Rinse, Repeat

See it if you're interested in eating disorders. "Perfect" Greenwich family has probs. Good (not great) play abt a serious (not earth-sh'tering) issue

Don't see it if you dislike dys family dramas. RR's a serious exploratn (w little humor). Well-crafted w steady build after slow beginning, but plot holes.

Also Why, on this impt subject, isn't there more discussion of the societal pressure to be thin? Such pressure is part of the patriarchy (men--to a large degree--decide/control what is considered attractive in women). There's no discussion of the ubiquitous bombardment of messages to be thin.... Read more Read less

See it if You like realistic serious stories about dysfunctional families dealing with very real problems. Great acting. Very believable.

Don't see it if You want something light and fluffy. This is a serious slice of life. I knew all those characters being portrayed on stage.

Also The two younger actors were COMPLETELY believable. The mother and father had a few parts of their characters that I didn’t fully buy into but for the most part I liked this show. I learned some things and my opinion was changed and I like when that happens.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a well acted drama about eating disorders. Slow at first but moving.

Don't see it if Eating disorders hit very close to home.

See it if Powerful writing & acting delves into a dysfunctional family suffering from the effects of eating disorders. I learned a lot & was moved.

Don't see it if You are not interested in getting intimate with a sick, disturbed family. There is a little humor, but not much. Slow moving. Brief nudity.

Also Wrenching twist near the end.

See it if u want to see an ABC Afterschool Special on eating disorders that spends more time on dysfunctional family drama than the affliction at hand

Don't see it if you're looking for a tight, completely-developed script. [This play has a lot of promise, which a good dramaturg could easily flesh out.]

See it if the subject of eating disorders is so important to you that even a mediocre play on the subject would be worth seeing.

Don't see it if you’re looking for a play that has something crisp, acute or insightful to say about the continuing problem of eating disorders in the US.

Also The huge toll that eating disorders takes on the physical & mental health of people in the US (& on their loved ones) is an important subject to engage in the theater. Unfortunately, “Rinse, Repeat” is not a good play. At its best it feels like an uncomfortable transfer from one of those old TV After-School Specials aimed at instructing adolescents in notable social & personal problems. The most poignant & telling moments here are the least verbal: A young woman frantically stripping her clothes off when the scale shows she weighs more than the she wants; voracious eating. 4 of the 5 characters are members of a family that is hard to be around. Lots of bits of backstory are dredged up – old resentments, infidelities (I think), an adoption (I think) – but nothing much is made of them except to thicken the unappetizing familial stew. This longstanding, unaddressed health crisis deserves a gripping play. This is not that.... Read more Read less

See it if Nice Set Good acting , Topic had to be shown. Signature is a winner.

Don't see it if Some misuse of the thrust stage ..tis true, a difficult concept to beat. Time may bring awareness of audience so "there"

See it if you'd like to see the work of a young playwright/actress dealing with a tough issue in a dysfunctional family on an interesting set/theatre.

Don't see it if eating disorders are a trigger for you or you do not like viewing dysfunctional families with shouting, infidelity and other issues.

See it if You have an interest in eating disorders in particular or issue centered plays in general.

Don't see it if If anorexia or family disfunction is a triggering issue for you. The 3/4 round staging means you are often peering around an actor’s back.

See it if Acetic serio-drama. Repeating the sins of the mother, a daugter wages war with self as her family retards her recovery. Fascinating topic.

Don't see it if "I raised a strong enough daughter to eat a meal alone/It's hotter when we're thin, but only when it's effortless." Mama is never blameless.

Also "It sucks when someone you love fixates on killing (herself)."

See it if You like family dramas that take place in present time end tackle difficult subjects to swallow

Don't see it if If you constantly need fireworks going off on stage and you have no patience to let a story develop

Also I don’t think this play was perfect but it now makes me realize and appreciate how much I love family dramas that take place in the present. I’ve seen some really bad plays this week so it was really nice to end the weekend with something I really enjoyed. I’m not sure if the intent of the playwright was to make the mother look like a horrible person but I was able to see things from her perspective. I don’t think she was totally evil and I also don’t think the girl was totally sweet and innocent either but I feel like most people may walk away feeling that way.
I don’t know what’s going on with Live theater anymore but just after the theater themselves tells you to turn off your cell phones and the play is about to start we can hear walkie-talkies from the staff going off throughout the whole play.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see an interesting drama about a poorly understood medical problem. The acting, especially by the mother, is strong.

Don't see it if you don't like problem plays that treat thorny family relationships.

Also Too bad the play has such an unappealing title and has been poorly marketed.... Read more Read less

See it if You have interest in eating disorders or dysfunctional families. I found it to be illuminating on these subjects.

Don't see it if If you want a lightweight evening or comedy. This one can haunt you for quite a while.

