See it if you enjoy great theater, wonderful set and lighting and effective use of puppets.
Don't see it if you enjoy comedy or a happy ending.
See it if Excellent production, well acted and staged. A quick 65 intense minutes!
Don't see it if You only like musicals and light drama.
See it if you're interested in an atypical play by O'Neill and witnessing a man's descent into madness. Great acting by Obi Abili, great direction.
Don't see it if you're looking for a whimsical night of theater; you dislike experimental theater and/or the use of masks and puppetry.
See it if You like an absorbing play that uses puppetry and dance to explore the subconscious of a black dictator. Obi Abili is remarkable.
Don't see it if You don't like dark plays that are dated in their language and racism.
See it if You like drama and intensity
Don't see it if If you don't like intense drama
See it if You like O'Neil's old play with a puppet staging. Interesting and creative. Good acting too
Don't see it if it's difficult to understand the conversation sometimes
See it if Intensely clever and creative theater with brilliant use of puppetry, dance and costuming, superbly acted by Obi Abili.
Don't see it if Do not enjoy heavy drama.
See it if to see a surreal, mystical creation, not quite a play- about race and blackness, written by a white man a century ago. Fascinating.
Don't see it if you seek a structured evening of dialogue; there is very little. the play is mostly hallucination, and nearly a one-man show.
“It’s hard to deny the sheer power of the play, which is both uncomfortable to watch and utterly captivating in this intense and intimate production…Abili fully embodies the role, his fear palpable…Murray makes Smithers a fine foil for Jones…Everyone involved deserves kudos…It might have been written nearly a century ago, but 'The 'Emperor Jones' can still shock, providing no easy outs, particularly in this poignant version that bookends the Obama years.”
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