Measure for Measure (The Public Theater) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (88)
See it if You are a diehard fan of ERS. Although I am a fan of theirs this interpretation of Measure for Measure was disappointing.
Don't see it if You want a more traditional play without gimmicks and confusion. Also, over two hours without an intermission was very long in this case.
See it if You adore anything by Shakespeare and can sit for over 2 hours with no break.
Don't see it if You only like traditional formats of Shakespeare plays. This was a fast paced comic rendition of this playwhich sadly missed the mark.
See it if You are very, very familiar with Shakespeare's plot, can tolerate drastically reimagined classics, enjoy what may be creative gimmicks,
Don't see it if You want your Bard done in linear style that doesn't challenge, don't like edited, rethought productions that can be hard to follow
See it if an unconventional approach to Shakespeare
Don't see it if it is unpleasant to listen to unintelligible speed-talking and view busy choreographed distractions simultaneously
See it if Anything in theater is all right? How about a Shakespearean dramedy where several players act & the remainder do shtick? It's wearying &...
Don't see it if cloying. Add the incomprehensible speed at which much dialogue is delivered & you realize why there is no intermission - who would stay?
See it if You enjoy contemporary staging of Shakepeare's classics; and know enough about the play to independently connect the dots.
Don't see it if You prefer your Shakespeare well enunciated and audible; or staged with Elizabethan sensibilities.
See it if You will see anything by the Elevator Repair Service...even their lesser presentations.
Don't see it if You dislike dialogue delivered so quickly as to be incomprehensible, followed by scenes that drag out the interaction.
See it if you're interested in new and innovative ways of approaching shakespeare
Don't see it if you want a classical adaptation of shakespeare, or one full of excitement
Critic Reviews (30)
"John Collins’ Elevator Repair Service theater company has done some remarkable things with texts. But they stumble badly in their first foray into Shakespeare...Collins & Co. amp up the comedy to a manic, Marx Brothers degree — and completely obliterate any sense of the language of the play...This misfire is no measure of what this remarkable company is capable of doing."
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"As if pressing a fast-forward button, the performers periodically rattle through huge chunks of dialogue at warp speed...Collins thereby sacrifices intelligibility for screwball energy...Intricate even by the Bard’s standards. Bewilderment thus seems inevitable here...Several lively performances nonetheless bring out the play’s bawdy spirit...Simpson’s flair for slapstick also stands out...This production otherwise struggles to carry off its hefty textual burden."
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"This 'Measure for Measure' is a revelation, a truly expert use of Shakespeare that allows opportunities for rethinking not only theatrical space but the play itself."
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“For all the silly, superficial things they do, every detail seems to have been carefully chosen and calculated. It’s just that what they do has so little relation to the story that I thought Shakespeare was telling us...This company uses every kind of effect - But the effects don’t harmonize with each other...These actors are quite talented...They don’t appear to the best advantage here because they are all devoted to this feckless way of taking the play off its conventional pedestal."
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"Elevator Repair Service imagines this so-called 'problem play' as an irreverent screwball comedy, complete with rapid-fire dialogue and exaggerated transitions...The result is a remarkable piece of theater, and the most immediate, dynamic, and modern staging of a Shakespeare play I have seen...A dramatic dance in which rhythm and timing and the interconnectedness of gestures usurp the power of the text...The production illuminates the play’s essence much more than a literal staging."
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"It tears through the niceties of Shakespeare’s plot only to screech to nearly a full stop in the scenes of highest tension, ensuring that none of the most meaningful fragments of 'needful value' passes unquestioned...The performances are entirely unpredictable from moment to moment...It is fun as hell, once one adjusts to the production’s rhythms...If this modern Shakespeare doesn’t quite coalesce, it still makes for a damn interesting bricolage."
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