Secret Life of Humans NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (64)
See it if If you are looking for a show with a very strong, deep plot that is both thought provoking and resonant. Very good acting . 80 minutes that
Don't see it if Goes by quickly. If your not into deep plays that make you think.
See it if you enjoy cerebral plays; you just love Brits off Broadway productions
Don't see it if you don't like dramatic plays with nothing to laugh about
See it if you're up for a very clever telling of the story of a man who used his talents in diametric opposition.
Don't see it if you expect to have a takeaway. Even though the piece touches upon some extremely interesting ideas, there is ultimately no ethical closure. Read more
See it if Smart, classy European play.
Don't see it if Too much thinking is stressful. Read more
See it if you want to consider place and impact of a human life. Great acting. Well directed. I found it a great jumping off point for discussions.
Don't see it if The lead character comments as a moralist, but acts immorally. Many of the facts were skewed to her POV, so incorrect historically. Read more
See it if you love well-staged well-acted plays of IDEAS, you love discussing philosophy/sociology, you ponder (and worry about) humanity's future
Don't see it if you need light-hearted theatre that does not demand much from the audience
See it if Intelligent thought provoking play performed well. Very theatrical in feel.
Don't see it if Want a straight-forward story-driven play then this is not for you. Need to bring your brain to this one.
See it if Well acted, thoughtful examination of human progress and dilemma .
Don't see it if Show at times is a thinly disguised, although always interesting, lecture
Critic Reviews (31)
"This multilayered drama is asking exactly the questions that need to be asked at this perilous moment in history...Not that this 80-minute production is outright pessimistic. Nor, while you’re watching it, is this hybrid of college lecture and dramatic demonstration all that irresistibly compelling. But it plants seeds of thought that keep growing in your imagination...The cast is more than solid, and the characters they play are drawn with nonjudgmental ambivalence."
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"After a while, one wonders whether this ambitious show might have been better off without such concessions to conventional storytelling...'Secret Life of Humans' is at its most stimulating when it ignores the thinly characterized relationship and fairly unsurprising mystery at its center and becomes a free-ranging meditation on what defines us as human beings...'Secret Life of Humans' offers enough to leave us pondering anew some of the largest eternally burning questions of our time."
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“There's no other show quite like this. It has an intriguing plot, a talented cast, and clever staging that makes the production totally unique...This is a mysterious and gripping story that sheds light on how people's attributes and failings are connected to the history of man...The cast of five is in complete command of their roles...A rare theatrical experience that shouldn't be missed.”
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"It's easy to be entranced by Byrne's acute dialogue, as well as the fluid and visually exciting staging by him and Stanley; it isn't until the show is over that you might find yourself troubled by certain nagging questions...Given the script's constant shifts of focus and unwillingness to flesh out certain situations, the entire cast does remarkably well...Even if you're put off by this shaky dramaturgy, Bronowski remains a fascinating subject, and many of the play's passages are deeply engrossing."
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“The play comfortably jumps through time...The acting is first-rate all around, under the joint direction of the playwright and Stanley, and the staging is enhanced by a marvelous blend of mobile set design, projections, and some unexpected visual and physical twists that keep mind, eyes, and ears fully engaged. Whether you share Jacob's optimistic view of human potential or Ava's wary and jaundiced one, you will find a lot to mull over."
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"Brilliant David Byrne play...Yes, to some extent the 80-minute play that seems to go by in no time flat is a debate. It’s presented, however, with abundant dramatic wit that not only disguises the conflicting argument at its center but enhances it with additional human concerns...Chief among the drama’s sly aspects is the Ava-Jamie relationship...Expertly acted and directed by all."
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"Impressively constructed, eloquent and thought-provoking in its own right. Sadly, those qualities do not, in themselves, guarantee compelling drama...Despite its brevity, 'Secret Life' can seem ponderous; it’s as if in trying to give due weight to the big ideas he’s tackling, rooted in a non-fiction book, Byrne makes the characters he creates (or adapts from history) mere mouthpieces for points of view than fully fleshed out human beings."
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"However, while the play whose time scheme is very convoluted is easy to follow, Byrne along with the company of New Diorama Theatre seem to have played fast and loose with the facts, leaving us to wonder what else has been manufactured. The two philosophies that the play discusses (that mankind is working toward progress and that mankind is destroying itself) are a worthy theme but the plot and storyline appear to be nothing but a fiction."
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