Illyria NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (130)
See it if ..you enjoy Public's Shakespeare in the Park. Close to real life writing and directing approach.
Don't see it if ..you get irritated when you can't see and hear the actors well. Quiet dialogues, slow conflict development.
See it if you like shows about rarely discussed historical eras. That are told from an insiders perspective.
Don't see it if you like period pieces that are told from a broader view and have major implications.
See it if you care about theatre in New York City and are looking for great acting and staging
Don't see it if you have no interest in the history of the Public Theater
See it if you like dialogue driven plays based on true stories with naturalistic acting, to a fault.
Don't see it if you have a problem sitting for 2 hours and straining to hear "conversational" dialogue, or have no interest in the Public's backstory. Read more
See it if You want to dive into a very different time in the history of NYC and the Public Theater.
Don't see it if You're hard of hearing Read more
See it if you like intelligent theater, a well-told story, and are interested in the history of NY's Public Theater and Joe Papp.
Don't see it if you don't like talky quiet plays where nothing much happens, or if you are really hard of hearing and won't use the listening devices.
See it if You are interested in the history of NYC and 20th Century theater.
Don't see it if You don't like talky plays about a very specific niche in history.
See it if become fly on wall (1958) when young Papp beset by financial woes/resistance 2 free Shakespeare; but Papp's relentlessness shines thru
Don't see it if play consists of conversations delivered so softly/off-handedly that it's hard to hear the words & dramatic moments are drained of drama
Critic Reviews (36)
“Director-playwright Richard Nelson opts for an ultra-naturalistic, stripped-down approach...The female parts seem a little thinly sketched, though that may be a commentary on 1950s gender politics...Nelson’s dialogue perfectly mimics the rhythms of ordinary conversation...Those Chekhovian discussions unfold against a subtly evoked backdrop of lurking menace."
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"Magaro delivers a complex Papp, a man bursting with ideas and insecurities...But ultimately the slice-of-life presentation feels lacking. We get only snippets of important bits...Annoyingly, the actors almost always speak in quiet, conversational tones, making it difficult to catch every word. Still, anyone fascinated by theatrical history will enjoy the anecdotes."
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"Transfixing and rhapsodic; a lovely portrait of a group of young artists struggling to find their place in the world...Nelson (who also directed) and his cast display a note-perfect grasp of these characters, their individual rhythms and their group dynamics -- the audience truly comes to feel like flies on the wall...A striking vision emerges, one that understands the impossibly difficult, brick-by-brick, minute-by-minute process of creating any work of art."
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"The most lovely thing about writer and director Richard Nelson's evocative new play, 'Illyria,' is that it's told in his gentle, fly-on-the-wall style...We get to know this group of theater friends not through highly-dramatic happenings, but through their intimate conversations...It's that undertone of canniness that keeps the play from being too sentimental...Unfortunately, they are more soft-spoken than the 'Gabriels' cast — I often had trouble catching whole phrases."
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"While certainly a subject worth discussing, things start to become repetitive rather quickly...None of the characters feel in any way three-dimensional, and thus, not all that interesting. Rather ironic, since just about all of those depicted are real people...Despite the work's various shortcomings, the cast give it their all...A fascinating tale and one that certainly deserves to be told. 'Illyria,' however, is not the vehicle with which to tell it."
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“Every young boy and girl who plans to be a performer must see ‘Illyria.’ You should, too. Through Richard Nelson’s new play and production, everyone can see what real acting is – meaning acting that doesn’t seem to be acting at all…Nelson gets a natural, unadorned and unassuming performance from each of his 10 actors…Once again see that underplaying is a much better choice than over-the-top. Call this Theater-of-the-Matter-of-Fact."
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“Nelson's plays are really, really, really just not for everyone. They work for me, though. ‘Illyria’ might not feel like quite the lifeline the Gabriel plays were a year ago, but I found it to be similarly comforting and moving just the same...Conversation, typically ultra-natural, steers clear of obvious exposition...The play manages enough detail for audience members who know very little about Papp or the Public to make sense of what's going on.”
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"Nelson's latest play has made the audience into flies-on-the-wall...Performances were excellent, although I found Magaro’s Joe Papp attractive but too mild-mannered...More aggressiveness in Magaro’s performance might have heightened the overall presentation...Although not as theatrical as I would have preferred, the show is enticing to anyone who would enjoy knowing more about Papp and his early contributions to New York City theater."
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