Her Requiem
Lincoln Center Theatre's Third Stage (LCT3) present this new play about a high school senior who decides to compose a full requiem - and almost destroys her family in the process.
... Read moreCaitlin takes her senior year off from high school to compose a full-scale requiem. Inspired by her dedication, her father, Dean, becomes obsessed with requiems and the people who love them, while her mother, Allison, becomes concerned about Caitlin’s isolation from everyone aside from her music teacher. As their once-cozy Vermont home becomes a nexus for lost souls, Dean and Allison must confront the fact that their daughter’s project is destroying their family.
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- 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Already closed
- Claire Tow Theater (Upper W Side)
Cast & Creatives (13)
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Reviews (53)
12 Critics' Reviews
"A thoughtful, beautifully acted new play...directed with assurance by Kate Whoriskey...Mr. Pierce’s characters are superbly drawn, his dialogue smooth and smart. He’s a promising writer...But the plotting of 'Her Requiem' becomes a little baggy...From this point the play becomes diffuse, a quilt of underdeveloped subplots." Full Review
"A fascinating look at the fine line between commitment and obsession, practicality and philistinism...Director Kate Whoriskey hits all the right notes, a happy meeting of smart design and layered performances...Winningham and Friedman have a believable chemistry...Pierce probingly explores our tendency to see our own issues in a great work of art, even if those themes weren't intended by the artist." Full Review
"A solid production by director Kate Whoriskey, but Pierce's promising text could use some consistency of tone. The play seems somewhat satirical at first, which undercuts the moments of discomforting reality between Caitlin and Tommy, who may or may not be aware of his predatory manipulations...A variation of the stage-mother scenario,'Requiem' has some interesting ideas that haven't quite coalesced yet, but with Winningham and Friedman at the center, the piece certainly intrigues." Full Review
"Greg Pierce’s well-written but ineffectual play about a teenage wunderkind whose miraculous musical genius turns her home life upside-down and inspires a morbid death cult....After introducing the characters and giving us some background on how everyone got here, the playwright seems at a loss...The only tension in the air is between Caitlin's warring parents, who at least argue with intelligence and some eloquence." Full Review
"While it boasts strong performances and pungent dialogue, 'Her Requiem' fails to make much narrative or thematic sense...Besides that absurd plot device, the playwright fumbles the ball with his characterizations...Director Kate Whoriskey...is unable to lend much coherence to the emotionally scattered proceedings. Nor are the performers, although such veterans as Friedman, Winningham and Van Patten deliver their usual unimpeachable work." Full Review
"Contrived and gently pretentious, Greg Pierce’s 'Her Requiem' is the Off Broadway equivalent of a 'New Yorker' short story...Characters are improbably glib yet earnest; moral stakes are real but unfrightening; the tone is bittersweet puzzlement...Pierce raises several questions over 90 minutes, few of which he answers to satisfaction...The acting is strong, with Friedman and Winningham—two of New York’s finest character actors—touchingly torn between protecting their child and their marriage." Full Review
"Improbable if skillfully acted new drama....The play takes a couple of even more unexpected turns. I won’t spoil them except to say that they feel imposed by the playwright, in order to goose up an otherwise tame story, and to make it more thought provoking...Pierce can thank director Kate Whoriskey for assembling a first-class design team and a group of actors who, by their very presence nearly guarantee something worth watching." Full Review
"Greg Pierce writes a wandering path that leads to the showdown, and these actors bring their A-game all the way through...In the end, it comes down to the two men battling it out...[but] it is the women who sort through the ballast in this tale. It just takes the author a long time to get us there. Next outing we would all be okay with getting there sooner and opening up the gates leading out of archetypes into the unknown." Full Review
"Little of what he's built captures your imagination, or for that matter your attention...The surprises and misdirections that crop up along the way, as everyone begins jockeying for position closest to Caitlin's gaze, are compelling. Not much else, however...Further, tone problems are rampant...Aside from Winningham, the acting is uneven, too." Full Review
"Some of this is improbable, not to mention a little melodramatic, but director Kate Whoriskey has put together an elegant production. I wanted to move right into the comfortable home that set designer Derek McLane has created for the family. And the casting couldn't be better....But it's all a little too much for a 90-minute play. 'Her Requiem' is ambitious but it both overpromises and underperforms." Full Review
"'Her Requiem' is hardly flawless, but Pierce hits some right notes. Its characters are intriguingly if perhaps way too off-beat. And if does pose some interesting questions about artists, art, and what price a young artist like Caitlin — and her family — must pay before a work emerges into the light." Full Review
"Life is mirroring art, which is mirroring life, in 'Her Requiem', the ambitious new play by Greg Pierce...'Her Requiem' addresses various intriguing ideas...but their execution lacks coherence at times...At the conclusion of the play, Caitlin’s requiem is completed, but the audience only hears the first chords. It seems an appropriate metaphor for this play which, with a few rewrites and sharpened focus, could be quite excellent." Full Review
41 Members' Reviews
See it if You're a fan of character drivin contemporary family drama... with a little bit of quirky thrown in.
