Fireflies NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
In this world premiere from Atlantic Theater Company, somewhere in the Jim Crow South, the sky is on fire. "Fireflies" is the second part of Donja R. Love's trilogy that began with "Sugar in Our Wounds."
Read more Show lessShow-Score Member Reviews (169)
See it if This was an excellent play. Thought provoking, as relevant today as 1963 the plight of an African American couple dealing with racism.
Don't see it if You dont like southern accents, thinking about racism or the concept of homosexuality.
See it if You appreciate thought provoking relationship plays.
Don't see it if Intense drama is not for you or if you do not care about people of color in a different/difficult time period.
See it if you want to be reminded that a moving theatrical experience is still possible. Mix passion, creativity and vision and stir gently.
Don't see it if you can't bear to note how little has changed in 55 years in the relations between men and women and between minorities and majorities.
See it if you are interested in young playwrights, Donja R. Love is a writer to keep your eye on. This is a stunning production!
Don't see it if you don't like historical-based plays mixed with magical realism. If you don't want to be intellectually stimulated.
See it if You enjoy both queer stories and stories about the civil rights movements.
Don't see it if You’re homophobic or racist. Read more
See it if A TOUR DE FORCE.This play makes theater what it is .Compelling story line as well as acting.The audience was totally quiet.Everyone to whom
Don't see it if If you don't want to know about some of the civil rights struggles and a couple dealing with really intricate problems. Read more
See it if you don't want to miss Dewanda Wise's masterful & riveting performance. You can not take your eyes off of her. Topnotch production ...
Don't see it if you would be irked by a production that begins slowly but quickly becomes profound & emotionally devastating or if you follow NYT's advice.
See it if You can empathize and understand what is going through the mind of a preacher’s wife in the dangerous Jim Crow South.
Don't see it if You have little interest in this nation’s African American history. Read more
Critic Reviews (21)
"I was moved by Mr. Love’s willingness to imagine, amid the terror of the times...other kinds of lives than the ones that history books offer. And as embodied by the fine performers here, those lives really do seem alive...But every time the play began to engage me through character it disengaged me through plot contrivance...What the actors can overcome, the story often cannot...The language, too, can seem awfully rich, perhaps deliberately in a play about oratory and faith."
Read more
"Love may have a lot to say about black queer resilience and God’s bounty, but he hasn’t worked out how to gracefully deliver information...Both characters are stuffed with qualities that only emerge when they’re mentioned...It’s not the actors’ fault that they’re unable to make coherent characters out of this chaos of impulses and characteristics; it’s impressive, therefore, whenever they make an isolated speech ring with confidence. This happens in fits and starts."
Read more
"Its language and design create a fearful panorama...'Fireflies' aims for an emotional forte early on and doesn’t often vary its pitch...It’s like a very rich meal, eventually dulling the very senses it seeks to sharpen and satisfy...Part of me wanted to see the play that comes after 'Fireflies,'...That’s a play I haven’t seen. Despite the fine performances that drive 'Fireflies' forward, its tone and trajectory ultimately left me feeling like it was one that I had."
Read more
"One seriously overstuffed 90-minute drama...The work barely has room to breathe, with the playwright delivering an emotional whiplash-inducing series of plot revelations and reversals that stretch credibility to the breaking point...It's no fault of the actors, who deliver persuasive performances that are all the more impressive under the circumstances...While there's no denying its noble intentions and theatrical and thematic ambition, 'Fireflies' fails to take flight."
Read more
“Jaw-dropping and explosively dramatic...The second part of a trilogy...’Fireflies’ stands up on its own as a powerful tale of love flashing its light in the dark... All cuddles and kisses, Wise and Davis convincingly play a young couple...Director Saheem Ali artfully unveils the dynamics of this relationship...A drama of extraordinary depth and complexity...Love thrillingly crafts an intimate story that comes to feel cosmic in its enormity by the end. I can't wait to see the third installment.”
Read more
“A lot to pack into a ninety-minute two-hander, and I'd be lying if I said that Love has managed the task elegantly and seamlessly; he seems to be aiming for a hybrid of magical realism and kitchen sink domestic drama, a match that doesn't totally take...But Love is a talent...who knows how to create bristling, wounding confrontations...Love wins for originality, too: He composes a dark but compelling countermelody to the standard anthemic account of the Civil Rights movement."
Read more
“The second offering in 'The Love Plays'...‘Fireflies’ is a powerful exploration of a marriage filled with secrets...It packs a wallop in its oblique allusions to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and boasts two superb performances...Love's skillful script uncovers secrets the way a great chef peels an onion, and Ali directs with subtlety and understatement...The two plays come thrillingly together. It will be exciting to see Love's conclusion to the trilogy."
Read more
"In light of the explosive material with which he concerns himself, I’m inclined to wave away a reviewer’s standard concerns. His dire authorial concerns are that pressing...I take the position that if Love is overdoing it, it’s because he wants to be certain that no one is tempted to dismiss his conviction that the wages of racism remain too high to be paid by contemporary society...Directed fiercely by Saheem Ali and played with mounting ferocity by Davis and Wise."
Read more