Curse of the Starving Class NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (183)
See it if You like quirky plays, great acting, Sam Sheppard
Don't see it if You don't like plays that have absurd elements to them.
See it if You like great acting and famous people on stage. Donald Sutherland was in the audience! Great direction. Plot confusing so I bought script.
Don't see it if Don’t sit at the back you need to be close to follow it. Sam Shepherd v wordy deep, full of allegories. If you want a light comedy don’t go.
See it if If you want to see an early Sam Shepard play of another dysfunctional family. Very well done acting was supurb and overall disturbing .
Don't see it if You have trouble watching a chaotic fanily contains some disturbing subject matters. Read more
See it if you like Sam Shepard's work; surrealistic stories about extremely dysfunctional families, pathos with dark humor, great monologues*
Don't see it if don't want the above or stories of delusional people who are exploited by greedy businessmen Read more
See it if you like the dark themes of Sam Shepard plays and want to experience a talented cast portraying a dysfunctional family.
Don't see it if you are looking for a light uplifting play. This play is intense, dark, and deep.
See it if You are in the mood to see a dysfunctional family. Be prepared for a lot 8f screaming.
Don't see it if You want a light, feel good take me away show.
See it if you want to see a rarely staged classic. Some of the speeches don't land. Not sure if the writing has dated, or if the delivery was off.
Don't see it if You are not a Sam Shepard fan. Or possibly if you are such a fanatic that this gentler interpretation will stick in your craw.
See it if Do you miss early Shepard plays? Food in the dialogue. Food on tables, counters, in the fridge. Food being eaten, thrown, on the floor.
Don't see it if You do not like messy drama, in words, and visuals. Nothing what it seems or as it should be. Or should it?
Critic Reviews (27)
“A generally sturdy production that opts for some overly broad humor, diminishing the impact of the play’s turn to violent, grotesque tragedy. What should feel like a punch in the gut is more like a tap...The humor on display...is more in the vein of a particularly zany sitcom...In this production, one is too much aware of watching a play that is dealing with a set of themes. This reduces the ending’s emotional impact...We see the mess and the tragedy, but we don’t quite feel it.”
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"The opening explosion removes any sense of normal suburban existence, which 'Curse' absolutely needs if the satire is to sting as it should...The play has much more bite if they are trying to keep up the middle-class illusion, despite everything going wrong around them...I actually thought the cast was pretty strong throughout...I’d like to have seen this cast with a different director—I really think the ingredients are there, but it doesn’t catch fire."
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"The tortured self reflection and battling family members are operatic in scale and grounded in the impossible circumstances of deeply scarred individuals. This production is a master class on depicting Shepard's denizens of self destruction. Warshofsky deserves a special call out as an exceptional Weston but the entire cast is exceptional. If you are a fan of Shepard's work you should be pleased with this version. If you have never seen a play by Shepard this is a good place to start."
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