Don't see it if You like fast paced light hearted fluff that you don't have to think very much about.
See it if if you are interested in alternative lifestyles. This is what happens when hippies grow up. Beautiful set is like a visit to the country.
Don't see it if you are looking for a lot of action. There is a lot of talk but not much is explained.
See it if you are fascinated by cliched family interaction and problems with quite an unrealistic theme and subplot.
Don't see it if You want to see a realistic theme well written and brought to interesting life.
See it if you enjoy new original plays. The cast alone is worth the visit, play not so much. though.
Don't see it if are expecting a mind blowing experience and/or do not mind a play that drags at time.
See it if You want a paint-by-numbers show where the situations are all mundane things we've seen 1,000 times before.
Don't see it if You want a fast-paced show. Although it's only 90 minutes, it feels twice as long.
See it if you want to see three fine performances from Mare Winningham, Peter Friedman, and especially, Keilly McQuail.
Don't see it if you do not like plays with a million subplots. This work also needs a few more rewrites before it should be produced on stage.
See it if you wish to see a well acted and well produced show. The play's not so good, unfortunately.
Don't see it if you expect a finished product from Lincoln Center Theater. Unfortunately the play has been rushed into production.
See it if you like to be intrigued.
Don't see it if You don't like to think
See it if well acted, living your dream through your child, family dynamics, religious zeal,
Don't see it if an uneven script leaves you wanting more
See it if you're in the mood for a family drama play
Don't see it if you're looking for some light, fluffy entertainment
See it if Great acting and interesting subject matter but very confusing at times in the plot structure.
Don't see it if If you don't like New and edgy theater.
See it if Are interested in thought provoking drama (with bits of humor) that could go cliche, but doesn't.
Don't see it if You aren't into dramas with kind of flawed irresponsible characters.
See it if interested in an original new play with some thought-provoking themes and well-developed characters all longing for an elusive something
Don't see it if you're looking for something light and cheery; this is a darkly humorous look at one family's existential struggles
See it if Little gets resolved and even less gets evolved. It felt more like a long subject without much verb. It's entertaining enough, but uneven.
Don't see it if The point of theater for me is movement. Little changes on this play. It's like a painting Most characters are left as you found them.
See it if Entertaining enough, light laughs here and there but overall it's just ok. The actress who played Mirtis was quite funny & entertaining.
Don't see it if I don't see this show has having a wide appeal. It never fully takes off, at times is unfocused, & chemistry between actors not always great
See it if you like great acting and an absorbing story. Fun banter between husband and everyone else.
Don't see it if want an action packed play.
See it if A dirge for the dead, composed by a prodigy, will bring a dysfunctional family back to life and send you deeper into the mystery of creation
Don't see it if A plot-less meditation on family dynamics with near incoherent themes will have you snoring faster than the man sitting next to me.
See it if You like an orignal script. One parent totally supports his child's dream which ultimately puts a lot of pressure on the family dynamics.
Don't see it if You want to see a light entertaining story with all of the bells and whistles.
See it if You want a play that purports to take the one through the process of music writing but just showcases terrible people and mediocre acting.
Don't see it if You want to see relatable characters who aren't just thrown in the play for no reason.
See it if you want a play examining our collective need to establish our individual meaning vis-a-vis art or the artistic process, at great expense.
Don't see it if you do not want to tease out the significance of secondary and tertiary characters offstage that clutter the central story towards ambiguity
See it if If your looking for a moderately entertaining family dysfunction plot or are interested in learning more about how Requiems are structured
Don't see it if Slightly pedantic dialogue about music/composers is not enough to hold your attention. Every other plot element is underdeveloped and random
See it if you want to support the LCT3 mission of promoting new playwrights .
Don't see it if you want a coherent plot; this show squanders the considerable talents of the actors.
See it if you appreciate fine acting in an original, interesting drama about creativity and obsession in an unusual family situation. Nice set, too.
Don't see it if you are thrown by unexpected plot lines. It's more about the mid-life crisis of the father than the precocious teenage daughter composer.
See it if An opportunity to support a newer playwright and you appreciate difficult family scenarios. Fine performances by Winningham, Van Patten.
Don't see it if another promising but deeply flawed and somber drama of troubled, inadequate parents, uneven performances,
See it if You want to see an inexpensive show at Lincoln Center and like Mare Winningham.
Don't see it if You don't like plays that have extraneous characters and plots that you can't follow.