Poor Yella Rednecks NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (114)
See it if you really want to empathize with an immigrant family
Don't see it if you want good music -- the rapping was painful
See it if you want a show that tackles immigration, in weird and creative ways.
Don't see it if you aren't a fan of rap music or comic book storytelling. This was a strange show, where serious moments suddenly turned into hip-hop.
See it if The only thing you really want to see is some clever puppeteering
Don't see it if You don’t like cliched, predictable fare going for cheap laughs and trying to be edgy but completely failing. Read more
See it if You're a fan of incredible visuals/set, musicals, strong language, a realistic re-telling of the american dream.
Don't see it if You're expecting profound theater and thought-provoking stories. Not a fan of incessant cursing. Read more
See it if You want a fresh take on the immigrant experience, you like awesome sets, want a funny show that's surprising and different
Don't see it if you're not into rap and shows, don't like the use of AAVE, don't like puppets or comic-like humor, don't like a lot of swearing
See it if you enjoy work where various seemingly disjointed elements come together
Don't see it if you're bothered by the inclusion of fairly clunky, repetitive rap verses that detract from the otherwise mostly compelling piece
See it if you know and like Vietgone.
Don't see it if you really need consistency and realism to attach to characters.
See it if Some great performances of actors playing different ages/personas; a bittersweet but hopeful story about the American immigrant experience
Don't see it if Don't like a lot of cursing in shows, the use of rap for some dialogues/interludes, caricature of white person, or use of puppetry Read more
Critic Reviews (15)
CRITIC’S PICK: “For all of its surprises, including action sequences I won’t spoil here, the play falters only when it tips into obviously earnest territory. Nguyen doesn’t need a surrogate to detail his intent; the story soars on its own.”
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4/5 Stars- "A merry mashup of hip-hop, pop culture, cursing and kung fu, buoyed by winning performances and plenty of heart...It’s the familiar making-it-in-America plot as reimagined by a first-generation kid raised on a steady diet of U.S. music, movies, and especially comics and animation...He gets to create his own heroic universe, where Asian-Americans get a full share of powers and glory."
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“It is as if the dialogue and the songs were written for different productions, with characters frequently contradicting their earlier thoughts in repetitive, derivative raps...While Sebastian and Levin give their hearts to their characters, each song chips away at this work.”
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“For a titular, heart-of-the-show, bring-us-to-our-feet chorus, that quatrain doesn’t hold its weight. The rhymes could use more discipline, and the content feels like an empowering wash. Nguyen has spent the play showing us that none of these people is perfect, because they’re whole people — struggling, failing, loving, trying again.”
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“The small theatrical miracle of ‘Poor Yella Rednecks’ is its ability to embrace the mythic style...while highlighting the real and persistent struggles immigrants to this country have faced and continue to face in 2023. It’s a strange and intoxicating mix that makes this play a rare and satisfying watch.”
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“ ‘Poor Yella Rednecks’ is lively and affecting, and Maureen Sebastian knocks Tong, the put-upon wife and mother struggling to adjust to alien territory, out of the park. But it does make one serious misstep.”
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“The Manhattan Theatre Club production is directed with a very deft hand by May Adrales who expertly juggles the comedy and pathos without missing a single beat. And that’s quite an accomplishment considering all the wacky directions it takes to navigate this wild ride of a show.”
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Although playwright Qui Nguyen declared early in his earlier play Vietgone that “all characters appearing in this work are fictitious,” in his sequel Poor Yella Rednecks now at Manhattan Theatre, co-commissioned with South Coast Repertory, the playwright played by Jon Norman Schneider begins by interviewing his 70-year-old mother Tong Nguyen about how his parents built a life in America as Vietnamese refugees. Directed by May Adrales who also directed the earlier play in the same exuberant fashion, the resulting flashbacks are raucous, raunchy and poignant. In what was originally announced as a quintet of plays, Poor Yella Rednecks is now described as the middle play of a trilogy.
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