Endlings

See it if you like new work from an underrepresented voice that touches on family history, identity, and artistic voice

Don't see it if you prefer shows that stick to a traditional format, or don't poke fun at the audience and theater in general

See it if you have an interest in the subsistence-level island life in South Korea and the preservation of SK's rapidly vanishing traditional culture.

Don't see it if you dislike plays that are insistently META and self-referential and self-indulgent.

Also How did a play that started with such promise morph into an excruciating examination of the playwright's personal struggle to establish her ethnic authenticity and at the same time achieve commercial success. I wish Ms. Song had talked these ideas through with her therapist instead of inflicting her angst on paying theatergoers. I couldn't get out of the theater fast enough!... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy a play that surprises you with every turn that it takes.

Don't see it if you aren't a fan of unorthodox narrative structure.

See it if you want to experience a brilliant young playwright’s cutting-edge script that speaks to both the human condition & today’s social order.

Don't see it if you want a traditional play, or don’t feel like thinking about persisting structural racism or the toxic state of real estate in 2020 NYC.

Also I attended a reading of Celine Song’s “Endlings” nearly 2 years ago & was fully excited to have heard a sharp, smart, innovative voice that was new to me. With the play’s production now at NYTW my admiration for playwright & script have only increased. Song manages to be breathtakingly radical & deeply human at once. Several bold decisions pay off: focusing for so long on 3 old Korean women, taking the action both under the sea & on the funniest subway ride I’ve ever seen staged, finding a way to expose the structural racism of the theater world that she clearly loves in a way that’s both hilarious & fully theatrical, veering in tone from broadest satire to the deeply, almost painfully psychological. Her master strokes: having us seesaw between 2 islands—1 poor, Korean & slated for extinction; the other our own Manhattan—& between the fully stylized & the highly personal, to present a rich complexity about human beings & the families & societies we create.... Read more Read less

See it if shows how Kor-Am playwright tries 2 find her creative identity; result-story of feisty/hilarious Korean divers that teems w life & loss

Don't see it if awkward 3-part structure moving from realism to meta-ism to absurdism; absurdist satire of white stage managers is blatantly obvious

Also My partner pointed out an arresting central metaphor in the play: the portrait of how a pearl grows in an oyster starting w the irritant provided by a grain of sand. Once you see it, it's clear: the creative irritant is the gnawing idea that the playwright is missing something by not drawing on her Korean ancestry; the pearl is the play that grows out of this.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see an artist finding her voice. You still believe whites control content and perception in art, theater and life.

Don't see it if You are not interested in the unraveling of at least three plots as they then begin to interweave. A tremendous amount of swearing.

Also Again prob above my pay grade. This was an appreciative multiracial audience.

For me it just ended up a bit too kitchen sink and pretentious.

There is some gorgeous work here, but... The set and set changes were very interested in being "cute". At my performance the gimmick with the "underwater" scenes didn't work because the scenery got stuck and we saw them walking around trying to fix it. Like every thing else about this 90 minute play--it was just too busy.

There is a small simple story of our 'endlings', Korean deep divers. Then there is a film about them within the play. Next we meet our "playwright" as she struggles to stop writing white plays and give voice to her Korean self and family. Then we are back with our divers as we discover who they are in our context. Then we are back with our playwright as she writes a play within the play. And then...STOP

I was enthralled by her first monologue but subsequent steps outside the fourth wall were less effective for me.... Read more Read less

See it if Like diving into the unknown, choppy waters of the past with strange surprises and emerging in the present. Interesting immigration story.

Don't see it if Meta, non linear, playwright writing the play in the play, some strange parts aren’t your thing. Cussing older women disturb you.

Also Diversity: stars 4 Asian women! Three older and one younger. Addresses the White (male) gaze head on. Additional White men actors.
1 hour 35 minutes, no intermission.
Ticket from website for $29.... Read more Read less

See it if Delightful and surprising this dual tale has you switching back and forth between older Korean fisherwomen and a contemporary NY playwright.

Don't see it if angsty examination of white-centric male playwrights and cultural disassociation and ancestral heritage

Also So many surprising, fun and bright moments in this clunky and too long play with a lot of messages--still makes it worth seeing: a hidden pool! Subterranean swimmers! Fairy tales/mythology examined! Lots of wonderful Asian actors on stage! Older women with amazing physicality!, Reflections on culture and value! Great Riffs on white men/playwrights! What these performers achieve on stage is kind of astonishing and overwhelming.... Read more Read less

See it if you're interested in principles of authorship and identity in modern American theatre.

Don't see it if you often complain about being "preached" to.

