Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (212)
See it if riveting performances. intense, poignant and thought-provoking. Intelligent debate on the nature of good & evil.
Don't see it if you dislike gritty portrayals of humanity and/or profanity.
See it if You want to see great performances & are interested in a raw depiction of what it can be like in prison.
Don't see it if You have no interest in stories taking place behind bars or are offended by swearing.
See it if you like an engrossing prison drama, full of harshness. Lots of religious discussion, but what's Guirglis' point? Well acted, but often loud
Don't see it if you want to leave enlightened. Act I is stronger than Act 2. Very talky play, but often not insightful (1st D murder requires intent). Read more
See it if Unexpected sides of characters emerge in jail and work God’s will. What is freedom? Brilliant writing and acting. Mesmerizing dialog.
Don't see it if You are not up for a very intense experience that poses deep questions.
See it if You like challenging, albeit gritty, work by a great playwright and outstanding leads about redemption, salvation and truth.
Don't see it if You don't like prison plays, discussions of Christian salvation, seemingly hopeless situations, lots of foul language and descriptions
See it if Guirgis' dramatic talent comes into its own w/this work Superb acting & muscular direction power the drama into the spiritual realm intended
Don't see it if Ugly, dark prison drama unrelenting in scope Guirgis' impeccible instinct for dialogue studded w/profanity & sexual crudity Grim world view
See it if raises big questions re religion & redemption; brilliantly staged like prize fight w 2 prisoners in adjacent cells trading verbal punches
Don't see it if ending where prisoner accepts responsibility 4 crime works in concept, tho feels inauthentic; binary good/bad jail guards is facile Read more
See it if you find explorations of God and faith stimulating and worthwhile, especially when presented in an unconventional way.
Don't see it if you’re easily offended by language or find prison scenes disturbing.
Critic Reviews (28)
"When performed, as it is here, by a cast that can recreate its rapture as well as its moral gravity, it achieves the doubleness of great art, burrowing deeper the higher it flies...In a series of monologues that pull further back from the action, Hanrahan’s reflections on the case dissipate the tension. This slight flaw in the writing is exacerbated by a few awkward directorial choices...Brokaw has rightly focused on shaping the cast into a superlative ensemble."
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"These near-monologues are often gorgeous, but they can also be weirdly self-negating; in 'A Train,' they don’t even always make sense. Still, they’re full of rhetorical fireworks...Carvajal does beautifully, but DiMaggio seems to be performing for a larger room, while Gathegi infuses Lucius with fervor but insufficient danger. And the rocky production reveals a certain stasis in the play...Even as the speeches build in volume and intensity, they seem less and less connected to each other."
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"A superbly acted revival...Reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. But it also displays incendiary passion and insight into its troubled characters, qualities that are fully realized in this riveting production staged by Brokaw...The two leads deliver superb performances...It remains a vital, pulsating drama by an ascending playwright whose early promise has been richly fulfilled."
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"Guirgis is the go-to guy for riveting monologues and choice dialogue exchanges...The author’s one-line zingers are just as pointed than his longer and more reasoned arguments on faith and redemption...Director Mark Brokaw has spring-wound this production so that taking too long a breath means missing something. Voices are so well orchestrated they’re as complementary as the colors of a painting."
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“A feral revival under Mark Brokaw’s direction...The fireworks come from the two prisoners and a playwright whose gifts for street poetry and philosophy are not attenuated by niceties. I would say he takes no prisoners but the opposite is the case. Especially as played with uncompromising ferocity by Carvajal and Gathegi, Angel and Lucius set the stage ablaze, in a production that has no business closing this week and ought to be on Broadway.”
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"This stunning revival incisively explores the possibility of morality without religion and the existence justice outside the law...Offering few answers or moments of relief, director Mark Brokaw's tightly staged production hurls these quandaries at us with the velocity of an express train making the run between 125th Street and Columbus Circle. Across-the-board stellar performances reinforce an already great play."
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"Stephen Adly Guirgis' superb drama of public morality and personal convictions...Brokaw directs a thoroughly compelling new production that graces the playwright's emotionally thick and thought-provoking piece with an excellent company...Given that the playwright never introduces us to the loved ones of those who were killed, Valdez helps the audience question where their sympathies should lie, making ‘Jesus’ all the more fascinating."
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"This fascinating, troubling drama begins on a bleakly hilarious note...One of Guirgis' early works, and his inexperience shows...Still, the playwright's skill is evident in the gorgeous arias given to his three main characters and for any number of scalding exchanges...Mark Brokaw's production improves on the original in just about every way."
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