Mrs. Murray's Menagerie NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (68)
See it if you want to see a very intelligent show that says so much about society, group dynamics, culture, etc primarily with indirect communication
Don't see it if You don’t want to dig beneath the surface of messages to get at what is actually being said.
See it if you want to see an incredibly funny extraordinarily well executed play
Don't see it if you're not into very subtle humor
See it if you want a show that believes portraying hyper-naturalistic human behavior is more illuminating than what you tend to see on stage. (It is.)
Don't see it if you're looking for a more traditional story arc with an obvious climax. This show feels more true to life, where sometimes things just end.
See it if you like a comedy that feels like an episode of the office - race, gender and class issues
Don't see it if you'd have hard time watching essentially one scene for 90 minutes Read more
See it if You like The Mad Ones or watching "life as art" - or is it "art as life". It's interesting to pick out the drama in real life.
Don't see it if You need a very clearly articulated plot with messages that are beaten over your head. Read more
See it if You like a piece that gives you a lot to think about, and a lot to discover in glances, sighs, and side comments.
Don't see it if You are more driven by plot than character, or prefer that the "message" of a play be directly signaled to the audience. Read more
See it if you like hyper-realism that is excellently performed; the presence in the room was v electric; you like meta-theatricality; ensemble-based
Don't see it if you want a play that steps back from itself; you don't like the 1970s; you don't want to watch white men be awful (on purpose/for the play) Read more
See it if You enjoy non-traditional theatre and want to see a show that’s not going to hold your hand
Don't see it if If you’re looking for something big and flashy or full of action
Critic Reviews (26)
"Those who loved The Mad Ones' 'Miles for Mary' will be greatly disappointed by their latest group effort called 'Mrs. Murray's Menagerie'. The beautifully renovated Greenwich House offers the first show of the Ars Nova residency a lovely venue for this new play and the Lila Neugebauer production is impeccably acted and designed. However, this fictional recreation of a focus group, like most cinéma vérité, has no discernable dramatic event, making it a long 90 minutes."
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"About half an hour in, I felt that I was simply watching six people sitting around and talking, but not coming up with anything all that revelatory or meaningful about the show, themselves and the era during which they and their kids got to know the show's human and puppet characters...To my surprise and disappointment, even Lila Neugebauer is not at her best here."
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“Wonderfully quirky and hilarious...While 'Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie' is a delight, it does require patience. The first half of the focus group session goes off without a hitch, which means that for much of the play, there is not a single conflict in sight...You may find yourself wondering (as I did) what am I watching, and why? But by the end, my enjoyment flourished because I felt like I had gotten to know each character intimately."
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“This is one very talented group of people. Their performances are all precise, honest and smart. Under Neugebauer’s direction, it is evident that a flawless ensemble is at work...Only one problem: there is no play here...You spend ninety minutes trying to figure out when what you are watching will catch fire...Then, when it ends, you're left...Not only puzzled, but slightly infuriated...Drama equals conflict...Sadly, ‘Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie’ is devoid of such things.”
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"We might think our audience experience is primarily voyeuristic, but we’re more involved than we realize...Neugebauer’s direction is most deeply felt through the subtle orchestration of social cues, outwardly perceptible but in a way that only the viewers can unlock for themselves...A testament to this unavoidable influence of implicit bias, powered by privilege and agency...A tense, messy, amusing revelation of human communication and identity."
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"Even at its funniest, the show evokes the kind of quiet amusement one might feel if you were stuck in an actual long meeting and trying to keep yourself secretly entertained...It’s possible that parents with young children might appreciate 'Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie' more than I did...There’s another reason why young parents might be a better audience for 'Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie.' They’ve been forced to learn to be extraordinarily patient."
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"The dramatic temperature barely rises, there’s a minimum of physical activity, and the same kinds of questions are repeated with variations. All we seem to be waiting for is the next big laugh...The humor gradually dissipated as we wondered what the payoff would be. As a mildly satirical take on the vapidity of such focus groups, ‘Menagerie’ is on target. As a discussion of average parents’ responses to children’s programming, it now and then says something bordering on pertinence."
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“The actors are uniformly excellent...Neugebauer once again demonstrates her skill directing an ensemble cast. Unfortunately the play has more valleys than peaks and offers little in the way of catharsis. Such restraint may be admirable, but subtlety does not always lead to compelling theater. I thought it was a step backwards from ‘Miles for Mary’.”
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