Dot NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (58)
See it if You like good writing and good acting and you are or anticipate dealing with aging parents.
Don't see it if You don't like conflict.
See it if you like to belly laugh and ugly cry at the same time. This is a brilliantly funny and deeply affecting show. I can't stop thinking about it
Don't see it if you aren't up for family drama mixed with (some might argue) slightly over-the-top comedy. Personally, I loved the show.
See it if You like plays about dealing with family situations, and a touching story filled with both funny and sad moments.
Don't see it if You don't like lots of yelling and fast paced dialogue, or a play with a story that ends because our snapshot is over.
See it if you like to feel things. you like stories of families. you're sensitive.
Don't see it if you're going to complain that you'd rather be watching TV. you're expecting perfection.
See it if you enjoy heart warming family sagas, are happy to see diverse casts, appreciate "coming home again" sagas, want to laugh amid problems
Don't see it if family reunions are not your thing, can't imagine a comedy about Alzheimers, you have mother issues
See it if You enjoy shows centered on family with well-developed characters, and great acting.
Don't see it if You don't want to see another show about aging or family dysfunctions, or don't enjoy the (ever so) slightly cliché.
See it if you want to watch excellent acting or you want to laugh and have your heart torn, sometimes in the same moment. The characters are very real
Don't see it if you like "tight" shows; while I disagree that it should have ended with the piano, I do think there was more in the play than necessary.
See it if Excellent acting, often humorous yet loving portrayal of a family dealing with a mother's Alzheimer's disease. However, ran too long.
Don't see it if You want something light, or don't want to sit for 2 1/2 hours.
Critic Reviews (24)
"The blend between the broad comedy and the moments of poignancy in Domingo's family drama isn't a smooth one, but at the center is a heart-tugging and sincere performance by Marjorie Johnson...Stroman's staging often looks awkward as the actors maneuver the crowded space...Thanks to the solid company the production is entertaining and often funny, though jokes involving chitlins, fried chicken, and watermelon-flavored vodka...seem more shticky than character-driven."
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"For all of the first act and much of the second, Domingo is in his finest full-speed-ahead form yet as a playwright. He charges between insane comedy and gut-wrenching drama with gleeful abandon, but without ever diminishing the impact of either. Potentially eye-rolling scenes...are handled with deftness and originality...The second act is rockier, as Domingo gives in to the kind of moralizing he makes fun of earlier."
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"Colman Domingo proves his sharp ear for dialogue, witty lines and overlapping conversations that are as real as the neighborhood. He met Susan Stroman when he was featured in 'The Scottsboro Boys,' which she directed. They clearly share an understanding of the intricacies of today's families. Without bang-up gizmos or blinding lasers, 'Dot' is a powerful glimpse of the new normal family."
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"A funny yet serious new play about a family's struggle with their mother's descent into dementia...This entire ensemble, led by Marjorie Johnson in the title role, is sensational...Their dedication pays off for Domingo, whose script is weighed down by a few plausibility issues that the audience seemed happy to overlook because the performances were so engaging."
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"The dialogue is fast, furious, quick-witted and often hilarious in this latest offering from Colman Domingo...There are plenty of cliché and politically correct and incorrect references...but the bottom line is the heart-breaking sadness that comes to bear in Act 2 of watching a loved one sinking into the darkness of Alzheimer’s...Domingo’s script captures the love and confusion."
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"Scene after scene, the siblings have the kind of arguments we’ve seen countless times in forgettable Sunday afternoon flicks...The few moments of tremendous insight in Domingo’s script are diluted by his constant use of obvious manipulation and facile symbolism. There’s a point where the show has become so stereotypical that you wonder if you’re actually watching a satire of the dozens of similar plays and films that have touched on the same subjects."
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"The first act of ‘Dot’ is strong and successfully introduces each character, delineates their specific conflicts, and paves the way for discovering more about Dotty and her illness. Unfortunately, this expectation remains unsatisfied. In the second act Dotty’s important story gets sidelined by the subplots…The script’s weakness overshadows the collective craft of the cast,"
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"All of this effort to make every character credible and establish their web of relationships is in one way admirable, and their various reconciliations often touching. If it adds up ultimately to a play that feels too long and too diffuse, we are left with the poignant memory of Marjorie Johnson as Dotty, who amid the hubbub of her family during their holiday party, quietly and with dignity faces down the future."
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