Pipeline NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (174)
See it if you want to see a great play by an exciting voice in American theater performed by a stellar cast
Don't see it if you are only into plays that are about privileged white families and their secrets
See it if you like thought-provoking, smart, relevant, contemporary drama with a terrific cast. This show can be intense with some lighter moments too
Don't see it if you like light fare and go to the theater just to escape.
See it if you appreciate family drama, teen angst/misplaced anger, and the hardships of single mothers.
Don't see it if you dislike relevant dramas or family based stories.
See it if You like serious drama about family race class and the complexity of doing the right thing Great acting
Don't see it if You want easy entertainment and escapism
See it if You are interested in a "slice of life" theater - focusing on important issues--good acting , thought provoking theater.
Don't see it if You don't like reality based theater that is tidily summed up.
See it if you want to see a well-acted, thought-provoking play featuring a stellar lead performance by Karen Pittman.
Don't see it if you want a lighthearted or extravagantly staged production.
See it if You are interested in a thought provoking show about family, class, poverty and race. Shows the pressures on both sides-no easy answers
Don't see it if You want something light and fluffy or a musical
See it if you enjoy powerful and passionate performances support the telling of an important story
Don't see it if you want something light and fluffy for entertainment's sake. This one will definitely make you think.
Critic Reviews (29)
"I submit willingly to a drama like 'Pipeline' because, for all the conflict and angst among its characters, each portrait feels true, and justified and genuine...Dominique Morisseau’s intense and poetic new play ...'Pipeline' powers through its 90 minutes under the steady direction of Lileana Blain-Cruz...Pittman is dynamic, a multifaceted and relatable character."
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"Morisseau's eloquence and Lileana Blain-Cruz’s fine-tuned direction examine an all-too familiar headline of school violence...With an excellent mother/teacher depiction of Nya by Pittman, dressed neat and hip in jeans and shirts by Montana Levi Blanco, the blue-chip supporting cast fits the bill...'Pipeline' explores the wars waging in that school world. It astutely adds the emotional urgency of one teacher...but this play is about questions. We still have to supply the answers."
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"A bit of a muddle...The play has smart things to say about what it might mean to be a young black man in a largely white environment. If only 'Pipeline' didn't also feel so preachy and predetermined -- like a play written to make a point rather than tell a story. Morisseau remains a writer to watch, especially for the deft way she engages in a cultural dialogue within her plays. Yet it seems unlikely that 'Pipeline' will be remembered as among her best work."
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"This is an important topic, especially in our city...Morisseau's play doesn't tackle this subject head-on; instead, it's more oblique and focuses on an African-American mother's anxiety over the future of her son...This should be riveting...But instead, the show meanders...Not enough dots are connected here...By the end, it feels like a play that could use more development time to better zero in on character motivations and plot points."
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“Morisseau’s powerful, passionate, and intelligent new play…Velazquez and Lawrence ride these characters’ wildly efflorescent outbursts with a blend of smart know-how and the raucous excitement of teens on a roller coaster…Smith and Omari give subtly shaded performances, elegantly counterbalancing the more demonstrative female roles…This is not a facile message drama about the pathway from school to prison, but a tragedy.”
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