Marie and Rosetta NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (169)
See it if Amazing talented singers. Loved the music. Suprise ending.
Don't see it if You're not into show about blues history.
See it if You love gospel music, great performances, and a true story of struggle, success, and relationship.
Don't see it if If you dislike the gospel sound of Sister Rosetta!
See it if you like great acting and/or great music and/or great singing.
Don't see it if you hate gospel music.
See it if you like gospel, history, great acting, and most of all - INCREDIBLE singing.
Don't see it if you think singing is the devil's work.
See it if an evening with two incredible ladies playing two more incredible ladies sounds like fun
Don't see it if amazing music and unanimously enthralled audience responses bore you
See it if You like spiced-up gospel singing. You appreciate superb voices.
Don't see it if You object to the cast pretending they're playing the piano and the guitar even if it's done so perfectly that you can't tell it's not them.
See it if Love gospel, great singing and music.
Don't see it if You hate gospel. Don't like all music, little dialogue.
See it if you like music to take you to church. The music and performances are as electric as the two actors' chemistry.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy gospel music--or you have no soul. Read more
Critic Reviews (31)
"Even when 'Marie and Rosetta' seems to be about little more than getting the act together, it makes for a fine 90 minutes, thanks to some salty dialogue and sizzling vocals, courtesy of two magnificently equipped actresses...Neil Pepe, the director, handles these slender dramatic goods with extreme delicacy, extracting two finely shaded performances that nevertheless make room for some galvanic vocals, backed by the excellent guitarist Felicia Collins and pianist Deah Harriott."
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"It is unthinkable that Lewis and Jones, both operating at the height of their considerable powers, could possibly be better…It's tough to imagine we'll see better musical performances this season…They work brilliantly together, effortlessly contrasting each other in physical appearance as well as voice…The lesson is not new. But it doesn't need to be when it's executed this well…How can the Atlantic afford repairs eight times a week when Lewis, Jones, Brant, and Pepe keep blowing off the roof?"
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"You may not have heard of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight before,
but after 'Marie and Rosetta' you will be convinced of their importance in the
development of popular music in the 20th century. Credit goes to Rebecca
Naomi Jones and Kecia Lewis for making this a mesmerizing evening of gospel,
spirituals and popular song."
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"Brant's story is essentially a framing device for a terrific, concert—a concert vibrant enough to make even non-gospel fans tap their feet and applaud after each number. The music may even make you forgive the playwright's contrived trick ending...Lewis and Jones make this two-hander soar dramatically as well as musically. Both are fine actors and have big belting vocals...By the time the two women actually sing and play together the show really rocks."
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"It may take place in a funeral parlor, but you won’t find anything more full of life than ‘Marie and Rosetta’…The dialogue is revealing and often very funny…But it’s the music that gives ‘Marie and Rosetta’ wings. These women can sing…Lewis recognizes Rosetta as the dream role it is and she pours her heart into every fiber of the singer’s being. As the more reticent Marie, Jones does less of a star turn, but it’s fun to watch her evolve from hothouse flower into radiant lily of the field."
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"This is one of those rare occasions when a true story doesn’t ruin a perfectly good play...The only way to improve this production would be to stage it in a dance hall. I was nearly jumping out of my skin wanting to get up and boogie. This show is good for everything that ails you – heart, mind and soul. 'Marie and Rosetta' lift you up to Heaven, and then set you gently back down on earth."
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"Lewis and Jones bring it all home in song after song…If the conversation between the two women never approaches the excitement of their singing, the playwright is adept at establishing the distinctiveness of their personalities…Late in the play, there is an eye-rolling twist…As shopworn as it is, it doesn’t spoil the service that George Brant has rendered by retrieving these figures for the stage, nor the rousing musical performances that are the heart of ‘Marie and Rosetta.'"
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"‘Marie and Rosetta’ isn’t the kind of play you criticize the way you do something by Edward Albee. It’s a well-crafted exercise that provides an excellent context in which to learn about and appreciate two exceptional performers who made an indelible impact on popular music...Jones and Lewis couldn’t be bettered; they perfectly capture these women’s sharply different personalities, offering totally believable yet larger-than-life representations."
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