Mother Courage and Her Children NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (43)
See it if u love Brecht (like I) & want to take in a rare (decent) production of a great play. You'll get a mere glimpse of what it could be here.
Don't see it if Well...I'd take the opportunity to see a Brecht masterpiece even tho it should have been better. The music for the songs -- bad, not tough.
See it if Had the unfortunate experience of seeing Kecia Lewis in a preview. Good actress at a troubled stage in this production. She carried script
Don't see it if As a result she didn't connect to audience as best she could if she had more prep for this role. Sad circumstances
See it if you want to see Brecht's play updated to the war in the Congo. The exposure to that war was interesting, but didn't quite work for me.
Don't see it if you are looking for an intense theater experience. This should have been, but not sure why it just didn't get there.
See it if you can't wait for a really good production of Brecht's masterpiece
Don't see it if you've read too much about Tonya's leaving the production and worry it will color your appreciation
See it if You like Brecht. The cast works hard. I saw it for Tonya Pinkins penultimate performance, and she was amazing as always.
Don't see it if The concept didn't work. It was sophomoric. Pinkins was right to leave.
See it if Spirited, the human condition and survival, Africa and Brecht
Don't see it if Confusing and disjointed
See it if Tonya Pinkins gave a riveting, compelling performance. The rest of this production was a dull mess.
Don't see it if The other actors ranged from competent to bafflingly inept. The music did not fit the play or the setting. Read more
See it if You have seen other productions of this play to compare if this update works.
Don't see it if If you've never seen this masterpiece before and if you don't like shouting as a substitute for acting.
Critic Reviews (14)
"In Kecia Lewis’s hands Mother Courage is indeed strong – both fierce and earthy...For all her strengths, Lewis simply has not had enough time to prepare fully...Perhaps due to this disruption, although cut to just two hours this 'Mother Courage' still seemed at times less than well-paced and energetic...In the face of all this, there are some arresting performances."
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"There's no doubt that Lewis, a large woman with fire in her performing, is a valiant and worthy choice, but as long as she requires the script as she hones her characterization, it's unfair to assess what she'd doing...Everyone connected with the production may have been operating under the best intentions but that good intentions don't always lead to the best results. This is one of the times that they don't."
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"The problem here is Kulick and translator John Willett are white and if this play was supposed to be riveting or transformative, they failed. This play is now a bore...Kulick may have tried to make 'Mother Courage' delusional, but Lewis breaks our hearts as she makes this role her own...Bravo to Ms. Lewis for taking a bad situation and making it work to her advantage. I look forward to see her in a much better adaptation."
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"Although the acting ensemble and creatives surely deserve recognition, it is Lewis’ performance in the nominal role that is the real reason to visit this production. Even with script in hand, Lewis credibly insinuates herself into the gritty role of Mother Courage...There have been other fine productions of 'Mother Courage' in New York in recent years, but Lewis’ performance is by far the gutsiest and most daring...If you miss it, you miss something extraordinary."
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"By my count, Lewis called for a line five or six times. What I saw, beyond that issue, was a performer of tremendous confidence, taking on a role with a sharp perspective on her character...Lewis, with her performance, exhibits a hardness few mothers could muster. More than anything, she’s a realist. A powerless realist...Duncan Sheik has contributed the bare bones of a score to the bold, discomforting and well-performed proceedings."
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"As alluring as these performances are and despite the mutli-layered event that is Lewis' impressively nuanced performance, Kulick's revisitation to the play underwhelms...Kulick's decision to reset the play in modern times might add a certain immediacy, there's a sense that costumes, the performers' accents, and Sheik's intriguing music are only laid on top of the action...It's rough to not wish that the overall conceit for this 'Mother Courage' were as brave as Lewis herself."
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