Oratorio For Living Things
Closed 1h 30m
Oratorio For Living Things
93

Oratorio For Living Things NYC Reviews and Tickets

93%
(54 Ratings)
Positive
98%
Mixed
2%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great singing, Absorbing, Enchanting, Masterful, Exquisite

Composer Heather Christian imbues the classical oratorio with blues, gospel, jazz and soul. 

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (54)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
95 Reviews | 72 Followers
100
Epic, Great singing, Ambitious

See it if you are a person. Beautiful music, beautifully sung, by a wildly talented ensemble.

Don't see it if you prefer a traditional story and plot.

72 Reviews | 10 Followers
100
Intelligent, Masterful, Exquisite

See it if You love ethereal beautiful music. Much of it is in Latin. it's very intense and moving, not an experience you find often.

Don't see it if You only want plot-driven shows. You need to understand everything to enjoy it.

e8
226 Reviews | 40 Followers
100
Quirky, Great singing, Enchanting, Delightful, Clever

See it if Fantastic singing, music, and execution.

Don't see it if I have nothing bad to say it was really beautiful.

96 Reviews | 32 Followers
100
Great singing, Exquisite, Entertaining, Enchanting, Clever

See it if If you want to see something totally original and absolutely amazing and incredible. It is glorious to be surrounded by this music!

Don't see it if You simply MUST see it. No excuses. Unlike anything you have ever experienced. Blew me away!!!! Kudos to the entire cast. Read more

58 Reviews | 9 Followers
99
Masterful, Must see, Epic, Absorbing, Enchanting

See it if You appreciate innovative musical compositions, unique staging, and performances that blur the boundaries between art forms.

Don't see it if You prefer traditional theatre or straightforward narratives. This avant-garde, abstract piece might not resonate with everyone.

166 Reviews | 9 Followers
98
Epic, Incredible, Beautiful, Operatic, Ambitious

See it if you enjoy incredible, breathing operatic-level composition/vocals, you like unique story structure/ soundscape that will move you to tears.

Don't see it if you are not a fan of musical performances or are looking for an action packed show with a clear message,you prefer shows with more of a plot

97 Reviews | 44 Followers
98
Riveting, Must see, Masterful, Great staging, Great singing

See it if You want a total theater experience. Completely unexpected. Brilliant theater!

Don't see it if Your idea of theater is glorified television.

87 Reviews | 10 Followers
98
Ambitious, Absorbing, Special, Great singing, Riveting

See it if It's very special. I have described it to friends as Myths & Hymns meets Handel's Messiah. It felt like a massage for my ears.

Don't see it if See it, but the production is not perfect. There were mic issues, chairs were v uncomfortable, and one actor was hammy/upstaged others.

Critic Reviews (9)

The New York Times
March 30th, 2022

"Profoundly strange and overwhelmingly beautiful...If the text is sometimes baffling and hermetic, it is confident enough in its oddness that you do not worry about crashing when it flies close to the twee line...What’s haunting is how the oratorio form and Christian’s private cosmology elevate such banal statements to an almost sacred plane. Alternating in the classical manner between massed choral singing and solo arias — all exquisitely performed under the music direction of Ben Moss — she throws several centuries of musical styles into the pot and swirls them around."
Read more

Time Out New York
March 30th, 2022

"5/5 stars! A sui generis meditation on time and existence, a classical choral masterwork infused with pop, blues and gospel. A dozen superlative vocalists and six marvelous instrumentalists make sense and aural spectacle out of Christian's compositions...Lest that sound pretentious, be assured that 'Oratorio for Living Things' is, above all, exhilarating."
Read more

New York Magazine / Vulture
March 30th, 2022

"I have always been a little annoyed by dramatists’ slipshod use of scientific principles — perhaps because I’ve seen too many plays that shoehorn quantum theory into human relationships...But Christian smashes through that old prejudice of mine. As her smiling performers, all in beautiful voice, sing that we are 'made for collision' because of our atomic makeup, I believed it. The 'Oratorio for Living Things' uses music to dissolve the listeners into their fundamental particles, then uses simple choreography and intimate eye contact to reorganize us."
Read more

Theatermania
March 30th, 2022

"This collision of classical music, experimental theater, and theoretical physics generates so much creative energy, it feels like it could power every theater in New York...While no performer stands out, all make personal connections with the material and each audience member...Music director Ben Moss achieves an almost seamless vocal cohesion in a chorus that is always on the move, performing in the round."
Read more

Front Row Center
April 28th, 2022

"The 'Oratorio for Living Things' is a miraculous, thought-provoking celebration of hope, life, and the human spirit, ravishingly expressed through a brilliant fusion of music and theater."
Read more

Exeunt Magazine
March 30th, 2022

"You can’t understand the delicate alchemy of performers and material, staging and design that have resulted in this transportive experience unless you witness it for yourself. Christian, director Lee Sunday Evans, and the soul-altering eighteen-person ensemble of singers and musicians have achieved something so intensely personal for the audience that it then unites the individuals into a collective...Christian’s composition is wholly original, often startling, occasionally hilarious. The sheer volume of complicated, avant-garde music the singers are tasked with performing from memory is a feat unto itself."
Read more

New York Theater
March 30th, 2022

such a gorgeous, awe-inspiring concert of original music by Heather Christian that it feels like a religious experience. Indeed, the music — inflected with Baroque, gospel, blues, pop, and jazz — could work as a church service. A third of the songs are even in Latin… It’s not necessary to grasp fully what’s going on in order to appreciate the soaring score….[but] there’s no denying the show’s intellectual complexity
Read more

Broadway Blog
March 30th, 2022

"'Oratorio' is unique in that it is like a mass—glorious and contemplative—but there is no single preacher. Instead, the ensemble of twelve performers...It is a sprawling topic, and Christian’s rich score provides all the wild and loving notes to give it its due. And while this mass reminded me of the inextricable ties between a church service and theater, I am not sure this particular piece needed theatricalizing: I would have preferred just to listen to it."
Read more