For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday

See it if You're a fan of Sarah Ruhl & the great Kathleen Chalfant, like plays that bring up disturbing topics like aging & death in creative ways

Don't see it if You don't want to have death and illness thrust in your face--even with humor, don't like clever fantasy scenes or family sagas with death

See it if you like family dramas and don't mind themes of aging and mortality.

Don't see it if you prefer action or "easy" shows that don't require much brain power. The dialogue is sometimes complex and scenes are disjointed.

See it if You enjoy dining-room family dramedies, but ones that have a bit of quirkiness to them.

Don't see it if You can't sit through another play about the death of a parent, even if it's relatively lighthearted.

See it if You want to see a wonderful childhood story with most of the magic taken out. You can sit through an excruciating long death bed scene.

Don't see it if You want your childhood memories of Peter Pan to remain intact. You don't want to struggle to put the pieces of a disjointed story together.

See it if you love Kathleen Chalfont. She is AMAZING and worth sitting through 90 pointless minutes just to watch her act! Set is interesting.

Don't see it if you were looking for something meaningful or fun.It's an ok play, but very slow. Which is perfect in the hospital room scenes, but otherwise

See it if you like plays that focus on aging and mortality, you enjoy quirky surrealism in the last act or a playwright's tribute to her mother

Don't see it if death is a touchy subject for you (the deathbed scenes are very true to life). Second act is slow and boring and weakest part.

See it if Fantasy oriented family drama. Well intentioned, but misses on many levels

Don't see it if like a concise story that mixes whimsy and drama successfully

See it if you are interested in unusual ways to re-visit Peter Pan and do not mind the lack of story line.

Don't see it if you want a strong story and well-developed characters and do not particularly care about Peter Pan.

See it if A touching play about siblings returning to their childhood fantasies. Lovely ensemble acting.

Don't see it if If you prefer musicals or light dramas.

See it if What a waste of superior talent in a story that doesn't seem to know where it is going

Don't see it if You have any other options . These actors have all done great work elsewhere and will do so again . Skip this one .

Also Ruhl must be an acquired taste I'm waiting to acquire .

See it if You like plays that focus on feelings that come up later in life. This play made me think a lot about my family. The loves and the losses.

Don't see it if If you want to see an "Uplifting"play without flying gear.

See it if You are loyal to Playwrights and/or a fan of Ruhl, this playwright. You like family dramedy, political banter, or existential pondering.

Don't see it if You are looking for a lively night at the theatre -- this show drags and doesn't really deliver.

See it if You're up for a low key but funny meditation on aging & mortality, the terrific cast creating a real family with deceptive ease.

Don't see it if You're impatient or looking for fluff, music or a snappy pace, don't like fantasy in any form, or plays where dialogue is all.

Also There's a lot of good in this play: much wit and some touching moments, a cast that effortlessly presents a richly layered, realistic and loving family. It unfolds slowly, slipping easily into fantasy and then a wryly surreal and funny finale, but the play itself falls short.

Too close to Ruble's psychic home, perhaps, since it's dedicated to her mother and literally based on true events from her own childhood. It never really quite lands its point solidly, and the very end undercuts what came before, the last line about not growing old in the theatre turning the play into a different sort of play.... Read more Read less

See it if This is a dialogue driven play with two disjointed parts. To me, Peter Pan is overdone, and this point of view was tedious but tried

Don't see it if You are not into overly talk-y plays

See it if you love any of the actors in the piece, especially Chalfant, or you are interested in stories of family dynamics across time

Don't see it if you are interested in a play that has a meaningful/new message or one that is particularly well-written/paced.

See it if You never wanted to grow up or grow old, but you did anyway at least the grow old part.

Don't see it if You're aging and you just see no point in discussing it, specially not with your brothers and sisters. Or you like plays with plots .

Also A whimsical rumination on what is to be an adult, lose a parent, grow old and long for immortality while coping with siblings.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see Kathleen Chalfant fly as Peter Pan and excellent acting by Lisa Emery

Don't see it if you want to see a fast moving well written play

See it if only if you are intent on seeing every work written by Sarah Ruhl.

Don't see it if you expect interesting characters, dialogue and situations or if you want a play that really has something to say about Peter Pan.

See it if you are a fan of family dramas. A family comes together over tragedy & fights/reminisces. The first half was ok, then the fantasy starts

Don't see it if you are just looking for the Peter Pan aspect. That section is only about 20 minutes long. This show was maybe marketed incorrectly...?

See it if you want to see 70 year old playing Peter Pan.

Don't see it if you don't like shows are partly realistic and part fantasy.

See it if If willing to build some bridges between 3 very disparate sections of a play, love Kathleen Chalfant, are interested in talk of afterlife.

Don't see it if Combining realistic family drama a la Apple plays and whimsical fantasy with heavy symbolism is not your thing, or prefer your theater light

Also I appreciate the ambitious attempt Ruhl makes to distinguish between growing up and growing old. Although she bites off more than she can chew, by infusing the play with politics and religion, i was in the end quite charmed and the time "flew" by. That this was an homage to Rhul' mother who played Peter Pan and her memories of her dying grandfather gave the work a lot of heart. Not completely successful, but not boring either.... Read more Read less

See it if You're a fan of Sarah Ruhl or Kathleen Chalfant or both. You can handle a mix of profound reality and crazy fantasy.

Don't see it if You need straight forward pieces that are easy to understand and dissect. You don't want to hear political debate or are disturbed by dying

Also This is 90 minutes in basically 2 acts : first we see a family over the deathbed of their father... then we see the family in a magical place.

The first half was wordy and filled with debate about death, politics, Catholicism, etc... If you are troubled by these discussions this is not the play for you.

As a fan of Sarah Ruhl I was waiting eagerly for the 2nd act, where the action shifts to a magical and surreal setting. I was not disappointed, though I didn't like this as much as many of her other shows.

The ending, though, left me weeping and felt very satisfying. However there was nothing specifically clear about it. I got from it my interpretation which was moving and served me.

For me the combination of the themes of aging, death, growing up, and faith, combined with a backdrop of Peter Pan (a very meaningful show for me) worked extremely well on an emotional level. Your mileage may vary.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy a biographical story with a powerful narrative about aging

Don't see it if you prefer a more fluffy interpretation and true peter pan relevance.

See it if you enjoy the clever and often offbeat ways that Sarah Ruhl frames her plays. Definitely worth seeing for the cast - they are exceptional.

Don't see it if you want events and scenes to play out literally. There are lots of metaphors, overlapping worlds, and sometimes confusing leaps of faith.

See it if you wanted to see a talented ensemble dealing with a family drama.

Don't see it if you didn't realize what a heartbreaking family play this is (the advertising was very deceptive). The "Follies" like climax moved me.