Prodigal Son
Closed 1h 35m
Prodigal Son
79%

Prodigal Son NYC Reviews and Tickets

79%
(107 Ratings)
Positive
80%
Mixed
15%
Negative
5%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Intelligent, Thought-provoking, Great writing

About the Show

Manhattan Theatre Club presents John Patrick Shanley's world premiere starring Robert Sean Leonard about a 17-year-old from the Bronx attending a private school in New Hampshire.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (107)

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156 Reviews | 204 Followers
85%
Absorbing, Great acting, Resonant, Entertaining, Intelligent

See it if you like John Patrick Shanley's great dialogue and story-telling. Timothee, the young boy is a fresh, refreshing, and talented new face

Don't see it if you're overly Catholic, sensitive about being catholic, or don't enjoy an interesting, autobiographical coming of age/growing up story.

97 Reviews | 64 Followers
84%
Great acting, Intelligent, Great staging, Indulgent

See it if you want a coming-of-age tale that very much feels that it was written by a literate, 60 y.o. playwright making sense of his adolescence.

Don't see it if nostalgia steeped in literary references is not your thing or if you have no interest in examining the difficulties of one's mid-teen years.

153 Reviews | 44 Followers
83%
Clever, Entertaining, Great acting, Funny, Intense

See it if you enjoy coming of age stories. The playwright explores his with this play.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy coming of age stories or are looking for a diverse cast.

761 Reviews | 167 Followers
82%
Absorbing, Ambitious, Great acting, Indulgent, Relevant

See it if you like coming of age stories, interested in the playwright's teenage years, like stories set in boarding schools, great acting debuts

Don't see it if you expect consistent characterizations, last minute unfair twists, are a fan of Robert Sean Leonard

54 Reviews | 11 Followers
81%
Absorbing, Great acting, Beautiful

See it if you like good theatre

Don't see it if you don't like John Patrick Shanley

153 Reviews | 42 Followers
80%
Funny, Great staging, Great acting, Intelligent, Clever

See it if You want to realize that so young actor can handle entire play

Don't see it if You don't remember your teen ages

52 Reviews | 30 Followers
80%
Absorbing, Clever, Exquisite, Cliched

See it if you can be moved by a phenomenal lead who captures the essence of a super smart and super tormented young soul.

Don't see it if a somewhat stylized ending will hurl you into confusion.

138 Reviews | 87 Followers
80%
Thought-provoking, Profound, Great writing

See it if ...you love Shanley's work. ...you love plays that have a spiritual component. ....you love a complex and nuanced exploration of teen years.

Don't see it if ...you are looking for a yuk fest.

Critic Reviews (36)

The New York Times
February 9th, 2016

"It is filled with the sort of self-worshiping, self-flagellating self-centeredness you associate with boys tormented by their raging hormones. Even when it portrays other characters, 'Prodigal Son' is inescapably all about Jim...Jim is a character in search of an author to explain him to himself. Strangely enough, the man that Jim would become seemingly has yet to achieve the distance to make this struggling artist-in-­the-­making worthy of a play of his own."
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Time Out New York
February 9th, 2016

"A keen, passionate portrait of the author as a poetry-spouting romantic punk torn between literary dreams and his roots in the Bronx...He directs his own production with a tender hand...The play is lean and cool-headed, but it contains one or two emotional explosions that cast the previous action in a new light...The night’s revelation is lanky Chalamet as Jim, nailing the Shanley accent and swagger. He gives one of the most impressive stage debuts I’ve seen in years."
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New York Theatre Guide
February 11th, 2016

"The language in Shanley’s script is beautifully crafted. Actors live their entire lives and don’t get to say such original and juicy turns of phrase. But it must be said that Chalamet does not rest on the strength of the words, he brings this tortured young boy right to you. He touches a common memory in our hearts; he’s that dangerous brilliant young man you never could have brought home to your parents and/or the young lonely person that you were at fifteen."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
February 9th, 2016

"Telling the story of the two teenage years he spent at the Thomas More School confirmed him in his artistic path, it displays all of his mature talents for moral inquiry, rich dialogue, and compelling scene-making — and not incidentally creates a role that the 20-year-old actor Timothée Chalamet is able to knock out of the park. But 'Prodigal Son,' like its biblical namesake, is also a mopey and vexing testament to the confusions of self-regard."
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The Wall Street Journal
February 11th, 2016

"Finely directed by the author himself and exceptionally well acted by a five-person cast led by Timothée Chalamet, 'Prodigal Son' is a heart-sore portrait of adolescent turmoil that bears the stamp of hard-earned truth on every scene…I want to see 'Prodigal Son' again soon, and I expect I will...It strikes me on first viewing as the best thing that Mr. Shanley has given us since 'Doubt.' You can’t get much better than that."
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New York Daily News
February 9th, 2016

"Thoughtful and measured, the show takes its own sweet time to reveal itself...Shanley, who directs, skillfully guides the actors well. His production is less successful. The scene changes are slow-moving, as trees slide and snap into place. The music, even though it’s by the likes of Paul Simon, tugs too heavily on the heartstrings. But those are all quibbles with this satisfying play."
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Variety
February 10th, 2016

"Shanley has done an excellent job of directing his own play, entrusting the role of this overindulged youth to the extraordinarily gifted Chalamet…The real but largely unexplored drama lies in the conflict between the literary Jim, who writes beautiful poetry and philosophical essays, and the self-destructive Jim, who drinks, steals, and seems determined to get himself kicked out of school."
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The Hollywood Reporter
February 9th, 2016

"For a work that announces itself as highly personal, this is an opaque portrait revealing little beyond the author's romanticized self-image as an embattled hero...The writing doesn't match the elegance of the production...The chief reward is the acting, which keeps the play involving even as it grows more frustrating."
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