Familiar NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (119)
See it if you want to see a family drama (with a good amount of comedy as well) that examines culture clash within families in a very interesting way
Don't see it if you hate family dramas.
See it if you've seen Eclipsed & want to get another engrossing play by Danai Guirara with a solid ensemble set in US. Race, class, family dysfunction
Don't see it if you don"t want to see the above dealt with humorously, intelligently, compassionately.
See it if You enjoyed Eclipsed, and want to see what else this playwright has up her sleeve. (Hint: it's a comedy!)
Don't see it if You're not interested in plays about family and culture.
See it if you are interested in learning more about a different culture. Also, if you are interested in tracking the writing career of Danai Gurira.
Don't see it if you are not interested in plays dealing with assimilation. You are not interested in seeing a family play from a different point of view.
See it if you enjoy comedic family dramas with stellar actors. Danai Gurira is a masterful playwright and if you enjoyed Eclipsed, you'll like this.
Don't see it if ...I really have no reason for you not to see this. It's a great production with fantastic staging.
See it if You enjoy plots focused on the heightened family drama created by big life event, like a wedding, with the predictable cultural clash humor.
Don't see it if You find severe plot/tonal twists disconcerting or unforgivable. The traditional ceremonial elements are charming unless you are a xenophobe
See it if a smart funny play about family with an African immigrant twist http://frontmezzjunkies.com/2016/03/27/the-extraordinary-familiar/
Don't see it if You are in the mood for light and breezy. Cause although this is funny it's also deeply moving and powerful
See it if You want a serious drama laced with humor
Don't see it if you are tired of shows with too many plot twists and big surprises. Show was good enough without all the extra stuff crammed in.
Critic Reviews (41)
"Gurira has written a wonderful, universal play. The themes she explores in 'Familiar' are timeless, yet it's the details about this family and their roots that distinguish it from other family dramas. I call it a drama, but laughs abound…This is particularly noteworthy now, as many of the plays I've seen recently have felt unremarkable…'Familiar' pops. The performances are stellar, and Gurira's writing is smart...It's a modern classic."
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"Oh man did I love this play...The real drama lies between the parents of the bride and her aunts as they consider how assimilation has shaped their family...If this all sounds heavy, rest assured there’s a heavy dose of comedy that keeps things very interesting...While there is a Big Family Secret in Act 2 and sort of hijacks the end of the play, I think this piece would be just as strong without that burst of plot because the familial relationships and dialogue are so rich."
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"'Familiar' is a brilliant ode to family life. Extremely well written, its pacing is unbroken and a pleasure to follow. Playwright Danai Gurira is a superb storyteller, matched with formidable director Rebecca Taichman, they have created something special…'Familiar' [is] one of the best productions on family life I've seen in a long while."
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"The first act of Gurira's play is full of solid exposition and clever writing. The game cast do well to make the audience feel like they're watching a family. Unfortunately, the action goes off the rails once the roora ceremony begins in earnest, and neither the playwright nor her fine company are able to right the ship...However, if there is one reason to recommend 'Familiar,' it is Tamara Tunie's gripping, committed performance."
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"Ms. Gurira, having left the audience doubled over with laughter with that scene at the end of Act I, takes a daunting risk in Act II by turning serious...The story’s resolution may seem a bit pat at first glance, but if you listen carefully to the dialogue, you’ll realize it’s just the opposite. And there is humor, even in the characters’ darkest moments."
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"It’s the cross-genre conflicts that trip up the production as it careens from sitcom to melodrama to political tragedy to human comedy...Each of these characters has enough backstory for a play of his or her own, but the multiple narratives only get stacked up, never coalescing into a thematic whole. And when a deep family secret is revealed, triggering questions of home and identity, you feel you’re in an entirely different play. The performances are all over the map, too."
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"Gurira hooks theatergoers early with this play, one which certainly has moments of levity. This is a new work and it might be pared down a bit as, upon occasion during the first act, the proceedings ramble on just a bit. The essence of it, though, is intriguing as it ranges from intimate through moral through socio/political topics. It is insightful and its author obviously has pondered considerably."
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"A diffuse, sentimental, sometimes funny, sometimes touching work-in-progress, 'Familiar' in its world premiere at Yale Rep, could use cutting. Its initiating action is the impending wedding of Tendikayi, a lawyer living the American Dream...Along about the middle of the play comes an over-extended Zimbabwean ceremony that seems as endless as the 34-year reign of that nation's president-dictator Robert Mugabe...The actors give us the essentials, although they're not always intelligible."
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