"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"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."
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"'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."
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