Also effortlessly charming and legitimately funny.

See it if you want some kind of experimental theater and are not easily bored. This play is vaguely about race, culture, and being a writer.

Don't see it if you want to be entertained by a coherent story.

See it if You want to see a brilliant play about family connections, love, heritage and life choices all interwoven in ( at times ) very “ meta “ way.

Don't see it if You like more “ traditional “ plays with a script that follows a kind of predictable path. Some people might find a little self-indulgent.

See it if you want to see three Korean women with a way of life that is quickly becoming extinct - diving in the ocean for subsistence.

Don't see it if you don't like direct address to the audience; the "playwright" agonizing with you; mixing reality with absurdity.

Also The first hour is the elderly Korean women's story (interrrupted by a long monologue from the "playwright") and it is enchanting. The three actors are wonderful. But then the play devolves into absurdism, commentary on P.C. writing... The women magically appear on a NYC subway, performing for the passengers, and so forth. I love magical realism, but my takeaway is that in this case too many cooks have spoiled what was a really lovely broth.... Read more Read less

See it if Was expecting (hoping!) to love this, but didn't find it as pointed as it could have been- mostly a little too broad, a little too gimmicky.

Don't see it if Some nice moments (the staging, the diving scenes, the "white play"), but never felt it hit as hard or as smart as it could have.

Also The play relied too heavily on its schticks: A lot of the humor - older folks being crass & swearing - was funny at first, but lost it's punch pretty quickly.... Read more Read less

See it if You like meta theatre and work that pushes boundaries, even if not entirely successfully.

Don't see it if You're looking for something with a true conclusion or a singular idea running things from behind the scenes.

Also Celine Song has written many really good plays, and this is not one of them.... Read more Read less

See it if a provocative play about the power of narrative, immigrant stories, theatre-making and the white gaze staged with flair and compassion.

Don't see it if if you meta-theatricality is not your cuppa tea, this is not for you

See it if Exquisite performances. Brilliant, personal, ethereal play about the choices we make in our lives, and how we love when we have no choice.

Don't see it if You don't like plays about women. You don't like plays about people of color. It's kind of a weird, quirky play.

See it if You support multicultural performers, like diverse stories and ambitious narratives

Don't see it if You don’t like the tear the metaphorical meat off the bone when you go to theater. You have to do the work.

See it if you're interested in how non-white writers are trying to deal with the delicate balance of writing something ... (cont. in "more to say")

Don't see it if you don't like meta plays, can't follow 3+ subplots at one time, want to wait until the dialogue/plots are perfected (felt rough-draft-y)

Also ...that is true to their ancestry, their past, their present, their heritage, their skin color and writing something that is received by a vastly white audience in the vastly white-driven world of theater. It was a fascinating juxtaposition... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy inventive theater that does not follow the standard format with funny and interesting characters

Don't see it if You need a traditional plot and aren’t up for being intellectually challenged.

Also It feels like it’s going in one direction but there are twists. The actresses are fun.... Read more Read less

See it if interested in lives of people vastly different from yours and a world away, you enjoy masterfully written plays, especially about women.

Don't see it if you only like musicals, light fare or you lack imagination.

Also This is such a beautifully written, amazingly staged play. The acting was superb. The story is not exactly linear, but most people of normal intelligence can manage to put the separate parts together.

Frankly, I am dismayed and even angry at the low ratings other people have given it here. I doubt they saw the same play I did. We New Yorkers are lucky to have such great young talent and that there are theaters like NYTW who are intelligent enough to recognize this talent. Indeed, NYTW has brought amazing plays to NY audiences, this is one of them. And dammit, it is NOT cliched.... Read more Read less

See it if Thought provoking, well acted play about Korea and the also about the challenges of bringing Asian immigrant perspective to American theater

Don't see it if You don’t want to see and hear more about the cultural dominance of white privilege and/ or don’t like didactic theater.

See it if you want to learn about a group of women you may have never known existed you love an expertly-crafted set with tricks up its sleeve

Don't see it if “Meta” storytelling strikes you as self-indulgent You’d prefer one story told well to two stories told muddily

See it if Enjoy smaller stages, want to learn about a culture other than American, want to see underwater on the stage, fun characters, great staging.

Don't see it if You don't like soapbox type plays, plays were actors are breaking the 4th wall a lot.

See it if show was delightfully staged, fun, poignant, articulate.

Don't see it if no reason not to see show

See it if you want to see a thoughtful, engaging, funny, interesting commentary on the role of race and location in America; it's brilliantly clever!

Don't see it if you need a strongly cohesive narrative; don't like meta theatre