Head of Passes NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (70)
See it if You love Phylicia Rashad and want to see her at her finest.
Don't see it if You dislike heavy dramas and mind very long monologues.
See it if You love Phylicia Rashad, who compellingly embodies the emotional devastation her character endures. Otherwise, not enough else here.
Don't see it if You dislike Southern Gothic- or Greek-tragedy-type plays or family dramas, and if you expect a plot as impressively crafted as the set.
See it if you want to see a riveting star turn by an actress at the top of her game.
Don't see it if talky plays with little action don't do it for you.
See it if want to see a terrific performance by Phylicia Rashad..
Don't see it if you enjoy a cohesive two act play. Act 2 was weak , unbelievable and despite a strong performance a 30+ min monologue with God? Really?
See it if Phylicia Rashad's incredible monologue in Act II is memorable. The rest of this family drama is often confusing.
Don't see it if You are not interested in long monologues though brilliantly acted.
See it if If you enjoy shows with a huge dependence on the spiritual. If you want to see Phylicia Rashad in a tour de force performance. A perfect set
Don't see it if You can't tolerate constant screeching voices trying to outdo each other so very little is understandable. Ranting, wailing is not for you.
See it if You like Phylicia Rashad and want to see her phenomenal skills in action. And you enjoy incredibly well done staging.
Don't see it if You aren't a fan of long winded monologues about god. The second act contains a 20min monologue that, while excellently executed, is tiring.
See it if want to see a great actress let loose.
Don't see it if you have had your fill of dysfunctional family dramas.
Critic Reviews (28)
"The first act is a sometimes uneven mix of comedy and drama that ends with a bang...Rashad is superb but her full-throttle performance was not enough to distract me from the play’s weaknesses...Tina Landau directs with a feeling for the material. I give McCraney credit for trying something different with each play, but I found the current play overwrought, muddled and disjointed. The audience was very enthusiastic."
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"The roiling family tragedy is dominated by Rashad’s kaleidoscopic portrayal of this righteous, dying woman and her struggle with a cruel God…'Head of Passes,' knowingly directed by Tina Landau, seems to be a naturalistic, almost a straightforward family story…Then the rains come down, and worse, which leave Shelah with a mighty mad scene and a monologue of staggering intensity. The playwright gets closer to the dialogue-rich style of his mentor August Wilson."
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"'Head Of Passes' feels more like a first draft than a work honed by earlier mountings. It is messy, confused and has a verbal style that either the cast hasn’t nailed down yet or which doesn’t quite translate from the page. But you’d never confuse it with boring. No wonder McCraney attracts talent, with Landau directing and actress Rashad at the head of an excellent cast. The play remains flawed but they do it all the justice they can."
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"McCraney's potent, poetic 'Head of Passes' — expertly directed by Tina Landau — is domestic drama in an apocalyptic key, and this cloudburst is a harbinger of deluges to come…This heightened tenor elevates his new play beyond domestic fare. One familial secret would make this an all too familiar affair, but McCraney's cataclysms keep expanding. In so doing, 'Head of Passes' issues a warning: Tend to those foundations, or face the inevitable cracks."
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"Taut direction by Tina Landau keeps our attention focused...Phylicia Rashad is at the top of her game, turning in the most powerful performance I have seen her give...Tarell Alvin McCraney's script is compelling and more engaging than his 'Brother/Sister Plays'...The tale is kind of a bummer...The play probably would be better trimmed a bit and presented as a one act instead of breaking two hours with an intermission."
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"Truly, it's a riveting performance from Ms. Rashad...Rashad's performance is like nothing you've seen before. She grabs hold of the material—and you—and doesn't let go until she's had her say, the water has flooded in (literally; fantastic scenic design by G.W. Mercier), and she feels she has reached... I don't know. A resolution? A new day? Maybe just some sort of stasis? Whatever it is, it will blow you away."
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"It’s the bifurcation of the piece that makes the production both intriguing and unsatisfying. Despite solid direction from Tina Landau, a superlative physical production, and fine performances, the two halves of 'Passes' never completely feel as if they belong together. Such complaints, however, can be put aside for one reason alone: Rashad’s bravura performance...Rashad’s exquisite performance makes 'Head of Passses' unquestionably compelling."
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"In the second act, Rashad dominates the stage with a tour-de-force of raw, unfettered emotion…Rashad's performance is the centerpiece here, but it is surrounded by a collection of excellent performers who capture fully their rich, complex characters…It is a play by a young and brilliant dramatist in the prime of his career featuring work by a virtuoso actress whose powers are on full display."
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