See it if anorexia & eating disorders are subjects U want to see presented in family drama

Don't see it if issue plays do not interest you, U would have no empathy for characters suffering from eating disorders

See it if you enjoy shows about family relationships.Acting was weak overall,but the script is excellent.Worth seeing.Story is important.

Don't see it if you are looking for something light and frothy.Story is serious and worth telling.I just wish that the actors had all been as good as Portia

See it if you can acknowledge that widespread disordered behavior isn’t just an unintended consequence of well-meaning cultural ideals

Don't see it if u chalk it up to the maladjustment of individual outliers; uninterested in the cause of so much unhappiness in even the most empowered women

Also This is a quietly nervy show that just starts to get its arms around the profound implications of how often weight makes successful women feel undeserving. RR hints at the subversive view that the cultural promotion of female thinness reflects not an attraction to female beauty, but to female obedience. (i.e., the idealization of thinness prescribes women’s habits—physical & psychological—before it describes their appearance.) RR fits the contours of family drama, but enacts dozens of subtle forms of social coercion that customarily go undebated.

Overall, I’m impressed w/ Feraud’s steady, ambitious coverage of female & familial issues. RR shows that, while professional barriers have lifted, and old ideals of chastity, submissiveness, & motherhood have been de-glamorized, thinness has evolved to check women’s status at the level of private consciousness. Feraud’s message is bolder than any number of generic platitudes on natural beauty/positive self-image.... Read more Read less

See it if You are unfamiliar with eating disorders and the devastation they cause. Earnest and well meaning but too much by the numbers.

Don't see it if I was truly puzzled by the full frontal nudity. If we were meant to be aghast at her anorexia it didn't work. And rarely do anorexics purge

Also The anorexics I worked with in residency were so emaciated that it hurt. To hear them pulling at hanging skin and call it "fat" was difficult. If we are to look at our heroine and see her as "recovered" then I guess it is valid that she looks like a "tiny slip of a girl" but not ill. Wearing big baggy clothes to add bulk was genuine.
Many of the interactions among the characters felt real. The mother's own obsession with her weight and 'modeling' for her daughter. The father's own approval of his wife's "control" of her weight as a factor in the daughter's need for control (anorexia) is undercut by the inference that his wife's control did not prevent him from cheating.
Eating disorders are truly multifactorial
but the need to control one's life is the driving factor.
It is good to see this disease out in the open and more free of stigma. The audience was very young and diverse.
Good on Signature but I wish the play was a little less kitchen sink and predictable.... Read more Read less

See it if interested in a rarely dramatized topic (eating disorders), it's causes & effects on an already dysfunctional family.

Don't see it if slow start that builds to a turbulent final 30 minutes.

See it if you want to see an intelligent take on an issue which millions need to deal with and don't mind family dysfunction

Don't see it if you want something "fluffy" with a happy ending

Also An incredible, but not perfect, effort by this young playwright.

I would have gone darker at the end, but the end was certainly realistic and avoided the "happy" ending that many young playwrights feel required to write.

I'm not sure that there is as easy an interchange between anorexia and bulimia as depicted i the play, but I certainly could understand how a anorexic having their eating constantly monitored would tun to bulimic behavior to hide their disorder.

That there is no pass given to the family in this show which is also a pleasant change from the direction most playwrights go.... Read more Read less

See it if you like exploration of family dynamics, conflict & struggle, insight into eating disorders, superb acting and writing.

Don't see it if you favor comedy and "light" entertainment rather than a serious study of a family in conflict, psychological turmoil and emotional stress.

See it if Societal pressures, esp. on women, pass down generations and manifest in mental health / eating disorders. Eating disorders are too common.

Don't see it if Eating disorders are triggering. Immigrant family story's kind of there but doesn't go deeper into it — might have been interesting to.

Also Diversity: Latina mom and adopted son with Latin/White daughter, and Black female nurse.
Ticket from Show Score for $5.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to understand the familial experience and possible causes of women’s eating disorders and can endure racial/gender stereotyping

Don't see it if you prefer shorter plays, two-act plays with interval, comedies, or musicals, or are not interested in depressing themes or eating disorders

Also The playwrite/lead performer thoroughly researched, thought through, and is invested in the subject of the play. Unfortunately, the acting and pacing, especially during the first hour, were wooden and tedious and the non-linear sequences were confusing. Even the climax was predictable. The show was more autobiographical journal than theatre. The idea is worthwhile but further development would improve the product.... Read more Read less

See it if A true family drama that was relevant & thought-provoking. Extraordinary performance by the mother & daughter. This a Must See play.

Don't see it if If you want to see a feel good play, then this isn’t your evening out.

See it if a play about the real life of family dynamics interests you

Don't see it if family drama just ain't your thing. The play is filled to the brim with family drama, anorexia, and a surprise...

See it if You want to see a play that examines a subject that has never been spoken about in such a powerful way

Don't see it if You want to see a happy play. This one will make you think and affect you deeply.