Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Because its performances are so fully rendered and points so wonderfully tackled, one does not realize that 'Neighbors' follows a parroting formula of, 'You know what the problem with you people is? Let me tell you,' until well after the fact. The majesty of what playwright Cubria has accomplished, and the astute hand with which director Moreno has rendered it, is such that it is difficult to fault him for this cheat. The end game is this magnificent production."
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“'Neighbors’ is stranded between being a naturalistic buddy comedy and a political allegory, never managing to be funny or pointed enough…The laughs are few and far between; the climax, filled with violence and epithets, feels like a desperate bid for relevance...The actors do their best with characters who are pitched halfway between real people and outright caricatures…But all the good effort involved can't stop ‘Neighbors’ from coming off as an extended, unfunny satiric sketch.”
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"Cubría’s premise is an imaginative and timely examination of class, ethnicity and U.S. hegemony. It’s sustained by well-crafted jokes melded with seriousness, earthy and fierce dialogue, culminating in a ridiculous and chilling denouement...Rodriguez and Blair have a tremendous and palpable chemistry...Director Moreno’s staging emulates the fast pacing and surreal qualities of vintage Warner Brothers cartoons, yet the antics recede to emphasize the sensitive aspects of the play."
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“The stereotypes are deliberately clownish, and the playwright has fun with them…Despite the deliberate stereotyping, the depiction of Joe and Jose does not cause offense, in part because specific biographical details in the script and the two actors’ anchored performances turn them into credible characters, and in part because 'Neighbors' gives us solid if amusing insight into what feels like some genuine cultural differences between the two nationalities.”
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