Rhinoceros NYC Reviews and Tickets

61%

(49 Reviews)

Positive

45%

Mixed

33%

Negative

22%

Members say

Slow, Thought-provoking, Confusing, Ambitious, Great acting

About the Show

The Seeing Place Theater presents a revival of Eugene Ionesco's absurdist classic about a small town whose citizens begin turning into rhinos.

A commentary on the absurdity of the human condition made tolerable only by self-delusion, 'Rhinoceros' shows us the struggle of the individual to maintain integrity and identity in a world where most others have succumbed to the 'beauty' of brute force, natural energy, and mindlessness. Ionesco startles audiences with a world that erupts in explosive laughter and nightmare anxiety. Playing in repertory with a revival of Marsha Norman's 'Getting Out.'

Member Reviews (49)

Awkward, Ambitious, Thought-provoking, Slow, Resonant

See it if you want to see one of the seminal works of absurdist theatre, smartly staged and still resonant in our current times.

Don't see it if the uneven performances, disjointed translation & slow Act II will distract you from an ambitious mounting of a rarely-performed piece.

Ambitious, Great writing, Slow, Uneven performances, Distracting staging

See it if You understand that you'll be seeing an absurdist play. You want to see an historic, rarely performed classic play.

Don't see it if You expect a uniformly talented cast-some performers are great, some are awful! You're unfamiliar w/absurdism.

Confusing, Disappointing, Dizzying, Slow, Excruciating

See it if If you know someone in it. You like absurdity LOGIC: 1. The actors were good, play bad 2. Play good, actors bad or 3. Actors bad, play bad.

Don't see it if I couldn't sit through it. I was done 15min in. Truly abysmal. I hoped it would get better, but by half time I was done. Ridiculous.

Ambitious, Banal, Confusing, Dizzying, Excruciating

See it if you want the smallest glimpse of what this great play could have been. The acting is deplorable.

Don't see it if if you have no interest in Theater of the Absurd or Ionesco.

Ambitious, Absorbing, Edgy, Relevant, Thought-provoking

See it if You want to learn about theatre of the absurd and if you want to experience a small theatre company that does great work consistently.

Don't see it if You don't want to commit time to a production that is intellectually demanding. This production speaks to many issues of our day.

Relevant, Ambitious, Intelligent, Resonant, Great acting

See it if You like a fine cast & company diving well if unevenly into a timely, difficult bit of theatre pertinent to our political & cultural present

Don't see it if You don't like existential theatre or political theatre or ideas; or words; or disquisitions on choice, conformity & the herding instinct.

Dizzying, Thought-provoking, Overwhelming, Busy

See it if you like absurdist works and can handle shows with a lot going on both on and off stage.

Don't see it if you're brain can't watch a play and read things around you and deal with actors walking all over and making noise while a scene is happening

Confusing, Dizzying, Original

See it if Want to see good change of scenery in a show.

Don't see it if If you want to see something that is not dizzying.

Critic Reviews (3)

"One could hardly find a more enthusiastic group of actors, but a good deal of their dialog is unhearable...An hour could have been cut without impacting the story…Considering the rise of racial strife as well the extreme culturally exclusionary proposals being touted in this year’s presidential race, it seems like downplaying that vital part of 'Rhinoceros' is a missed opportunity. One must, nonetheless, appreciate this rare opportunity to see this important and especially relevant play."
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“While this production cannot avoid all of the digressive traps, the good news is that it’s directed with a great antic hand by the company’s founding artistic director Brandon Walker, who nimbly keeps things bouncily aloft through most of the evening and even manages to get us past the talky bits to regroup for a reanimated airborne ending...Everything is conducted at a brisk pace, with solid comic timing displayed by the entire cast.”
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"When the text is permitted to do its job in this production, the complexity and modern application of Ionesco's work is apparent. Sadly, I found this mission is largely marred by some distracting directorial choices and an unfortunate lack of absurdist acting technique...This particular production, with all its good intentions, would have been better served putting the language first and avant-garde innovation second."
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