Dr. Ride's American Beach House NYC Reviews and Tickets

70%

(58 Reviews)

Positive

58%

Mixed

33%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Slow, Quirky, Ambitious, Confusing

About the Show

Set in Missouri on the night before Dr. Sally Ride's historic launch into space, Ars Nova's world premiere explores sexual politics, power, and repression between three friends in 1983.

From the show:

It's 1983, the evening before Dr. Sally Ride's historic space flight. Hundreds of miles from the launch, a group of women with passionate opinions and no opportunities sit on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop watching life pass them by. Their uncharted desires bump up against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines.

Member Reviews (58)

Exquisite, Great acting, Great writing, Absorbing, Riveting

See it if You like shows that mesmerize. This somehow balances beautifully on that line of being about everything and nothing simultaneously.

Don't see it if You’re looking for fast paced or lots of action. This is one of those shows that creeps up into your head and kind of blooms like a flower. Read more

Confusing, Great staging, Slow, Quirky, Disappointing

See it if you like new works - this one well-acted with good a capella singing of 80's songs on a nicely designed set, used well under good direction.

Don't see it if you want a play that goes somewhere - this is a slice of life among four individuals set in a time that maybe unfamiliar to many-it's chatty

Moving, Thought-provoking, Resonant, Profound, Exquisite

See it if Repressed lesbian best friends hang out and plumb their identities. Made me feel the ongoing struggle of finding myself. Inspiring.

Don't see it if You don’t like character development plays where the action is inside the mind. A wind blows away the fog of confusion and lets in hope. Read more

Entertaining, Ambitious, Funny, Clever, Resonant

See it if women's relationships interest you. The play reflects on friends, neighbors, mothers, daughters, lovers, etc.as seen from a rooftop

Don't see it if slice of life is not your thing. The major event of the play has little to do with the characters we get to know during most of the play

Thought-provoking, Quirky, Great acting, Edgy, Ambitious

See it if Birkenmeire's elliptical, idiosyncratic psuedo-feminist tale of two women inching towards a new self-awareness is driven by a superb quartet

Don't see it if Difficulty in gaining a footing on an elusive (if any) plot takes effort & often dead ends Despite its many appeals, its a shaggy dog story

Quirky, Intelligent, Great writing, Great staging, Great acting

See it if Two childhood friends believe that they have the luxury of time to accept or refute the context of their relationship. Beautiful. Great set.

Don't see it if Intentional poignancy & regret thicken the summer air on the eve of Dr. Ride's fateful mission,marking the time for decision is often brief.

Inconspicuous, Entertaining, Thought-provoking, Clever, Great acting

See it if A trove of ideas & commentary that blend into the dialogue w/ chameleon subtlety so that the show’s almost indistinguishable from life.

Don't see it if the only writers/artists/people worth notice are ones making conspicuous, declarative, look-at-me gestures trumpeting their cleverness. Read more

Quirky, Great acting, Great writing, Great staging, Clever

See it if you like complex friendship plays where very little happens dramatically but much is revealed slowly through narrative and character

Don't see it if you don't want to think about who and what a person is, where and how life's decisions affect your future and don't want a feminist bent Read more

Critic Reviews (12)

CRITIC’S PICK "Getting Intimate at ‘Dr. Ride’s American Beach House’: In a witty new play by Liza Birkenmeier, restless friends find themselves challenged by the first American woman in space."
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4/5 Stars "The route of Birkenmeier’s plot is tightly mapped in retrospect, but full of worthy little detours into character...'Dr. Ride' takes its sweet time to rev up, but it goes the distance when the engine kicks in. It’s a specific and evocative depiction of identity and power at a crossroads."
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"After 80 luscious minutes of conversation, the company somehow has material for a whole nother play, a ten-minute scorcher between Sally Ride (Sieh) and an old friend Molly (Markey)...The play itself just keeps soaring up and up and up."
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"Dr. Ride's American Beach House and the Secret Lives of Lesbians in the 1980s: Sally Ride's historic space journey inspires four women on a St. Louis rooftop."
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"A conversation piece for four women who take to a St. Louis rooftop…its air of laziness extends to the playwright, Liza Birkenmeier, who -- despite her knack for distinctive dialogue and a certain offhand, off-the-wall wit -- can't be bothered to come up with anything like drama."
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4/5 Stars: "A sensitive work by an up-and-coming playwright. Ars Nova, a company that discovers and nurtures new artists, adds Birkenmeier's name to the roster of young dramatists whose future plays can be pleasantly anticipated."
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"Has all the elements of a fascinating drama but as presented by Ars Nova at Greenwich House it is all about subtext and undercurrents which may go right over the heads of many audience members. Little happens but there is much tedious talk which is a cover-up for what goes unsaid."
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"It's a play that sneaks up on you, lingering long after the lights come up. Even days later I find myself going back to certain scenes. While set at a very specific moment in time, the feelings of being unsatisfied with life are universal."
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