Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (55)
See it if You like intellgent, contemporary works that have a si-fi quality
Don't see it if You don’t like fanciful elements mixed in with straightforward storylines
See it if You like light comedies that make you think a little too. It’s a clever concept with pretty good follow through.
Don't see it if You’re bothered by silly jokes or plays that are good but with some flaws. The dialogue towards the end could use a little work.
See it if you want to see a play about Lesbians trying to find a surrogate to have a baby with tied into space exploration & the future of humans.
Don't see it if you feel like you have seen this subject manner done many times in other plays and movies.
See it if You wanted to see a talented multi-ethnic cast in a charming and mostly light-hearted comedy-drama
Don't see it if you like a big message with your shows or are looking for a straight comedy or drama
See it if enjoy mixing disparate topics together, done well and written well
Don't see it if wish for depth into the topics
See it if One-act dramedy focuses on lesbian couple relying on childhood friend for donor IVF with clever reproductive correlation to space program.
Don't see it if Makes light of infertility issues with multiple "Star Wars" references. A few hostile remarks from threatened partner lobbed at male friend.
See it if you might like a 90 minute show that parallels the creation of a baby with the creation of the universe. Occasionally funny and relevant.
Don't see it if you're looking for something profound or are averse to sexual themes and language. It's a cute show, but don't go in with high expectations.
See it if You're interested in a couple's struggles to conceive
Don't see it if The question of whether to have children doesn't interest you Read more
Critic Reviews (8)
"Ambitious and labored...Nguyen has a fine concept and a genuine sweetness to his writing...The characters feel like rough sketches rather than people and despite a few nicely observed moments, they act in ways that have less to do with human behavior than with Nguyen setting up jokes and set pieces...When the stage realism fails, there are enjoyably surreal interludes, courtesy of a creature called the Farthest Explorer...Played with cheery wonder by the adorable Olivia Oguma."
Read more
"Nguyen wants the play to be grounded in life experience, but neither the work itself nor the production earn the serious emotions that he and director Carroll are trying to elicit...A play in the style of a traditional television sitcom, one that relies too heavily on jokes...All of the performances feel too false to convey the necessary humanity needed in order to make the final scenes work...Unlike her costars, Oguma is able to create a wholly original performance that is oddly believable."
Read more
"An apparently sincere attempt at dealing with a modern phenomenon, it consistently relies on lame gags and tired tropes to make its points...It's a tired sex-farce idea, and it hits the trifecta, being awkwardly written, directed, and performed...Under the direction of Jade King Carroll, the actors skate across the surface of the dialogue, playing for laughs that aren't there and declining to probe the characters' deeper feelings."
Read more
"An uneven mix of sitcom humor and a tender-hearted examination of love, friendship, and hope...Nguyen shows some real strengths whenever he touches on the emotional elements of the story...But none of this is explored adequately...The playwright falls down the rabbit hole into the world of television comedy and bromance movies...The actors and director King-Carroll do their best with the underwritten roles."
Read more
"Nguyen's poetically sly sensibility comes through loud and clear. When it comes to the human characters, though...we have a problem...Sitcom-style characterization and banter...None of the capable quartet makes much of an impression. Their performances all operate within the same basic bandwith. Carroll's staging doesn't help them find room...Oguma, this anthropomorphized Voyager I, becomes the production's most recognizably human creation."
Read more
"Written, acted, and directed…for broad farcical effects - there was…laughter…even at the most innocuous comments - but, eventually, things settle down...'Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth' is the kind of play in which…men have their private conversations while defecating in adjoining stalls…, or in which the sperm donor, given a thick stack of porn…, chooses…to masturbate to a copy of 'Little Women'...These and other puerile choices make it difficult to take anything seriously."
Read more
"A sweet look into the ups and down of being human and making one...A play that gives hope in humanity...Your heart grows bigger and bigger for these characters because you understand them...Funny, kind, and plays like a living film...Oguma (Farthest Explorer) steals the show...Surprisingly 'Oprah-esque' in its desire to reach and elevate audience's hearts...A celebration of people's resilience to not simply fight against those that oppose them, but to love those that support them."
Read more
"A sitcom-y space drama about family-making and personal risk...Clunky but sweet, Nguyen's piece is an invitation to value impossible odysseys, no matter where they might end...An odd mixture of thudding cliché and engaging ode to personal growth...The play's central comparison is between a fetus and a space probe...Won't launch you on a journey to wildly unknown terrain, but he'll lead you onto familiar ground with compassionate humor."
Read more