all in! Direction is great.
Don't see it if You don't like intense dramas and people eating food sloppily on stage. ;-)
See it if You like Sam Shepard and want to see a funny, well-acted play about dysfunctional people without money.
Don't see it if You don't like stories about poor people even if it's not overly depressing. Read more
See it if You enjoy Sam Shepard. I really do think it’s that simple if you like sam you will like this show
Don't see it if You are looking for a fun and fluffy piece of theater. This is dirty. It’s all about a messed up and dysfunctional family Read more
See it if Nicely staged. Gilles Geary and David Warshofsky are terrific. Dad’s drunk scene is peerless. Sad and disturbing. And that lamb!
Don't see it if Raw Shepard disturbs you. Not as memorable as the recent “True West,” but incisive and entertaining. And that lamb!
See it if you want to see incredible acting or are a Sam Sheppard fan. The play is extremely intense. As a bonus there is a very cute live lamb in it.
Don't see it if dark family dramas upset you. As you can tell by the title it is not an uplifting play. There is also nudity if that bothers you.
Critic Reviews (27)
"Terry Kinney has a long history as both an actor in and director of Shepard plays, and his direction of the current revival finds the right balance among the violence, dark humor, pathos, and poetry...As with the other plays in the trilogy, 'Curse of the Starving Class' shows that the dissolution of the American dream is not just a national tragedy but a domestic one as well."
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"As good as the actors all are—and they are all very good—this production’s best asset is undoubtedly director Terry Kinney...Given all the crazy goings-on—the missing chicken, the maggoty lamb, the urine-soaked floor—it would be easy to dismiss these characters as a bunch of crazies, to exploit their eccentricities for maximum comic effect. But Kinney sees them for exactly who they are: Outsiders. Idealists. Fighters. Americans."
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"Couldn’t be riper for reflection...Crouch’s most prominent set piece and prop is a potential storage place for nourishment, a refrigerator, that remains bare through much of the first act. Characters open it, inspect it, speak to it, slam it shut in frustration; they’re mired in hunger, and not just for food. So long as such exchanges are taking place, 'Curse of the Starving Class' will lose none of its resonance, or its bite."
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“The play flip-flips from comedy to tragedy and plainspoken realism to absurdism in the blink of an eye...Hugging tight to the contours of Shepard’s script is no mean feat, but Kinney’s ensemble handles that capably enough. Geary and DeClement are especially effective. His freaky food binge is bound to make you lose your appetite, and if it doesn’t, what he does with a maggot-plagued lamb will. Her high-octane performance jolts each scene to life – and that’s anything but a curse."
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"The original production of 'Curse of the Starving Class' in 1977 was a shocker even for a time when permissiveness prevailed. Kinney seems to have decided that the play Shepard wrote isn't sufficiently meaningful or effective, so he decided to exaggerate everything, beginning with the scenery-a large, dumpy, shopworn kitchen-literally breaking apart accompanied by explosive noises before the play begins. The set is left hanging in pieces as the characters go about their business."
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“A flawed revival...This production is not for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached...The big drawback...is that it pulls out the theatrical stops too early...No subsequent scene comes near to matching its frisson...Kinney should have trusted more in Shepard's language and the whole moving spirit of the play...It might not fire on all cylinders. But it sure does allow one to get a real taste of the late author's genius.”
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“This production of ‘Curse of the Starving Class’ does honor to Shepard. With a slight end-of-the-world, ‘Mad Max’ feel...The actors are key to bringing Shepard's text to life and this cast certainly does their job...The work done by scenic designer Julian Crouch is also noteworthy...Crouch’s work illuminates Kinney's dark vision...This ‘Curse of the Starving Class’ is a job well done by all involved.”
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"I admit it, I’m a big fan of Shepard’s plays, especially his 70’s and 80’s works like 'Curse of the Starving Class', which is currently being revived by Signature Theatre in an outstanding production. Not only is it masterfully directed by Kinney who was a long-time collaborator of Shephard’s, having both acted in his plays and directed them, but the cast is superb. And the production values are impeccable. If you’re a fan, go see it. If you’ve never seen a Shepard play, don’t miss it."
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