Downstairs NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (119)
See it if A very good play. BEST Ive seen yet. Deals with domestic violence and family issues including mental illness.
Don't see it if Its long without intermission and seats arent very roomy but great venue.
See it if you like GREAT acting
Don't see it if you don't like to travel out of the NYC theatre district for shows Read more
See it if you want to see SUPERIOR acting from absolute craftsmen. A spellbinding production that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Don't see it if you have issues with domestic abuse or mental instability. The action is intense and therefore can be intimidating to squeamish audiences Read more
See it if You enjoy small stages with great acting, absorbing and tense moments in a show about relationships and family drama (who doesn't have that)
Don't see it if you aren't a fan of small thought-provoking rough topics. Homelessness, mental illness and family drama
See it if you like shows about dysfunctional family members who deeply love each other and look out for each other despite their problems.
Don't see it if you only like light comedies and can't handle family drama.
See it if The two great Daly siblings in atypical roles, Great acting by all 3. Great set .Sound & lighting were perfect. "Sleep is overrated'
Don't see it if At first I was disappointed with the ending but after much thought, I loved it.....How can Primary Stage get more of the young theatergoers?
See it if you want to see two masters of the craft go head to head (the third member is no slouch either) and gasp out loud a few times
Don't see it if domestic violence triggers you or you expect the first half of the show to be as gripping as the second
See it if Dark drama about dysfunctional family with depravity. Great directing.Tim Daly was extraordinaire! Demons in people surface & karma is great
Don't see it if dont like dark dysfunctional drama Read more
Critic Reviews (24)
“Directed with striking clarity and command by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, 'Downstairs' is a well-constructed play of whipsaw moods that have much to do with Teddy’s instability — a restless volatility that Mr. Daly struggles to embody in a performance that is the production’s most amusing yet least convincing...It’s actually quite entertaining...Procaccino’s Gerry is a magnificent villain — belligerent, dangerous, and so habitually, casually vicious.”
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"Rebeck wrote 'Downstairs' expressly for the real-life Daly siblings...As an acting showcase, it serves its purpose—especially for Tyne...But as a play, 'Downstairs' needs some renovating. The suspense is hit-and-miss: Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt injects some nifty jolts, but slack pacing often kills the chills. The play toys with intriguing ideas...but the denouement doesn't induce an epiphany. Like its central siblings, 'Downstairs' still seems to be trying to find itself."
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“Although the production offers the welcome opportunity for...Tyne Daly and Tim Daly to make their first joint appearance on a NY stage, it offers them little more than a gimmicky acting vehicle...Rebeck ratchets up the tension slowly...The play feels repetitive...its slackness preventing narrative momentum from taking hold...The Daly siblings deliver complex, nuanced performances that somehow keep us guessing about their characters even while we're losing interest.”
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"It’s a dark, talky, somber evening by uneven, prolific playwright Theresa Rebeck that will not please anyone seeking a coherent, well-written play in a naturalistic style, but the performances by the Dalys are well worth a trip...Directed with balance and vision by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, 'Downstairs' doesn’t add up to much, but what’s there is riveting and suspenseful."
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“Primary Stages gets into the star-vehicle business with ‘Downstairs’...Poised halfway between an enigmatic Pinterian power struggle and a conventional thriller, ‘Downstairs’ is not without its plot holes...If some plot points dangle preciously, the climax features a couple of too-neatly arranged developments...Nevertheless, if you enjoy the Dalys at their considerable best -- and you don't mind an oversupply of exposition – ‘Downstairs’ packs some extremely potent thrills.”
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“’Downstairs’ is not an entirely satisfying drama. Before the story twists into suspenseful mode, it gets downright sleepy. Campbell-Holt...should have punched up that soft spot in her otherwise solid staging of the play. Still, some distinctive charm and subtle comedy arises amid Rebeck’s chitchat between Teddy and Irene as they fondly reminisce about growing up with their batty parents...While the play is not among Rebeck’s finest, it certainly delivers satisfying dramatic moments."
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“There’s good news and bad news about ‘Downstairs’...Good news: It stars the dynamite real-life brother and sister Tim and Tyne Daly...Though they’re cast as siblings, both actors...are playing terrifically against type...Bad news: Despite the Dalys’ best efforts, ‘Downstairs’ is almost as adrift as poor Teddy. It starts as a quietly intriguing dysfunctional-family drama...Takes a whiplash-inducing turn into thriller territory, then settles back very briefly into the brother-sister story.”
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“Ostensibly about domestic abuse, the evidence is all offstage and we must surmise this from the defeated condition of the heroine Irene played by Ms. Daly. Her husband Gerry (John Procaccino) is involved in some shocking, nefarious business revealed to the characters on stage but never revealed to the audience, nor is the confidential project her brother Teddy (Mr. Daly) claims to be working on which will make his fortune. As such, the thrills are all a matter of guesswork, rather than actual.”
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