Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

See it if You're a fan of the playwright.

Don't see it if You don't want to have to sit for 3hours and 15 minutes.

Also It's ambitious to tackle 20 characters simultaneously. This was challenging to follow as it attempted to engage the audience in several different plot lines simultaneously. This was fine for the first act (90 minutes) but then in act two (100 minutes) - there needed to be ten different endings because there were ten different plot lines and it just dragged as the audience was forced to sit though "ending" after "ending" after "ending". The play would have hit home more if it had just focused on one or two of the plot lines. There were also a lot of extraneous characters - it seemed like we didn't need 4-5 of them. However, the acting was strong. Particularly impressed with Liza Zayas. I wish the play had just followed the journey of that character instead of wandering aimlessly. The design also had some issues as actors were forced to come out and "change scenes" while other actors were acting directly in front of them. I appreciate the topic though. It's a noble attempt.... Read more Read less

See it if You appreciate theater teeming with energy, with a large cast of well written and acted characters

Don't see it if You are turned off by abundant street language and profanity,

Also I love this writer’s work, and was not disappointed. It’s a rough immersion into the lower depths of urban life, written with love for these lost souls. The large cast is extraordinary and so is the staging. There is so much life in this work that it can barely be contained on the stage, often tumbling out beyond the proscenium. Every moment rings true:
It’s exhilarating.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy Gurgis' writing, if you love thought-provoking ensemble pieces that put a lens over a ver underrepresented community

Don't see it if If you like your shows short, if difficult concepts make you uncomfortable

See it if Plays more like a TV type of show. Humor, schtick around a halfway house play that is 3 hrs long.

Don't see it if If gurgis is not your type of writer, his works seem to be very familiar. More sitcom than play is not for you.

See it if u can devote 3+ hrs (much of which is editable) to Guirgis' latest exploration of urban struggles filled w/wit, pathos & colorful characters

Don't see it if u'll feel unsatisfied by unexplored stories & underdeveloped characters (inevitabilities in such an overstuffed drama); u need a pick-me-up.

Also Guirgis' great ear for, support for & representation of the disenfranchised & frustrated urban dwellers in our city has not diminished, but neither has his inclination to overpopulate his plays with too many storylines, characters and morals. There's a lot to enjoy & learn from in this sprawling work, but too little is resolved or deeply explored.... Read more Read less

See it if Colon-Zayas & Rodriguez lead a ferociously talented ensemble through Guirgis' epic drama of a tumultuous journey toward sobriety & salvation

Don't see it if The usual Guirgis appliques apply: too long. too indulgent, too profane as well as too humane, too heartbreaking A true love or hate saga

See it if you love what this playwright does, even when he’s writing on automatic pilot.

Don't see it if typical Guirgis schtick no longer moves you.

Also Guirgis always feels to me like TV for the stage. Sometimes it’s top drawer TV. This one — with 20 characters, a raucous halfway house & a goat — is a hot mess. A bunch of those characters are never developed, & another several, though developed in one or 2 scenes of some power, are then just dropped. What redeemed the evening for me? A handful of powerful human encounters & the stories of a few memorable characters —among them, the boy Mateo, the woman who runs the halfway house & an old woman, once an actress & dancer, who resides here now & has lost the will to live. The actors who play those characters do it beautifully. Patrice Johnson Chevannes as the wheelchair-bound Wanda gives as nuanced, controlled & passionate a performance as I have seen this year. In the first row, sitting mere feet away from her, I was riveted, exhilarated & devastated. But, sorry to say, much of the rest feels like Guirgis retreads.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy plays with large casts, slice of life stories about staff & residents of a female halfway house, reality with humor & warmth

Don't see it if don't enjoy 3+hour plays, realistic portrayals of damaged humans, vivid depictions of sex & mental illness, broken social service system

See it if heartbreaking; richness of novel w multiple story lines showing residents' misery & moments of grace; includes scabrously hilarious putdowns

Don't see it if overlong, unfocused w far 2 many characters & plot lines; still this is breathtaking achievement making us c humanity of the marginalized

Also The production set in a halfway house/HH on the Upper West Side/UWS has a large cast of characters, including adults who are beleaguered by a full range of problems (poverty, drug addiction, PTSD, domestic abuse, criminal behavior, etc.), their victimized children & the overmatched HH staff. Guirgis/G, w the keen eye of a sociologist, shows the HH residents and staff as a distinct subculture both crushed by their problems but also striving 2 be relevant. Part of the cast is a weed-eating goat (!) who has become a celebrity & who G cleverly uses 2 make important pts in the play. Spoiler alert: The goat is slaughtered by one of the residents, serving as the proverbial scape goat for the sins of the HH residents. When the slaughter of the celebrity goat becomes the reason that the HH is closed down by the disapproving UWS community, it becomes clear that the HH denizens have symbolically become scapegoats for the community-at-large.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a highly original, timely, relevant play with a diverse cast playing vibrant, fully-formed characters.

Don't see it if You dislike urban plays featuring characters representing underserved communities — recovering addicts, criminals, the homeless, etc.

