Curse of the Starving Class NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (183)
See it if you are a Sam Shepard fan this is one of his best plays.
Don't see it if you don't like dated works or a play that lets you figure out what happens at the end. Remember, this is Sam Shepard.
See it if You don’t mind Shepard’s dark vision which seems to still be bearing fruit in Trump’s America.Surprising insights into developers.
Don't see it if If you looking for light entertainment.
See it if primal & explosive; searing portrait of dysfunctional family in the west ground down by rapacious capitalism/exploitation; hilarious at time
Don't see it if loud, unsubtle production; meanders at times; doesn't always achieve balance btwn realism/surrealism that characterizes Shepard at his best Read more
See it if you want to be blown away by a set designers perfectly imaginative place for this family breakdown; you want to see destruction in all forms
Don't see it if you can't see real animals in plays if they face hard endings
See it if You love works by Sam Shepherd.
Don't see it if You don't enjoy watching an extremely dysfunctional family.
See it if A strong prod of a complicated (that is Shepard) play.Realistic-symbolic.Still relevant.Warshofsky stunning as drunk father.
Don't see it if you prefer a straightforward story, don't care for symbolism or "message" in your theater, don't like Shepard.
See it if Sam Shepard version on life and mankind resonates with you. Wonderful acting and staging
Don't see it if if rude view on life the lower class and raunchy story text might bother you
See it if you like plays about American anxieties, told in bizarre and entertaining ways. Great acting and staging.
Don't see it if you're not a fan of Shepard's overly dramatic style, or don't like funny plays with serious undertones.
Critic Reviews (27)
"The Tate family’s rundown farmhouse kitchen...Suspended as if trapped mid-explosion...Its a stunning effect, but it has the side effect of foreshadowing both theme and plot in a way that makes the play grimmer and more frightening, layering even its moments of dark humor with ever-present existential dread...Kinney’s production does capture well Shepard’s characteristic oscillation between hyper-real physicality and archetypal elements in the plot and characters."
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"Unexciting, emotionally uninvolving…The play incorporates considerable humor; this production, though, too rarely realizes those comical dimensions…Few moments find the right balance between Shepard's earthy realism and his poetic demands. Katz's exquisitely modulated lighting captures the shifting moods much more effectively than the prosaic performances, which sometimes makes it difficult to accept the reality behind the more theatrically exaggerated scenes."
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"It's easy to understand how 'Curse of the Starving Class' both jolted audiences and cemented Shepard's reputation as a playwright in its 1978 premiere at The Public Theater by showing us the warts-and-all underbelly of America and this not atypical American family. And, 40 years later, there remains a shocking timeliness to its themes of the haves versus have-nots and the death of the so-called American Dream among our country's working class."
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"Shepard has burdened the play with too many metaphor-laden monologues. Director Terry Kinney has combined the first two acts into one, which makes for a long 90 minutes before intermission...Director Kinney shows an affinity for Shepard. If you are a Shepard fan, you may well enjoy yourself; if not, it may be a long 2 1/2 hours."
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"Terry Kinney begins his solid revival of the 1978 Sam Shepard drama with a jolting coup de theatre...But aside from the onstage appearance of an adorable, scene-stealing lamb, the rest of Kinney’s production never quite matches the shock of its opening moments...There’s not a great deal of subtlety here, either in the performances or in Shepard’s often on-the-nose metaphors. As a result, the reversals of plot and character in the last act fail to deliver the impact they deserve."
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"For anyone conversant with Shepard, the terrain is familiar and rewarding. The language is beautiful and the action hypnotic."
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“If there is one thing Sam Shepard enjoyed as a playwright, it is symbolism...Signature Theater’s revival of ‘Curse of The Starving Class’ is not only poignant; it is predictive...As a cast, you cannot beat 'Starving Class.' Each cast member emanates their frustration, sadness, boredom, and rage at having to find ways to survive a life they barely want to live...Kinney brilliantly presents Shepard’s script as an affront to capitalistic greed.”
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“A compelling ferocious revival...Luckily, director Terry Kinney...balances the tricky tone of 'Curse of the Starving Class' compellingly, which is a relief given the lopsided nature of the piece...The third and final act seems a bit rushed and eager to bring the story to its conclusion. Nevertheless, the cast is excellent, fearlessly handling the text’s demanding ricocheting between absurdity and intense – often ferociously violent – realism."
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