Hero's Welcome NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (18)
See it if Wonder what an Ayckbourn play would be like without the humor, but still with set pieces and cardboard characters.
Don't see it if You don't know what's going to happen when you see a rifle in an early scene. You want more than soap opera plots, revelations, characters.
See it if 3 stories, 3 households cramped staging, but mostly engrossing play very well acted. Ayckbourn's world is always a treat, this one included.
Don't see it if It's not top drawer Ayckbourn, but if you love his writing as I do, you won't want to miss it. Next is the 5-play evening called CONFUSIONS.
See it if you're an Ayckbourn completist. There are some strong performances in roles that have shading. Others are stuck playing villains or victims.
Don't see it if you want to believe Ayckbourn's an unerring hero. This wears out its welcome early on.
See it if writing alway good. characters come to life and remind us of the turns in of our lives
Don't see it if if you need a lot of action
See it if you enjoy a show which is intelligent and absorbing, has interesting characters and a plot which is unusual, with a logical conclusion.
Don't see it if you don't want to see a somewhat sad story with quirky and well-developed characters, or you hate British drama.
See it if if you like Alan Ayckbourn (also the director), complicated plots, great acting, and good staging.
Don't see it if if you like comedies, or plays with uncomplicated plots.
See it if You love Ackybourn's quirky characters and humor. Not his best and the plot is confusing. But still worth seeing for the riveting second act
Don't see it if You don't like slow direction, overplotted stories, one dimensional villians and a somewhat simple staging.
See it if you are an Ayckbourn fan and enjoy fine ensemble acting.
Don't see it if you don't like complicated plots and like your plays short and snappy.
Critic Reviews (27)
"The NYC premiere of 'Hero’s Welcome' is theater where all the pieces – writing, directing, and acting – impeccably fit together...Mr. Ayckbourn hasn’t lost his touch. He also directed this production, a playwright uniquely able to optimally serve his text...I have not one negative criticism of the production. With the direction and entire cast equally splendid, it is perfection."
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"The six actors deliver authentic and engaging performances. Less engaging is the script itself. The script is convoluted and its characters underdeveloped. While Murray’s, Alice’s, and Kara’s conflicts are clear and their motivations believable, other characters lack authentic conflicts…'Hero’s Welcome' rehearses Mr. Ayckbourn’s important themes with a less than contemporary feel. Still, 'Hero’s Welcome' is an interesting story with redemptive themes and worth the visit."
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"‘Hero’s Welcome’ offers yet another lesson in the magic of good acting...It uses comedy sparingly to tell a story with rather serious events, including a killing, a stroke, and arson; there are some raucous laughs, but the tone definitely leans toward the dark side. Ayckbourn’s genius is such that even when his characters and situations tend toward nastiness humor ripples through the subtext and performances."
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"'Hero’s Welcome' feels less sturdily constructed than 'Confusions'–its mysteries are perhaps too easy to solve, some of its characterizations less nuanced than they might be...Ayckbourn directs with a reliance on vivid performances, evocative costumes and cheap furnishings. The actors he has assembled are gutsy and supple. A couple of them are inclined to overplay their parts, but this is clearly done with his approval...Though neither is a major work, each play is absorbing on its own."
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"Acykbourn weaves the strands of the overloaded plot into somewhat of a soap opera, except that in his hands the play comes across as more than that. There is mordant humor underscoring the complications as well as serious observations about character behavior. Despite so much jammed into in the play, Ayckbourn and his marvelous cast can keep us riveted, and his direction is lean and pointed."
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"Ayckbourn stirs us with mystery and conflict. We become completely engaged in how events transpire. Indeed, what Ayckbourn offers is a journey of revelation...From beginning to end, 'Hero’s Welcome' is a sterling production...The directing and acting combine to make for a breathtaking, heart-wrenching finish...This finest of Ayckbourn’s works reveals most importantly that without unsung heroes we are left to face alone the impossible battles within."
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"'Hero’s Welcome' demonstrates a profound understanding of quiet, upper-middle-class suffering."
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“What becomes clear in ‘Hero’s Welcome’ is how easily people are willing to believe the worst about others...Standing out in this story as a rock of integrity is Baba. Hoskins does an excellent job not only in making her appealing, but also in working with Ayckbourn to allow the character to blossom...The ending is somewhat ambiguous. It shows events coming full circle while leaving the characters with several questions...Then again, that’s been Ayckbourn’s point throughout.”
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