Party People NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (71)
See it if you like an interesting Political Topic seen from multiple points of view. Great coverage of the Black Panther Movement.
Don't see it if you don't like distracting live cameras with multiple screens at the theatre. Aren't a fan of historical pseudo- documentary / Art pieces.
See it if Some great talent in this rueful and still angry historical view of Black Panthers/Young Lords, but so needs editing! The older characters..
Don't see it if ...are the strongest, the young Primo character completely out of place. This rousing musical piece has a very dark center and is overlong.
See it if You want to experience a social action theater experience
Don't see it if You prefer to be shown rather than told in a show.
See it if You believe that all races, ethnicities and cultural groups should support one another.
Don't see it if You are looking for just a fun show. It is amazing and you will have a great time, but the play is profound and socially relevant.
See it if you like political stories, and in-your-face acting and staging.
Don't see it if you're racist, or you only like classic show tunes.
See it if you want to be left with a lot of questions and thoughts, you want to be provoked and challenged
Don't see it if you're not ready to deal with intense themes, you're not willing to experiment and try a new feel of theater Read more
See it if Sprawling art as revolution reflecting on themes of intergenerational activism from the sixties to cyberspace expressed in music rap &dance
Don't see it if You need a narrative instead of themes that are not linear but express idealism, commitment, betrayal and disillusionment Read more
See it if you are interested in learning about the Black Panthers and/or Young Lords and don't mind an extremely meta approach to storytelling.
Don't see it if you're expecting a cohesive theatrical work -- there's some interesting staging ideas, but on the whole the show feels all over the place.
Critic Reviews (27)
"In the current political climate, it may be the most frightening and exciting piece of theater now up...'Party People' derives its language, vibrant and volatile, from actual interviews. Yet the storytelling is less than cohesive...It is too long, too unfocused and perhaps too democratic...Yet in a room full of people distraught and enraged by the election of Trump, 'Party People' felt heartbreakingly timely and intensely necessary."
Read more
“A wildly ambitious and overstuffed homage to grassroots activism and in-fighting among the Black Panthers and the Young Lords…’Party People’ is nothing if not kinesthetically engaged…The piece is a researched yet original blend of docu-musical, family comedy, live video and hip-hop, defiantly unstable and sprawling...As it is, 'Party People' is a galvanizing education for the young (or ignorant) and a provocation to everyone to take sides."
Read more
“Two young men are introduced in the process of putting together an evening of performance art to explore the ways in which the activism of their forebears might be carried out in the present. This apparently includes gassy monologues, overacting, and a mortifying clown show…However much this history needs to be explored, merely relating facts and demonstrating atrocities does very little to elucidate the matter. Brutality comes to seem not just the cause of action but a motive in itself."
Read more
"Nonstop music, movement, and energy undergirded by scant thematic substance…As Primo, Ruiz portrays the most insufferable theatrical creation in recent memory…It all feels incredibly exploitative with very little redeeming value…Liesl Tommy delivers a production that does little to clarify the haphazard script and regularly skimps on the basics of efficient direction…This is unfortunate since this tireless cast seems more than game for any physical challenge thrown their way."
Read more
"Millicent Johnnie's choreography imitates the rebellious demands for freedom that these demonstrators took to the streets, backed by a lively musical score of Latin, funk and soul...After an election that has left many feeling that their rights and physical well-beings are in danger (yes, there is a mention of our president-elect) 'Party People' is enormously relevant, as Americans keep finding new ways to band together to express their outrage and work for change."
Read more
"This is rich, rich material and the biggest problem with 'Party People' is that it tries to mine the entire lode, raising fascinating questions but never exploring them in enough detail...'Party People' runs about two and a half hours, but that isn't nearly enough time to deal with the teeming cast of characters or to consider the complex, troubling issues that it raises...If 'Party People' is something of a mess, it's a lively, provocative one - riveting and irritating in equal measure."
Read more
"Something of a mess, with so much on its mind that it ends up not saying much of anything at all…None of it, though, makes following the myriad plot threads any easier; there are just too many for any of them to receive the necessary amount of development time, especially given the raft of musical numbers applied on top...It also does not help that only a few of the performers, who are all skilled, are charismatic enough to jolt you into the realm of caring.”
Read more
“At times, ‘Party People’ is confusing as it tends to blur time and place so that it is not always clear what is happening in the present and what happened in the past. The show also has several false endings before the real one which is hauntingly moving. ‘Party People’ which is too long and could use a bit of tweaking is nevertheless a powerful, inventive investigation into a history and an era which has almost been forgotten in a time when many of the same issues are still being fought.”
Read more