Party Face
Closed 1h 50m
Party Face
73

Party Face NYC Reviews and Tickets

73%
(220 Ratings)
Positive
72%
Mixed
23%
Negative
5%
Members say
Funny, Entertaining, Great acting, Disappointing, Cliched

About the Show

This bitingly honest Irish comedy about the lengths we go to convince people we’ve got it all together, makes its US premiere at City Center in a production starring Hayley Mills ('Pollyanna,' 'The Parent Trap').

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (220)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
230 Reviews | 46 Followers
95
Great acting, Great writing, Intelligent, Absorbing, Relevant

See it if You like slow, but relevant theater

Don't see it if You like light comedies, this is more of a dramedy

76 Reviews | 17 Followers
93
Entertaining, Funny, Riveting, Relevant, Intelligent

See it if You want to have a fun evening.

Don't see it if You are looking for a love story.

52 Reviews | 8 Followers
91
Funny, Entertaining, Well acted

See it if We enjoyed the show and had seen the lead in another show. We were delighted to see her in another very different role ... we are fans!

Don't see it if I think it was a real venue for women. About women and their relationships. With spouse, with mothers, with other women.

146 Reviews | 34 Followers
90
Absorbing, Entertaining, Funny, Great acting, Riveting

See it if You like well acted, honest plays around the faces we put on and what it takes to get real. Intimate setting and very well

Don't see it if You don’t like stories that touch on mental illness. This is very well done.

209 Reviews | 150 Followers
90
Delightful, Entertaining, Funny, Refreshing, Great staging

See it if With all female cast & director.Irish comedy set in Dublin. Family drama at its best with not stop funniness. Cast excellent. Edgy & kooky

Don't see it if You don't like profanity Read more

292 Reviews | 62 Followers
90
Hilarious, Great writing, Great acting, Entertaining, Delightful

See it if You have a dysfunctional family--or part of your family is dysfunctional--or you know a controlling mother.

Don't see it if You don't like shows about family dynamics.

254 Reviews | 86 Followers
89
Hearty party

See it if Oscar winner Mills heads a tight ensemble. Costigan is great as troubled daughter. Meaney is a hoot as her sister. White is glam and sexy.

Don't see it if Offered a side seat or must pay retail. Read more

122 Reviews | 13 Followers
89
Clever, Delightful, Great acting, Great staging, Indulgent

See it if You love Hayley Mills, intimate gatherings and spaces in theatre and otherwise, and plays with a softer edge.

Don't see it if You like big musicals and dislike stories about dysfunctional families.

Critic Reviews (20)

The New York Times
January 23rd, 2018

"An unlikely comedy...What's strange about the play, which is written in a realistic style, is how implausible it all seems...Each character is made to move and speak in ways that contradict even a passing knowledge of human behavior and reap only sporadic laughs...There are glimmers of a state-of-the-nation play here, in which shiny surfaces mask the dissatisfaction underneath...The actresses appear to be enjoying themselves...At least someone is having a good time."
Read more

New York Daily News
January 22nd, 2018

"As a Bechdel test case, it comes up short. But as a comedy, the Off-Broadway production squeaks by...Another big plus: It’s a treat seeing Hayley Mills...The cast does a good job navigating the script’s whiplash tonal shifts from goofy and raunchy to tender and stone-cold sober...It’s also odd that topics are broached but left unexplored, such as Carmel’s fading memory. But in the end, it's a modest but fun 'Party.'"
Read more

The Observer
January 29th, 2018

"Collapses quickly into a pile of soggy canapés along with the five poorly-written but gamely-acted women guests...One hour and 50 minutes of meaningless babble while everyone pours wine and nibbles olives, stringing words together just so the audience won’t feel alone...One waits tiresomely for a shred of insight or some ray of revelation, but the characters remain stubbornly superficial...The cast is fine, even if nothing any of the women do feels real or remotely believable."
Read more

Theatermania
January 22nd, 2018

"Despite taking place in present-day Dublin, 'Party Face' feels out of touch with contemporary sensibilities and seems to be on the wrong side the ongoing conversation about women's rights. Mahon traffics in stereotypes...That Bearse has directed television is very apparent throughout. The character work is broad and unnatural, and perhaps a director with more stage experience could have coaxed performances that were more multifaceted out of this company."
Read more

Lighting & Sound America
January 25th, 2018

"Mills is a delight...The girl of your youthful moviegoing has matured into a fine high-comedy technician...However, she is starring in a vulgar sitcom that is inferior to much of what one can currently find on network television...The cast works hard, trying to enliven characters who, stylistically, are all over the map...Maybe this familiar laughter-and-tears cocktail and the presence of Mills will be enough...Personally, however, I think Mollie's husband was smart to flee this party."
Read more

Talkin' Broadway
January 22nd, 2018

"Unfortunately, there is little more to commend this feather-light play that only rarely moves beyond insipid sitcom mode even when, upon occasion, it attempts to deal with serious domestic issues...The cast members embrace their sketchy roles with all the style and grace they can muster...But what the production sorely needs is to find a balance between a tone of dark (not silly) humor and its potentially insightful examination of the conflicts that have shaped these women's lives."
Read more

TheaterScene.net
January 31st, 2018

“The best reason to see Isobel Mahon's ‘Party Face’ is to see the ever-lovely Hayley Mills who used to play mischievous teens and now is playing busy-body mothers. The play is diverting though it has nothing new to say about women and their contemporary roles. Under Amanda Bearse's direction, the play also gives Klea Blackhurst another off-beat comic role in which she shines.”
Read more

Theater Pizzazz
January 22nd, 2018

"Plays out more like a very special episode of some TV sitcom than any sort of truly illuminating family drama. But it’s equally inarguable that the work provides some good laughs, relatable situations, and, above all, the chance for five actresses – led by the still-radiant Hayley Mills – to dig their teeth into this so-so material, all of which adds up to a watchable evening of theater."
Read more