"Not only has time done nothing to dim the topicality of 'A Train,' being given a brilliantly acted revival under Brokaw’s beautifully economical direction, but the intervening 17 years since its New York premiere have only brightened its intensity and focus. A deeply intelligent and highly philosophical work, Guirgis’ play asks provocative questions...Brokaw wisely keeps the focus on the actors and Guirgis’ words...As unsettling as the ride can be, this 'Train' is definitely worth boarding."
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“'Jesus'… is a powerful drama, laced with biting humor. It not only shines a blazing light on the judicial and correctional systems but embraces deeply thoughtful themes of masculinity, faith, guilt, remorse, and responsibility…These…quarrels…are…among the most fascinating and engrossing on any New York stage…Carvajal and Gathegi…combine outsized acting, vocal power and flexibility, physical vitality, and the ability to exhibit emotions on both grand and subtle scales.”
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"Foul-mouthed, funny, and intense and thought-provoking, the play is a promising start to Guirgis’ 2017-2018 residency at New York’s Signature Theatre...These are roles that call for a ferocity that is always watchable, but not always easy to listen to. If their fervor in this production escalates too often into unrestrained shouting, that’s on Mark Brokaw, a prolific director best-known for comedies and musicals."
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"Guirgis surprises us with street-savvy but elegant prose, smart, lacerating and viciously funny...Carvajal and Gathegi both give chilling and human performances, under the assured hand of director Mark Brokaw. They are well supported by Erick Betancourt, as a friendly guard; Stephanie DiMaggio, as a legal aid lawyer; and especially Ricardo Chavira as the brutal jailer...Guirgis is a tantalizing street poet.”
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"Guirgis has written an issue play, with a capital 'I'...And he’s built it on the back of some rat-a-tat dialogue and exchanges of ideas that continually reveal the capacity to surprise...It’s in those Sorkin-like exchanges that dance around Big Ideas without ever settling on even Medium-Size Conclusions, that Guirgis‘ work shines...'Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train' still packs a punch."
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"The play is not an activist exposé of the penal system as much as a searing journey into the battle for the soul of humanity...Without getting pedantic or simplistic, Pulitzer Prize winner Guirgis explores many basic dichotomies...Brokaw directs with a strong but understanding hand, giving room for the actors to intersect with Guirgis’s sharp language...Gathegi doesn’t just speak his lines but he lives every word...An exciting beginning to Guirgis’s Signature Residency."
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"Steven Adly Guirgis...has a unique ability to find the music in profanity, to reveal the presence of the divine among the depraved."
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“Some of the expository monologues feel a little forced, and some of the plot points that propel the moral haze driving the show feel a little too easy...’Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train’ may be a flawed play, but it delivers anyway. And the production--which, like its characters, seems to have taken some pretty hard punches along the way--is well worth your time and consideration. Kudos to the company for turning a bad situation good.”
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