Peter Pan
Closed 1h 45m
Peter Pan
59

Peter Pan NYC Reviews and Tickets

59%
(116 Ratings)
Positive
41%
Mixed
28%
Negative
31%
Members say
Confusing, Disappointing, Quirky, Clever, Great acting

About the Show

Bedlam returns to Off-Broadway, bringing their high-energy, stripped-down aesthetic to a new production of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of Neverland.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (116)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
TL4
96 Reviews | 10 Followers
95
Enchanting, Clever, Intelligent, Great acting

See it if you like shows that find new nuances in old texts. Loved how Bedlam brought out aspects of the characters and the story I hadn't considered

Don't see it if you want to bring your kids! This is not a child-appropriate show.

67 Reviews | 7 Followers
95
Ambitious, Clever, Great acting, Intelligent, Profound

See it if Like to see an intelligent twist on a classic

Don't see it if you are looking for a family show for young kids

72 Reviews | 10 Followers
90
Clever, Dizzying, Edgy, Great acting, Intelligent

See it if You enjoy a completely new take on a classic. You are open to raucous humor.

Don't see it if You like linear story lines and straightforward meanings.

70 Reviews | 9 Followers
90
Clever, Entertaining, Great acting, Edgy, Funny

See it if You enjoy being surprised and enjoy seeing a classic story with new interpretation.

Don't see it if If you do not like innovative interpretation of old stories. Read more

228 Reviews | 62 Followers
88
Clever, Funny, Great acting, Edgy, Must see

See it if This is 1 of those shows where either U get it or U don't. Luckily, I got it! This isn't your daddy's PETER PAN, this is an insane revision!

Don't see it if If U don't have an open mind & imagination much of this will fall flat. Flying w/o Foys & Frenchmusic interludes notwithstanding, NOT4kids Read more

290 Reviews | 92 Followers
85
Clever, Absorbing, Funny, Great acting, Quirky

See it if You are a fan of Bedlam's very non-traditional work. And can be open to new thoughts and ideas about Peter Pan.

Don't see it if You want straight ahead interpretations of Peter Pan.

155 Reviews | 46 Followers
81
Ambitious, Clever, Edgy, Entertaining, Funny

See it if you think you know Peter Pan so you can relate to Bedlam's funny fragmented dream interpretation of what you think are the facts.

Don't see it if you don't know the Peter Pan story; you've never watched fractured fairy tales; you are young; you've never heard of the "imagi-nation".

104 Reviews | 37 Followers
80
Ambitious, Great acting, Hilarious, Must see, Thought-provoking

See it if You are familiar with Barrie's Peter Pan and enjoy postmodern avant-garde revisionism

Don't see it if You don't know Peter Pan or are expecting a classic staging of the play Read more

Critic Reviews (18)

The New York Times
November 20th, 2017

"This attempt is both a puzzle and a bummer — too childish to tell the story properly and too adult to access its wonder...The doubling of roles confuses from the beginning...The story noodles and wanders and just plain perplexes. Sometimes it gets pretty lewd...Presumably the actors know what’s what, but busy as they are, no one seems to be having much fun. This is a surly version that seems to focus on the way that Peter’s immaturity disappoints everyone around him."
Read more

New York Magazine / Vulture
November 20th, 2017

"Bedlam will be playing an anarchic game with this well-worn intellectual property, breaking it open to get at something deep within its heart. And so they do, to truly weird and wonderful effect...This 'Peter Pan' keeps us suspended, delightedly off-balance as we start to recognize truths that were hidden all along in the story we thought we knew. It’s a sexy, sad, silly love song to the very thing that Peter seeks to escape: the carnal, chaotic business of living."
Read more

The Wall Street Journal
November 22nd, 2017

“Credit the theater company Bedlam with recognizing that the original work is far more ambiguous, disturbing and surreal than it might seem...It isn’t really a performance of the play; it is a remaking of it...Unfortunately, the result is more interesting to think about than to experience...This production takes some of the play’s more subtle aspects and makes them literal...We are also meant to be unsettled...In practice, though, much turns tedious."
Read more

New York Daily News
November 20th, 2017

"When it’s not sexed-up the show tilts toward being sophomoric...A freewheeling approach to a popular story about flying kids, fairies, and canine nannies isn’t out of the question. But, like the Darling tots, clarity goes missing. That’s not helped when most of the actors in the ensemble play two or three roles. Same goes for disembodied stage directions and on-the-nose musical interludes...They figure, anything goes. They’re right — and that included both my patience and interest."
Read more

Theatermania
November 19th, 2017

"All the trappings of kids playing in a basement, with actors swapping characters and operating under an inscrutable internal logic. The problem is that for nonparticipating sober adults, it is exactly as interesting to watch...The beats feel half-considered, with ideas picked up and just as soon discarded. The result is a general inertia, with the play never really building to anything...They're all excellent actors, just not very good writers...Too boring for children, too obvious for adults."
Read more

Lighting & Sound America
December 4th, 2017

“Tucker's production is so baffling: It's a full-on assault that yields no point of view...The play has been chopped up...If any of this caused us to look at 'Peter Pan' in a new way, it might be worth the effort, but this production apparently has no interest in anything other than the next bit of comic business...Tucker and company don't have any affection for the original play, nor do they have a cogent critique...The spoofing has to be better than the sloppy, sophomoric gags on offer here.”
Read more

TheaterScene.net
November 25th, 2017

“There is a dark psychological story hidden in Barrie's tale of a boy who refuses to grow up but this isn't it. Whereas the original play is joyful, Bedlam's ‘Peter Pan’ is a glum affair in which no one seems to be having a very good time. Where is the Bedlam which brought such purposeful insight and visual dazzle to its previous work? The actors, mostly playing children, try hard but fail to bring the work to life.”
Read more

Theatre is Easy
November 21st, 2017

“Hilarious, baffling, and disturbing...Initially provocative but eventually becomes repetitive and cringeworthy...Admirers of Bedlam’s adventurous stagecraft and stellar ensemble acting, and for 'Peter Pan' superfans, this 21st-century remix of Barrie’s Edwardian-era drama is full of surprises. Stripped of flying effects and period trappings and somewhat overlong, it still evokes both the humor and the pathos inherent in the story."
Read more