Illyria NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (130)
See it if You love theater, and history- do or don't know much about Joe Papp.. the orgin of the Public theater and 1958 NYC sentiment concerning same
Don't see it if You don't like small quiet "talky" drama. Aren't interested in theater, background story behind The Public & early innovative ideas
See it if arts advocacy/preservationist leanings, Pappism, leisurely storytelling, leaning forward to hear, are your thing
Don't see it if almost inaudible, almost Chekovian, dinner/casting table centered drama, are not your thing Read more
See it if You have deep interest in Joe Papp & co, Shakespeare in the Park, or Richard Nelson's playwriting style.
Don't see it if You're expecting a lifelong biographical play. This takes place in a single summer. Or if you don't like quiet, talky, self-contained plays.
See it if You are fascinated by the history of the non-profit theater in NY, particularly the Public Theater.
Don't see it if You find largely conversational plays talky and prefer emphasis on plot over dialogue.
See it if you want to know more about Joseph Papp and how he started free Shakespeare in the Park. His struggle with close collaborators and Rob Moses
Don't see it if you don't find a docu play of interest
See it if Theater junkies will appreciate the tale of this great institution's birth. The usual smart and polished direction by Nelson.
Don't see it if Pace is too slow. Cast clearly directed by Nelson to be "real", as in real slow cue pick ups. Cast conveyed a bad acid trip a decade early. Read more
See it if you want to know something about the history of Joe Papp and his milieu
Don't see it if you expect to learn how Joe Papp became successful in his endeavors to bring good theater to the public
See it if Masterful play construction and talented ensemble provide a (true?) historical view of a crucial point in The Public Theatre's existence
Don't see it if Must be curious and caring for The Public AND New York City in the early 1960s otherwise your own score might be 20 points less
Critic Reviews (36)
"None of this is dramatized so much as revealed through conversation in three scenes set several months apart...'llyria' is probably best appreciated as a glimpse into the passion that theater ignites in its practitioners, especially for those theatergoers who are not fully versed in the history of the Public Theater and its principal players."
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"Takes Nelson’s material to a new kind of low energy...The show is so low key that you can barely hear the actors and it is hard to comment when nobody seems to be acting...Lincoln Center wanting to get Papp kicked out because they wanted a theatre and a park, is interesting. Watching people talk around a table is not. I am a huge history buff and especially when it comes to the entertainment field. In this case, I would rather search the internet or read a book on the subject."
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"I spoke to several people who had severe problems hearing the actors...It’s a pity because 'Illyria' is one of the best new plays to open in New York City this year...There’s never a misstep in Nelson’s script or any of the performances...'Illyria' is a must-see for anyone who cares about the theater. Just make sure you rent a listening device or sit in the first row."
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"A dramatically-engrossing greenroom chronicle...Nelson serves himself well as director...Nelson, by having the performance purposely underamplified, seems to encourage the notion that you needn’t necessarily hear every word that is said...The heretofore little-known Magaro dominates the play...Magaro—like the bantam Joe himself—is small and intense, with a smile and enthusiasm that can sway the severest naysayers. Brill and Kranz are excellent as Papp’s staunch henchmen."
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"I fear that playwright Richard Nelson is in danger of becoming a victim of self-parody. He seems to have succumbed to a one-size-fits-all solution to every dramatic problem...He has definitely hit the point of diminishing returns is his latest effort for the Public Theater...At the end of the long first scene, I was hopeful; by the end of the second, considerably less so. The rambling third scene squandered whatever positive feelings I had left for the play."
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“A compelling view of an insider world...’Illyria’ is played and directed (by Nelson) in such a low-key manner it’s like eavesdropping on private conversations. But that’s exactly the effect the playwright-director is after...John Magaro conveys the fury and brilliance of Papp while John Sanders captures Vaughan’s measured cautious nature. They and the rest of the company create an illusion of intimacy as a legendary theater is born.”
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“I interviewed the late producer Joe Papp many years ago and there was more energy in five minutes of our talk than is projected in the entire play...There is little in the thin, softly spoken play to indicate the dynamism that made Papp one of the theater’s most important producers...Nelson is probably the wrong writer to have tackled the drama about Papp and his colleagues...Nostalgia does peek through, but the result is mostly boring. Papp deserves better.”
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"Part of the play’s charm is how its characters communicate, which is with a free-wheeling naturalism where sentences clash into each other, and people mutter or giggle. As beguiling as this is, you strain to hear what is being said...At its worst, 'Illyria' feels not only frustratingly inaudible at times but wincingly smug and self-indulgent...It is very easy to fall in love, in fitful stretches at least, with its characters."
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