[PORTO] NYC Reviews and Tickets

72%

(49 Reviews)

Positive

78%

Mixed

14%

Negative

Members say

Funny, Quirky, Clever, Intelligent, Disappointing

About the Show

After a hit run at The Bushwick Starr, Kate Benson's surreal play about the patrons of a local bar in a gentrifying neighborhood transfers to the WP Theater.

A woman walks into a bar. Her name is Porto. She’s a regular. She likes this bar: serious food, serious wine, serious bartender–a staple in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. Her friends, her wine, and her artisanal snacks are there; her doubts about being a modern woman are put on snooze. A handsome stranger walks in and orders something special. Disruption ensues: an upside-down romantic comedy unfolds inside and outside her head. Desires of all kinds are awakened with a ferocious thump. A nice smile is a nice smile, but can we enjoy the sausage once we know how it’s made?

Member Reviews (49)

Ambitious, Indulgent, Slow, Funny, Disappointing

See it if you support the Women's Project & new work, enjoy the inner voices of women dealing with contemporary dating scene & societal expectations

Don't see it if constant narration (live by the author!) turns you off, don't like repetitive anxieties & humiliations about relationships or self-loathers

Ambitious, Quirky, Resonant, Well acted & written, Clever

See it if Usual 'single, intelligent woman in urban jungle' tale gets a funny, hipster spin Comic situations with a dark ironic twist in boho Brooklyn

Don't see it if Omnipresent vocal consciousness (the author) may not appeal to some; dark tone at times harsh but lovely Sirna-Frest gets us over bumps

Quirky, Smart, Wry, Wise, Wiseass

See it if you'd enjoy a wry take on how hip, straight, not-so-young anymore Brooklynites meet, sniff each other out &, when the planets align, mate.

Don't see it if you want a piece that transcends the local & the everyday, or have an aversion to mild challenges to traditional dramatic form. Read more

Absorbing, Entertaining, Funny, Delightful

See it if youu like some good acting, a great set, a theater that you be "there"and some interesting ideas to ponder.

Don't see it if if you cannot handle a double set of stairs after the elevator .... altough, if you indicate a problem, there is an entrance on level 3

Great writing

See it if looking for a well-written romantic comedy with a pessimistic view set in a trendy Brooklyn bar.

Don't see it if you believe love can survive or your perspective is not female-sensitive.

Thought-provoking, Relevant, Quirky, Great acting, Nice set!

See it if You want to see a play with a unique structure and storytelling format. Feminist themes. Jokes about Brooklyn. Nice set!

Don't see it if if you want a coherent play. I enjoyed the first half of the play much more than the second half. Read more

Disappointing, Edgy, Excruciating, Indulgent, Quirky

See it if slow moving, “watching paint dry”, and a personal disgust for life is the kind of thing you enjoy seeing on stage.

Don't see it if slow moving, “watching paint dry”, and a real loathing for personal growth is not the kind of thing you enjoy seeing on stage Read more

Original, Fresh, Feminist without anger, Intelligent, Provocative fun

See it if Slightly meta update of a girl & a guy in a bar with plenty of literary references & affectionate mocking of Brooklyn hipsters. Great set...

Don't see it if smart writing, comfortable actors. Maybe not for those who love a big play or musical, but off-Broadway excellence.

Critic Reviews (16)

"'[PORTO]' sneaks up on you...It's a smart, surprising ode to the modern woman's anxious, circuitous quest for simultaneous self-actualization, pleasure, and perhaps even love...The minute that Benson took clear aim at the vexed territory of feminism, sex, desire, shame, what we want from our partners, and what we feel we should do for them...I could feel her punches right in the chest...Evans gets smart, pointed, playful performances out of her entire cast."
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"A strictly realistic presentation of this story might look like a poor onstage imitation of HBO's 'Girls', but Benson delivers something uniquely theatrical with a script that is magical, mischievous, and just plain hilarious...Evans maintains Benson's intoxicating cocktail of magical realism and timely satire with a pitch-perfect production...With humor and honesty, '[PORTO]' dramatizes the late capitalist paradox of having a million avenues for pleasure, but still feeling a gnawing dissatisfaction."
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"Whenever Benson stops talking, her play threatens to be a funny and touching romantic comedy tinged with the anxieties of early middle age. Too much of the time, however, we are forced to cope with the playwright's voice -- insistent, intrusive, and intent on stealing focus from the characters she has created...The result is death by extreme editorializing...The biggest problem with '[PORTO]' is that, shorn of all its tricks and traps, its observations aren't terribly original."
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“Kate Benson's ‘[Porto]’ (the title refers to the voice in the heroine's head) will please die-hard feminists most who will be glad to hear the play's messages spoken from the stage. However, many of the rest of us will be forgiven if thinking the play trades in platitudes and is overly derivative. We have met all these people - and their problems - before. The play's gimmicks may either strike you as novel and fresh or as tired and trite.”
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"More a lab experiment than a stage play...The entire night walks a fine line between pretentious and high satire...Benson's writing is most accessible when she's making fun of millennials and their penchant for 'serious' bars and anything pickled...As directed by Evans, the cast all inhabit their characters earnestly. Chukwu stands out for creating a sympathetic Raphael, while the others, in a work that is funny-strange instead of funny-ha-ha, tug more on the brain than on the heart."
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“A comic cocktail with a bitter twist of feminism...A kick more closely resembling a Shirley Temple than a Long Island Iced Tea…In its indirect way, the play is as critical of our overindulgent eating and other habits as it is about anything else…So much time is consumed by Bracket's verbiage, much of it with…the lights off, you begin to look forward to such moments to catch some z's…I must dutifully report that the play elicited a fair share of laughs…; my own humor meter barely moved.”
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"A rom-com for millennials to love. And judging by the knowing laughter from the 20 and 30-somethings in the audience at the performance I attended, she's hit her intended mark...There's a tongue-in-check quality to most of the characters...The one exception to these one-note characters is Porto...Sirna-Frest makes her the anchor of this one. And she gives Porto (and [porto]) such sincere vulnerability that you almost don't need to be a millennial to appreciate it."
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"An incisively clever, extremely funny, and imaginatively surreal rom-com by the Obie Award-winning team of Benson and Evans...Benson creatively interweaves the angst of the Millennial generation with observations on our socio-political climate...The terrific cast, under Evans' expertly-tempered direction, offers hilarious yet believable performances that lampoon the all-too-familiar figures...A razor-sharp show."
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