See it if interested in the inner life & workings of an urban female 1/2 way house; gamut of emotions & problems portrayed with angst, humor & sadness

Don't see it if doesn't feel ready, too many plot lines hamper a deeper understanding of some characters; life is hard; play needs tightening

Also The acting is terrific, fierce and dangerous. Makes you aware of how grateful we should be to be able to live normal lives in our own homes with people we love and trust.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy dramas with real characters that are flawed

Don't see it if You are looking for an uplifting and happy story. This is dark and depressing and that’s what makes it great

Also I’ve seen some of the reviews saying that this is 3 hours and 30 minutes. I saw it on December 1 in the afternoon and it was just under three hours. When people come out of a play that long they tend to focus on what should have been cut to make it a shorter show. I would like to focus on why it needed to be three hours long and could have potentially been longer. There were about 20 characters and when I think about the possibility of eliminating some of them I can’t figure out which one should’ve been cut from the show. The reason is because none of them should be cut. They are all equally important. Throughout the run of this show there are going to be several people who relate to one of these characters and it could be a life-changing moment for them. I can’t predict what off-Broadway shows will be picked to be Broadway shows in the upcoming seasons but this just feels like a big Broadway show... Read more Read less

See it if The lives of women in a halfway house are explored through everyday life and group meetings. Many different personalities to contend with.

Don't see it if You have an aversion to drug use and smoking on stage. Sexual references and LGBTQ issues are presented. Can be uncomfortable.

Also This play is three hours long. There is a large cast of characters, so this is necessary. I was totally absorbed in the characters, and time flew by.
This is a very realistic portrayal of hard lives. There is no happy ending.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a fan of Guirgis and you have an interest in urban social problems. It's both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Don't see it if you don't like rough language and sexual situations or plays about those at the bottom of the social ladder.

Also Guirgis's talent for capturing ghetto dialog is amazing. His monologues are like gritty operatic arias.

The show runs almost 3 hours and might have been improved by eliminating a character or two.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy character driven plays with characters who develop positively during the course of the action; mostly realistic portrayals

Don't see it if foul language, smoking, depressing characters and situations are not what you come to see.

Also Some very touching scenes in which the women helped each other and developed unlikely friendships. For such an odd collection of individuals, they all had similar problems underlying their addictions and issues. Show could have been a bit shorter/tighter.... Read more Read less

See it if a show about a group of women in a safe house dealing with social services and life in the big bad city

Don't see it if foul language and sexual situations crudely presented are not your speed

Also Gurgis is known for his innate ability to present a "ghetto" voice and allow the viewers a peek into a world most know nothing about. Real world issues are tackled but never resolved. The play is too long (over 3.5 hrs) and might consider cutting out or down 1 of the stories interwoven into the rich plot... Read more Read less

See it if Multiple characters in a halfway house, many well-developed with touching stories; both very humorous and very disturbing moments

Don't see it if don't want profanity, disturbing scene of drug use; long play at 3 hours (apparently has been cut); don't want plays with so many characters

Also Found 2nd act much more moving so worth staying (some left at intermission).
I think it was important to have such a variety of characters. A couple could have been more developed but would have made it longer.... Read more Read less

See it if A gritty yet almost hopeful story of lives of women in a shelter. Lots of threads stay well-rendered. SAG’s most accessible play, I think

Don't see it if A 3-hour play is more than you can enjoy. Definitely needs pruning. While affecting & well-acted, issues residents deal with are predictable

See it if Guirgis' plays often reflect the travails of the underprivileged and underserved members of society.This one,in a women's halfway house, is

Don't see it if The play has much foul language and a nude scene. It is almost 3 hours long,but the time never drags.

Also full of diverse, memorable characters.The performances by all are outstanding and worth seeing.... Read more Read less

See it if you're a Guirgis fan who's up for seeing something not quite ready for prime time.

Don't see it if A show about people with severe problems is too depressing for you.

Also Act 1 was hard for me to handle, being introduced to all these troubled souls. Plus, the biting, back-and-forth insults didn't strike me as particularly funny. I was quite depressed at intermission. But I did care about the characters and so I stayed.

I agree with those posters who say there are too many storylines, and that makes it hard for the playwright to flesh out so many individuals. The play would benefit from some smart trimming. Personally, I would cut out the characters Jennifer, Happy Meal Sonia, and her daughter. (No dis to these actresses.) But something's got to go.

The performances are excellent, and the cast features many Guirgis stalwarts that I recognize from other plays of his.

One of the more interesting offerings of the season!... Read more Read less

See it if Must see the latest from Guirgis. Have 3:15 to spare and have a lot of patience. Like NYC-based settings and stories.

Don't see it if Want to see a finished product ready for the stage. Are easily offended by language, nudity, sexual situations.

Also I like this playwright and his previous work (Riverside, Hat, etc,), but this one is not well-constructed nor is it edited or trimmed for public consumption.... Read more Read less

See it if You would see any play written by Guirgis even one that is not ready for the stage.

Don't see it if Well written dialogue does not compensate for lack of a compelling drama.

See it if Brilliant performances from almost every one of the 18! actors.Nobody writes better and funnier dialogue than Guirgis. Plenty of plot lines.

Don't see it if By far the most commercial/accessible play of SAG's. More than a bit manipulative but I still loved it, although I prefer his older stuff.

See it if a large, diverse, superb cast in beautifully crafted rolls revealing the ugly reality of tragic lives grabs your soul. Tough but true; sad.

Don't see it if overt sexuality, profane language, and the reality of self-destructive and lives we choose to ignore is more than you can tolerate on stage

See it if An eloquent (in the vernacular) look at society's cast-offs and discards.

Don't see it if If you are not interested in how your neighborhood panhandler wound up on your street corner.

Also Stephen Guirgis has attempted an epic of the downtrodden. The rise and fall of a half-way house. Probably he has too many plot lines going but it gives some terrific actors a chance to shine. Overlong, sure, maybe needs some tightening but I hear those complaints about everything Eugene O'Neill wrote.
This is a powerful drama that gives voice to the dispossessed with humor and passion and understanding. Definitely worth seeing.... Read more Read less