Judgment Day NYC Reviews and Tickets

79%

(96 Reviews)

Positive

88%

Mixed

12%

Negative

Members say

Great staging, Ambitious, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Great acting

About the Show

Director Richard Jones returns to the Armory with this rarely-performed 1937 moral drama in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Shinn.

From the show:

Ödön von Horváth’s play is an intriguing hybrid of theatrical genres: part moral fable, part sociopolitical commentary, part noirish thriller. A dutiful train station master, performed by Emmy® Award-winning actor Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Deuce, and Slings & Arrows) is momentarily distracted and a tragic train crash results. This adaptation is a fresh take on who should bear responsibility for certain actions, a theme that resonates in today’s societal climate.

Having dazzled Armory audiences and critics alike with his mesmerizing revival of The Hairy Ape in 2017, visionary director Richard Jones returns to take on this gripping play in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award®-winning playwright Christopher Shinn. Judgment Day dramatically plays on the interior of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall—reminiscent of the original Grand Central Depot and the great train stations of Europe—as an immersive environment in which the characters become overcome by the burden of guilt.

Member Reviews (96)

Great acting, Absorbing, Great story, Amazing production

See it if Great performances. Great story full of twists. Epic larger than life scale sets. Dark and full of pathos.

Don't see it if It drags at times but mostly briefly.

Entertaining, Dramatic, Great staging, Great acting

See it if You enjoy large scale productions. The staging is really great and so are the performances. Good story w/ some dramatic scenes.

Don't see it if You aren't looking for drama and prefer something light.

Great writing, Great staging, Exquisite, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if If you like a entertaining story and a huge production. Fantastic lighting and sound effects. Well acted show.

Don't see it if If you do not like big production plays.

Entertaining, Great staging, Great acting, Intelligent, Relevant

See it if you want a story experience on massive sets in a huge space over 7 scenes in 90 minutes that are wonderfully lit with excellent sound.

Don't see it if you want something light - this is heavy on morality subjects with many thought provoking issues that we have in today's world.

Disappointing, Thought-provoking, Slow, Simplistic, Ambitious

See it if simply scripted scenes representing grand philosophical concepts like truth, guilt & justice with Biblical references hold your attention.

Don't see it if the ponderous predictably & illogic of grand opera w/o the justification of magnificent vocal music fails to appeal. Stiff performances, too

Quirky, Thought-provoking, Indulgent, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if chance to see rare production staged in huge space, interested in von Horvath & issues of guilt & blame, to see the power of the mob,

Don't see it if not a fan of loud noises, huge sets being slowly dragged across theater, people lost among the sets, don't like stories of infidelity, guilt

Riveting, Thought-provoking, Great staging, Colossal, Ambitious

See it if you want to see a taut, intense, powerful morality/cautionary tale about truth, guilt, loyalty & mob mentality, staged on an epic scale.

Don't see it if u want a subtle, intimate, small-scale production; u want to avoid another wake-up call about the effects of absolutism/"fake news"/mob rule

Brilliant scenography, Tightly constructed, Spare story, Deterministic, Twisting

See it if cutting edge scenography or a brilliant script by an important 20th century playwright who is little staged here would interest you.

Don't see it if you’re looking for an intimate drama: This staging goes as high as the sky & across a broad horizon. Read more

Critic Reviews (12)

"An Allegory of Blame, Goes Big: At the Park Avenue Armory, Odon von Horvath’s 1937 drama gets a rare and physically overwhelming staging."
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"At the Armory, 'Judgment Day' Shows Its Cast No Mercy"
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"A small play in an oversize production that dilutes any ripple effect the fable might have in 2019. One could imagine it being just as effective at Classic Stage Company or the BAM Harvey."
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"A Life Derails in Judgment Day: Christopher Shinn adapts Ödön von Horváth's rarely performed 1937 drama for Park Avenue Armory."
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"A Chilling Revival of Ödön von Horváth's 1937 Social Commentary 'JUDGMENT DAY'"
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"If the setting of 'Judgment Day' feels slightly unusual, its tone is strikingly similar to the work of such vintage directors as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Billy Wilder, all of them Germans who fled the Nazi regime to become masters of the Hollywood film noir."
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4/5 Stars. "When ostensible autocratic leaders appear to be emerging in growing numbers today, it seems as if von Horváth's work has a potent relevance to a swelling contemporary plight."
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5/5 Stars. "Approached with imagination, skill and a clear sense of purpose, director Richard Jones' production is riveting, thought-provoking and ravishing."
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Trailer

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