"Mr. Rabe is not usually so squishy...But 'Good for Otto,' in which the battleground is the disturbed human psyche, is structured as a series of gassy monologues...The problem of mental health coverage wants a fuller, more serious treatment than that. But the play uses the issue as topical bait...At nearly three hours, 'Good for Otto' is a long and shapeless slog...Here, under Scott Elliott’s direction, it is unconvincing and overacted."
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"Director Scott Elliott hurries our emotions along with bathetic piano arpeggios every time something sad happens. Rabe’s intentions are wonderful; he’s taking inspiration from an actual clinic, and as a paean to the real world’s heroic therapists, 'Good for Otto' flourishes like a trumpet. But three hours of trumpeting grows tiring. Over the play’s considerable length, there are several false notes, and even the right ones start to wear on the ear."
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"One of the best new plays to come along in recent seasons. What’s more, it’s being performed by the very best ensemble cast in town...The results remind us that in the hands of the finest writers, there’s no such thing as a cliché, since human life is always the same—and always new...Impeccably true to everyday life...I’ve never seen a show that was as realistic in its portrayal of therapy and crisis intervention...Our attention never wanders."
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"A big, meaty, monologue-driven drama...It's performed by a mostly first-rate ensemble...It's laced with poignant passages...But it's also baggy and structurally monotonous, not to mention didactic and dated...Moments of intense dramatic impact but overall feels too diffuse...This shapeless play loses rather than gathers steam, ultimately seeming more like a docudrama patchwork with messy stitching than a satisfying, fully realized theatrical work."
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"Densely populated with dull case histories, frustratingly slow, and entirely too long (three hours of tedium)...This is one of the gifted playwright’s weakest efforts...The actors are very good. Too bad Rabe has given them so little to do of any real theatrical consequence...You leave with the wearying impression that Rabe hasn’t quite finished his job. This is a work in progress, still struggling to come alive in its unpolished infancy."
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"Snooze of a play...Regrettably, not even an all-star cast can enliven this meandering stroll past a vitally important topic...Individually compelling storylines emerge from the play, buoyed mostly by the acting...Unfortunately, the format of therapy doesn't easily lend itself to drama, which is most powerful when its characters are in dialogue. It is difficult to get that jolt of dramatic electricity when one character pours his heart out and the response from his scene partner is a silently scribbled note."
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"At times, 'Good for Otto' seems bent on going wrong in every way imaginable...The patients crowd each other out, never holding the stage long enough to grab one's full attention...The first act of 'Good for Otto,' it is the opposite of drama...Second act picks up a bit...Scattered, skittish collection of scenes...Loaded with good actors, all of whom perform as well as their roles will allow...It's hard not to feel that the actors are having a better time than the audience."
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"A masterwork about the care and treatment of mental illness, written by a playwright at the top of his game and being presented in a commanding production...Filled with richly portrayed characters...This production is being helmed with an appropriately unobtrusive touch by The New Group's artistic director Scott Elliott and is blessed with a collaborative ensemble of 14 excellent actors who allow David Rabe's richly-wrought words to tell the story through them."
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