How to Transcend a Happy Marriage NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (199)
See it if if you would like to stretch the concept of monogamy and/or you are a fan of Marissa Tomei.
Don't see it if you want a play to answer all its questions , especially those of a supernatural nature.
See it if You are a fan of Sarah Ruhl, Marisa Tomei, or Lena Hall. Watching people deal with awkward sexual situations is interesting to you.
Don't see it if Hyper-sexuality & polyamory make you uncomfortable. You prefer plays more rooted in reality-- this stretched a li'l too far outside reality. Read more
See it if Want to discover new sexual mores. Are over 14; are used to Sara Ruhl plays; A great cast led by Marisa Tomei; Polyamory explained
Don't see it if Sexual scenes upset you Nakedness upsets you Men caressing upsets you Group sex upsets you You are close minded
See it if you're a fan of Sarah Ruhl ( 3d recent LTC play) & you're game to muse about how relationships alter the boxes we—or others—may put us in.
Don't see it if you're looking for light-hearted, straight-laced, or more prim fare or don't want to contemplate marriage or parenthood impacting identity.
See it if You can accept an ambitious but half-baked exploration of polyamory, ethical eating, questions about what differentiates humans and animals
Don't see it if You don't find the above appealing subject matter, don't like blurring of reality/fantasy realms, are offended by orgiastic/primal material. Read more
See it if You want to experience a unique play that tackles issues not often addressed on stage,such as polyamory. Excellent performances.
Don't see it if You prefer plays dealing with more traditional subject matter.
See it if You love Sarah Ruhl and her quirky and funny take on life. Maris Tomei as always did a fine job.
Don't see it if You can't suspend your imagination and accept the fact that monogamy is becoming a cliche
See it if Good ensemble. Nice setting. Good acting
Don't see it if If your looking for a great dramatic play. There are 3 or 4 others playing that are better.
Critic Reviews (35)
"The dialogue is smart, funny and sexy, the actors have achieved a fine ensemble and the direction is seamless, once again demonstrating how well-attuned Taichman is to Ruhl’s sensibility...While the first act is nearly perfect, the play has serious second-act problems...While I have no problem with magical realism, I don't feel it works here. The points that I thought Ruhl wanted to make...do not need magical embellishment...It’s a flawed play with a very enjoyable first act."
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"The first act unravels like a tacky sex farce...Sexual and spiritual complications follow in the deeper second act. The characters gain dimension and the proceedings acquire a fantastic, whimsical tinge...Director Rebecca Taichman and an adept cast handle the transition with dexterity...Tomei paints the stage with a palette full of emotional colors...It’s a startlingly affecting performance in a surprisingly effective play which transcends categories."
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“The two-hour journey to these epiphanies is less a narrative than a series of vignettes, some more entertaining than others…But the dialog sparkles with Ruhl's trademark wit and lyricism. And director Rebecca Taichman ably juggles Ruhl's abiding interest in female sexuality with her more metaphysical fancies…The entire cast is excellent…Marisa Tomei and Robin Weigert are particularly appealing as George and Jane.”
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"This new play is a subversive enchantment. It is part absurd domestic serio-comedy, part erotic magic realism, unflinching about taboos and about questioning that, just maybe, monogamy isn’t enough...Directed without sensationalism but with intrepid good humor by Taichman, the inevitable bacchanalian reveries ensue. But so does heady talk about Pythagorean triangles, the immortality of a Bach minuet, grief, architecture and why women are expected to lose their 'animal nature' after childbirth."
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“An extremely clever play…Sarah Ruhl and director Rebecca Taichman neither defend nor attack polyamory while dealing with such issues as personal and familial responsibility, shame, and sexuality throughout one’s life. The cast is uniformly strong, but Lena Hall does the heavy lifting with an infectious lightness…The second act is much darker than the first and sometimes goes astray…Ruhl still has a bit more to say, bringing it all back home with a sweetly meaningful finale.”
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"Brings to mind John Updike's classic partner-swapping novel 'Couples' with a hearty dose of magic realism. This is not a successful recipe...Along the way, the gifted and likable cast gets squandered...Ruhl takes a wide-eyed approach to the ensuing sexual shenanigans—boy, millennials sure are edgy—that may compel even the nonagenarians in the audience to roll their eyes. In the second act, the playwright throws everything at the wall and nothing sticks."
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"Doesn’t quite transcend Ruhl's habit of churning out narratively challenged and thematically ambitious work...At intermission, I was actually curious what would happen to these nice people, but Act 2 loses narrative focus and meanders philosophically all over the intellectual landscape. Ruhl’s writing, it seems, defaults to her head rather than her heart...Taichman directs, establishing a disarming mood in Act 1 and bringing as much coherence as possible to a dramatically unsatisfying Act 2."
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“A wonderful addition to the Sarah Ruhl canon: a moving exploration of the limits—or is it the limitlessness?—of love…I don’t want to ruin the fun—and there is a lot of fun here—by telling you what happens…There are plenty of laughs along the way, especially from the ageless and brilliant Marisa Tomei...Lena Hall is well cast as the mystical Pip, but everyone in the play is a winner.”
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