Little Rock
81

Little Rock NYC Reviews and Tickets

81%
(113 Ratings)
Positive
91%
Mixed
9%
Negative
0%
Members say
Absorbing, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Ambitious

About the Show

This new drama centers around the riveting true story of the Little Rock Nine, the first black students to attend their city’s formerly segregated central high school.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (113)

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70 Reviews | 7 Followers
100
Great acting, Great singing, Great writing, Relevant, Profound

See it if you like political plays, psychological plays, are interested in history

Don't see it if you need an elaborate stage setting or a lot of action

258 Reviews | 104 Followers
96
Profound, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Astonishing, Powerful

See it if visceral tale of a horrific chapter in our history thru beauty in voice, humor, staging, deft actors in mult. roles. Sadly, an open chapter

Don't see it if Do see it, forewarned that brutal, painful, deplorable actions & words are brought to life; feelings of shame, hope, revulsion, wonder await

84 Reviews | 47 Followers
95
Absorbing, Great acting, Great singing, Intense, Thought-provoking

See it if you enjoy wonderful actors telling the story of segregation in Little Rock Arkansas.

Don't see it if You are a bigot, do not care about manners of humanity or only like light and fluffy theatre. Read more

55 Reviews | 28 Followers
95
Absorbing, Intense, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Profound

See it if If you are interested in learning about the history of the Little Rock 9. If you want a compelling, important story.

Don't see it if If you are sensitive to realistic portrayals of the early days desegregation in the South. Read more

61 Reviews | 18 Followers
94
Absorbing, Ambitious, Riveting, Thought-provoking, Must see

See it if you like seeing brave courageous children doing brave and historical events. The show should be shown in every high school in the country.

Don't see it if you are a fuddy-duddy racist who does not appreciate historical events shown on a day-day basis. Read more

64 Reviews | 22 Followers
92
Absorbing, Great singing, Intelligent, Profound, Relevant

See it if you are interested in the history of civil rights from the 50s and 60s. You want to see something serious, inspiring and heartbreaking.

Don't see it if You only like fluff. You are not interested in civil rights, racism, or history. Read more

216 Reviews | 223 Followers
91
Absorbing, Great acting, Great singing, Must see, Intense

See it if If you like historically relevant plays. Although I knew the story, seeing it presented, is so emotional and makes it real.

Don't see it if You do not like serious plays depicting deplorable historical events. This should be required viewing for ALL junior & high school students.

98 Reviews | 18 Followers
91
Absorbing, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Intelligent, Riveting

See it if You are interested in US racial history and segregation. It was eye opening to see the amount of baseless hatred occurring not that long ago

Don't see it if You aren’t interested in that period of history or may be triggered by the violence and hatred that existed (and still does) in the US

Critic Reviews (11)

The New York Times
July 3rd, 2018

“Viscerally affecting...This is activist theater...Maharaj lays everything on worrisomely thick and fast. Each character reads as two-dimensional...But the play gradually rights itself, and the complexity of the students and their situation comes into focus...Dialogue sometimes suffers from the show’s desire to educate, but Maharaj does a beautiful job of balancing heartache with just enough humor...Not a perfect play, but it is a deeply moving testament.”
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Theatermania
June 14th, 2018

"That research shows in this highly informative, tuneful, and heavy-handed show. You'll learn a lot about this pivotal moment in school desegregation, but perhaps not so much about how to craft an artful theatrical story line...Unfortunately, most of the acting is not fully fleshed-out, often verging on TV movie melodrama...Maharaj has attempted to stuff so much into two hours that beats feel rushed and unnatural...The most impressive aspect is the music."
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Lighting & Sound America
June 15th, 2018

“There's no point in pretending that this is a sophisticated or accomplished dramatic work...Poorly constructed, stubbornly failing to build dramatic excitement. The playwright, who also directed, struggles to realize the large cast of characters...The dialogue is loaded with obvious and redundant statements...Still, if the overall arc of the piece is awkward and sluggish, there are many moments that leave a searing mark on the audience.”
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Talkin' Broadway
June 14th, 2018

"The playwright Mr. Maharaj, who also directs, handles this difficult material with great skill and clarity, and he is most fortunate in his nine-member cast, who take on some 50 different roles between them and manage to make most of them come realistically to life as individuals...Problematically, though, the play starts to fill up with a number of tangential elements that distract from the main story and from the authenticity and realism that are its greatest strengths."
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TheaterScene.net
July 4th, 2018

"Not only is Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj's 'Little Rock' informative and enlightening, it also terrific theater and the playwright makes a great deal of information easily digestible. The recounting of the many incidents both dastardly and kindly build up to a very complete and dramatic picture of those turbulent days. Ultimately, the students seem tremendously heroic to have stuck out their trials and tribulations to the end of the school year."
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CurtainUp
June 18th, 2018

"Although inspiring and prompting reflection on the early Civil Rights Movement in America, it over-reaches itself and tries to shoehorn too many historical personages into two hours...The play gains more theatrical traction when it focuses on local community members...Ultimately the play is at its most powerful when it takes us inside the walls of Little Rock High School and allows us to glimpse racism in the raw...'Little Rock' gives you an authentic picture of the Little Rock Nine."
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Theatre is Easy
June 16th, 2018

"As important as this history is to remember, it's not always dramatized here in the most effective way...Maharaj would have done better to focus on fewer students in more detail, so we could really get to know their stories. As it stands, we are just given snippets, not enough to get to know anyone on more than a superficial level...The musical moments are by far the most memorable, thanks to the voices of the cast members and Darryl G. Ivey's vocal arrangements."
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Front Row Center
July 29th, 2018

“There is a lightness and frivolity that dominates this play that is out of keeping with the story...The script doles out incident after incident while the projections attempt to show the protesters and their signs that screamed segregation. None of this is convincing or particularly daring...In addition, we are missing why and how this situation happened to begin with...This story is an important one. Kudos to Maharaj for making a run at this. Too bad he wasn’t willing to scratch below the surface.”
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