Hans Christian Andersen: Tales Real & Imagined NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (56)
See it if you have an abiding interest in the title character
Don't see it if you hope to see a coherent rendering of an interesting man
See it if If you wish to learn more about Hans, very good musicians
Don't see it if Did not like the puppets, did not like the the structure of the play, slow
See it if If your interested in the life of hans Christian Andersen. Some good music in this show.
Don't see it if If you do not like puppetry. was confusing and slow at times.
See it if You want to learn a little about HCA's life. You enjoy great music with interesting puppetry. You like eclectic shows
Don't see it if You want a streamline production that has an understandable beginning, middle, and end. This feels like blurry polaroid snapshots.
See it if you get there before the show to read the several pages of playwright's & musicology notes in the Playbill: you will otherwise be lost
Don't see it if you are unfamiliar with HCA's fairy tales (which represent his sad, unfulfilled personal life) Read more
See it if you ran out of seeing everything else. I wasn't a fan of this show, but my friend I took liked it. She enjoyed the uniqueness of the show.
Don't see it if don't know anything about Hans Christian Andersen. I knew the stories, but really wasn't interested in his life story. The music was good. Read more
See it if you love Hans Christian Andersen stories, classical music, countertenor voices and puppets, and don't mind some extra wind in a drama.
Don't see it if you easily get bored, dislike slowly paced stories mixed with music and would dislike a show uncertain of what it wants to be. Read more
See it if You are interested in HCA and enjoy historical musical stories.
Don't see it if You are bored by too much meaningless action with puppets doing who knows what all the time and all over.
Critic Reviews (6)
"'Hans Christian Andersen' sidesteps and streamlines a lot of what makes Andersen’s life and work so discomforting, while also insisting, inflexibly, gawkily, that the life and the work are inextricable...Excerpts with a lot of the awful parts ignored or referred to only elliptically, which may be confusing if you don’t know the stories or a relief if you do...Often the action stops while the musicians play, however feelingly, which gives the show a stuttering rhythm, a mismatched shape."
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"If you are hankering for drama, keep moving because there's nothing to see here...The main problem is inertia. The central situation is both mawkish and dragged down by repetition. One can only endure the title character's yearning and bitterness for so long...The director allows the pace to dawdle, further sapping the enterprise of needed energy...To my mind, this is such a stolid entertainment that, in comparison, it makes a wax museum seem like a clinic for the hyperactive."
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"Probably not for everyone. One might wonder whether the few children in the audience at the performance under review were bored or enthralled. Maybe a little of both...You may not be able to describe the significance of everything you're shown here...Many of the moments that the playmakers present will leave a strong impression. Because of the production's dreamlike quality, you may do just fine by witnessing what unfolds and letting the music and imagery wash over you."
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“Overall the story line is hard to follow...The choice of accompanying music by 20th century composer Britten held minimal if any correlation to Andersen...The high note of the performance is countertenor Daniel Moody...While is overall musical presence was commanding, his interpretations of Henry Purcell’s works were particularly impressive. Powerful diction, pathos, artistry, and beauty were presented....'Hans Christian Andersen' needs to be revisited another time when more developed.”
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"Those without an ear for these complex, difficult, melodically unfamiliar pieces may be less than satisfied, especially as the dramatic sections they accompany are so seriously lacking in anything comparable…The frequent appearance of puppets…offers no surcease to the boring biography or its plodding presentation…What they do is usually too imprecise to appreciate…There's little to commend in this misguided production, which has not the slightest iota of dramatic interest or conflict."
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"The Ensemble for the Romantic Century offers an impressionistic rendering of the recollected life and feelings of the popular writer in 'Hans Christian Andersen: Tales Real & Imagined,' with skilled performances, but in a mash-up of disparate styles and disjointed elements that lacks fluidity and looks more like a patchwork quilt than a finely woven tapestry."
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