Enterprise
73

Enterprise NYC Reviews and Tickets

73%
(22 Ratings)
Positive
68%
Mixed
27%
Negative
5%
Members say
Clever, Funny, Quirky, Ambitious, Entertaining

About the Show

Part of Soho Playhouse's Fringe Encore Series: This fast-paced and surreal workplace comedy is the brainchild of indie theater stalwart Brian Parks.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (22)

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435 Reviews | 60 Followers
92
Relevant, Resonant, Intelligent, Hilarious, Great writing

See it if If you want to watch MBA types groping with problems

Don't see it if You don't know what an MBA is

88 Reviews | 26 Followers
90
Winning display of witty & poetic verbal pyrotechnics from playwright brian parks

See it if seeking fast-paced surreal comedy where your mind will not be able to keep up with the linguistic high jinks but you will be tickled a lot.

Don't see it if everything has to make sense to you and fringe festival offerings leave you feeling uneasy. Read more

147 Reviews | 39 Followers
90
Clever, Funny, Intelligent, Relevant, Fast-paced

See it if This dystopia is a surreal corporation on the verge of collapse, and four poor out-of-touch zhlubs who try to save it. Well-directed/acted.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy quick, witty blackouts, with a touch of Beckett, Kafka, Pirandello and even Monty Python.

67 Reviews | 33 Followers
86
Entertaining, Edgy, Quirky, Intense, Loud

See it if You like fast paced quirky shows that keep you engaged.

Don't see it if You like slower quieter shows that have a straight-forward plot. Read more

209 Reviews | 38 Followers
79
Clever, Funny, Intelligent, Great writing, Well-aimed satirical takedown of corporate culture and its men in suits.

See it if You appreciate quick blackout jabs and japes at the men in the executive suites.

Don't see it if You're a stuffed shirt with no sense of humor about corporate craziness.

60 Reviews | 10 Followers
76
Entertaining, Great staging, Intense, Quirky, Clever

See it if You enjoy truly accomplished staging, a fabulous production, top-flight acting.

Don't see it if You want something a little more in-depth out of the characters on stage. The writing is tight, clever, but the emotional center is missing.

228 Reviews | 42 Followers
76
Clever, Funny, Quirky

See it if You enjoy clever wordplay and rants pushed into absurd territory.

Don't see it if You like logical stories with plots.

283 Reviews | 77 Followers
75
Entertaining, Ambitious, Clever, Great acting

See it if you want to see some amazing actors perform live. The show is quirky and may not be for everyone. Worth seeing if in corporate world.

Don't see it if you are looking for a serious show or a show that flows for the full 1 hour.

Critic Reviews (11)

The New York Times
September 14th, 2017

"An absurdist express train of comic corporate-speak...Though the characters played by Boston and Calvitto are more the alpha dogs, all of the actors demonstrate a crack sense of ensemble egalitarianism. The true star is Parks’s dialogue: If a joke doesn’t hit its mark, another one lands before you have time to notice...The playwright’s hapless executives may not qualify for a raise, but his 'Enterprise' merits a promotion."
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Time Out New York
February 6th, 2017
For a previous production

"'Enterprise' values linguistic acrobatics and absurd exchanges over narrative. The story, such as it is, unfurls in brisk, wordplay-packed scenes...The success of a surreal comedy like this is all in the timing. And the performers, though impressively committed, are still finding their rhythm under the directorial hand of Parks's frequent conspirator Hill...Like an entry-level job, 'Enterprise' may not stay with you forever, but it's rewarding during your fleeting time there."
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Theatre is Easy
February 10th, 2017
For a previous production

"Modern neo-liberalism adds some relevance to this work, but otherwise it might have appeared onstage ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. It doesn't attempt to address the particular office behaviors of, for example, a startup workplace...It just highlights the comedic despair and disembodiment caused by 'business as usual'—a sort of short-form, Ionesco-flavored take on 'The Office.' It's a good time and perhaps a reminder of the strangeness of that kind of life for those who live it every day. "
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Exeunt Magazine
February 18th, 2017
For a previous production

“‘Enterprise’ delivers but with a twist: the humor builds not from the absurdities of corporate culture, but from language…Despite the characters’ embarrassingly bad word play, these employees seem intrinsically aware that speech is man’s most powerful tool… To paraphrase Shakespeare, in whose tradition Parks is working here, when life gives you a 'feast of language,' it would seem stingy not to spend it."
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On Stage Blog
February 8th, 2017
For a previous production

"The brisk exchange of short lines...and the rapid swirl of quick scenes create the lively and compelling rhythm of an office machine...The writing of Brian Parks is sharp, precise, and it will make you chuckle and nod in recognition. However, the question, is ‘Enterprise’ a good play for theater, remains. It is cartoonishly cheerful throughout and has just a bit of an ‘Oh my god, what I am wasting my life on?’ moment in the end, which evaporates as soon as you leave the theater."
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The Clyde Fitch Report
February 6th, 2017
For a previous production

"A great opportunity to see two cutting-edge theater artists at work...'Enterprise' presents a charmingly dizzy view of the corporate world...This is a world in which most things assumed to be constant may not be any longer. Dozens of short, dreamlike scenes flash in and out of the darkness — flawlessly held together by Berit Johnson’s lighting and Hill’s own groovy sound design...The cast and director work overtime to give us a bewildering array of things to think about."
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British Theatre Guide
August 9th, 2017
For a previous production

“Parks has a unique authorial voice. His satires pinpoint failures of the Great American Dream with surreal accuracy…For an hour, an impeccably drilled ensemble of actors, directed with precision by Calvitto, hilariously catalogue their efforts to save the company through a long dark night of the soul. The play comprises numerous short scenes, slowly building an off-beat but scarily accurate vision of corporate life today."
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Z
February 7th, 2017
For a previous production

“Because of the surrealistic style of the play, several of the events and actions are not completely logical, and there are frequent unusual verbal juxtapositions. Expert lighting marks the opening and closing of each successive scene, with many scenes full of non sequiturs and nonsensical verbal sparring. The actors deliver many humorous lines…Unfortunately, due to the fast-paced action of the play, the actors don’t always provide enough time for all the jokes to land.”
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