Man From Nebraska NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (189)
See it if you want to be taken to another place in life.
Don't see it if you want a consistent show. It gets slow at some parts.
See it if Man goes through late midlife crisis and seeks answers while hurting his family. The journey is slow, painful, believable and disturbing.
Don't see it if You want to like the characters or feel uplifted. There are moments of comic relief that make the pain bearable. Read more
See it if you are a Tracy Letts or Reed Birney fan, enjoy mid-life crisis stories & their resolution, enjoy plots with wide scope & many locations
Don't see it if you don't have the patience for a plot to play itself out, do not want to relate to a main character whose decisions who may abhor,
See it if you wish to see reed Birney at his best. Great use of the huge stage It makes one think about LIFE .Not a weak link in the cast.
Don't see it if you want a razzle dazzle musical. Some depressing scenes but that is life.
See it if Verbiage is not always available to us during painful times. This play depicts this perfectly with wonderful acting, staging and writing.
Don't see it if you're more comfortable with thoughts and actions spelled out for you or you can't relate to inner turmoil distancing you from loved ones.
See it if you love beautifully written plays, brilliantly acted, and directed by a genius. The dialogue and silences are so real, so true. Perfection
Don't see it if you are mourning the loss of Jersey Boys. But if you like well crafted plays that will make you think, then go. Lotts is amazing. So honest.
See it if you're interested in an intelligent show about middle aged crises both religious & personal. Beautifully acted by all, esp. Birney & O'Toole
Don't see it if you expect the usual visceral explosiveness of other works by Letts. I found the ending to be unconvincing, but there is much to admire here
See it if The scenes where the husband goes to England to "find himself" are quite fun - the dance club, art studio, hotel bar, etc...
Don't see it if ...but the beginning scenes at home with the wife are very slow-paced and sleep inducing.
Critic Reviews (33)
"Though its words are well chosen and artfully placed, Tracy Letts’s 'Man From Nebraska' has a radiant respect for what cannot be said...An uncommonly gentle and compassionate work, which anatomizes characters and situations so classic that they are often dismissed as clichés...Very much of what happens in this production’s ephemeral pools of light feels uncannily like life itself, unaccommodating and bewildering, utterly familiar and gloriously inexplicable."
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"Letts can do grotesque and emotionally raw, but here he reins in his darkest dramatic impulses. The writing builds up a humane character study, but it rarely raises the room temperature...At its core, the play—handsomely staged by Cromer and scrupulously acted by a fine ensemble—is about choosing a path in life versus accepting what sociology hands you. That’s a perfectly juicy theme, but Letts makes it less a shocking journey to enlightenment than a dutiful stroll round the block."
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"It must be said that once Letts establishes his provocative premise, he doesn’t develop it in fully compelling fashion. The episodic play moves in fits and starts, marred at times by lugubrious pacing and narrative digressions...Nonetheless, under the sensitive direction of David Cromer, 'Man From Nebraska' resonates with deep emotion, its multidimensional characters pulsing with humanity. Not surprisingly, the proceedings are often drolly funny despite the serious subject matter."
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"Under Cromer’s suggestive direction, the life of Ken Carpenter (Birney) teeters on some existential ledge between darkness and darker darkness...Birney is marvelous to watch as this decent man struggles to find his moral footing in a strange new landscape. Laughing at Ken’s innocence is not an option, because Birney treats that innocence with respect...By the end of his existential journey, he has not only earned his faith, he’s also earned ours."
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"The chemistry between Birney and director David Cromer is nearly as palpable as Ken’s with the people who orbit him at home and in London. Cromer is a devotee of understatement that heightens reality, and in Birney he has the perfect instrument for that. The production transcends even that terrific performance with a company that has no weakness...A dazzler – a great show."
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"'Man from Nebraska' just goes in circles...It’s a double disappointment from Tracy Letts...Weirdly, Ken’s life-changing question of faith falls aside as he drinks, drops ecstacy and tries his hand at art. Letts raises a provocative idea but fails to follow through. And when a play turns this hollow even a fine ensemble doesn’t have a prayer."
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"A sensitive look at the limited time we have on earth and how that time is governed by the constant struggle between obligation and desire...Birney encases Ken in a cordial falseness, so that we are never quite certain that he means what he says, a trait that has fascinating implications for the end of the play...A combination of Letts' astute writing and Birney's sympathetic performance never allows us to completely discount his feelings, mired in privilege though they may be."
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"Deceptively little seems to happen in the first several scenes of Tracy Letts' riveting 'Man from Nebraska,' now receiving a superb New York premiere...Birney's performance is exceptional and jarring as this character, who exudes respectfully low-key masculinity, is now bent over in tears...Director David Cromer does a fine job of making the mundane everyday living of Ken and Nancy's home life seem an attractive option for those who require a comfortable safety net."
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