Notes From the Field NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (121)
See it if you want to experience an exquisitely acted theater piece that documents the relationship between education and the penal system. Important.
Don't see it if Must see. Read more
See it if you care about social issues, particularly education, and want to see a tour de force performance by a skilled actor.
Don't see it if you're looking for escape/entertainment. This is for thinking/feeling/caring human beings.
See it if you want to see a one-woman show that address real-life difficult topics in a meaningful way, inspiring both rage and hope.
Don't see it if you are the kind of person that responds to the Black Lives Matter movement by saying All Lives Matter.
See it if Anna Deveare Smith brings the pain, the tenderness, the philosophy of real people involved in the struggle for equality and visibility to...
Don't see it if ...light as an unflinching and contemporary series of conversations. You know the material - she introduces you to its effects. Superb.
See it if you have any interest in justice/are interested in voices of color/are not afraid to be confronted with the challenges facing America
Don't see it if you do not want politics in your theatre/you prefer to keep your blinders on
See it if You love documentary theater that forces you to think. You like examining politics and culture through an emotional lens.
Don't see it if You prefer shows with linear plots or don't like plays using real people and real words. You don't like one-woman shows.
See it if You want to explore relevant issues of racism, education, and the prison system performed by a brilliant actor.
Don't see it if You don't want to think about these issues. Read more
See it if You want to leave the theater shaken, in a good way--by the performance, and the message that the performance delivers.
Don't see it if You want to remain apathetic, and pretend that we live in a world where everyone is equal, and has the same opportunities. It shook me.
Critic Reviews (30)
"Though Leonard Foglia's staging moves well, there are times it could put even more emphasis on Smith than it does. Foglia does, however, help Smith elicit great beauty from her time onstage. She is as capable of wrenching tears as cheers, both in the construction of her writing and her pungently sensitive performance...Even when the events Smith covers in 'Notes From the Field' are at their most depressing, such sounds are music we're all better off for having heard."
Read more
"The people whose cadences and exact words Smith captures with remarkably emotional nuance and authenticity during the course of two hours, intensify the magnitude of the school-to-prison-pipeline situation...But meeting these people as so masterfully embodied by Ms. Smith will hardly send us out the door especially hopeful...She's a true blue visionary and her commitment to this school-to-prison pipeline project is not limited to this potently entertaining play."
Read more
"A powerful new work that gives voice to the victims of the low-income public education system…Smith is, without pretense, brilliant. Her passion, attention, and commitment to each speaker’s essence is unwavering. As a creator and playwright, Smith has drawn out the poetry of each individual's perspective with the utmost respect and dignity…'Notes From the Field' is a stellar production and a true example of the power of activism and theatre in action."
Read more
"Smith is an incisive interviewer. Not that we see any actual inquiries, although we almost feel like we do...Smith does her homework, gathering material that’s often provocative and always genuine. She then slides into her characters without judgment and without preaching. Director Leonard Foglia keeps his star moving, and lighting designer Howell Binkley deftly keeps her in the spotlight."
Read more
"Playing 19 people, all the dialogue transcribed from interviews, Anna Deavere Smith is a powerhouse, a tour de force, a troubadour and mirror of ourselves...Smith is supported so beautifully by director Leonard Foglia and composer and fellow performer Marcus Shelby, who is often onstage with Smith and with his bass accompanies her words perfectly...This performance, this story should not be missed."
Read more
"The detail and depth of this dissertation is epic and powerful. To whittle this piece down to a few sentences feels like a disservice to her, and to us...The expanse and detail of the topic is mind blowing and emotional...These powerful messages Smith serves will stay with you long after leaving the theatre. She wakes us up and preaches to us in a way that is subtle and stimulating. Tears will come."
Read more
“Unlike 'Fires in the Mirror' and 'Twilight,' each of which focused on reactions to a very specific event, 'Notes from the Field,' as its title suggests, is more wide-ranging; while it makes many important points about a poor educational system leading to incarceration, its broader focus tends to weaken the overall impact...Because of the filtering process of Smith's chameleonic artistry, it clarifies the racial issues roiling our nation more potently even than seeing her characters in person.”
Read more
"Smith comes out on stage and offers an inspiring performance, portraying 17 disparate characters with her usual dazzling virtuosity...She intends these monologues to help us see how those outwardly unrelated preshow facts about prisoners, school discipline, and police killings are all connected. It’s admittedly a struggle to connect some of these moments directly to Smith’s central thesis...Still, it has to do with race in America and hope for America, and besides, it’s a good story well told."
Read more