Simon Says NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (63)
See it if you're a Brian Murray fan, though he has a hard time with lines;you're into past lives, spirit guides; enjoy unusual last minute plot points
Don't see it if you don't believe in spirit guides, past lives, you like plays that foreshadow or seem to have a purpose, don't like ho-hum acting
See it if you want to see what a play would look like if written by a restaurant critic with no apparent theatre experience & without a dramaturge.
Don't see it if you expect insight into the paranormal or validity of psychics; or you hope to see Brian Murray in top form. (He deserves better than this!)
See it if You want to see Brian Murray in an intimate stage setting. You're OK with stories about the paranormal
Don't see it if You want to see a strong level of emotional connections. You want a well-constructed, linear play w/a clear sense of direction.
See it if You are interested in the paranormal and supernatural. Interesting beginning, gets progressively more confusing and boring.
Don't see it if You find it difficult to suspend disbelief.
See it if you are a believer in the concept of transmigration of souls and reincarnation; you enjoy seeing a well known senior actor.
Don't see it if you are a non-believer in the above; It pains you to see a senior actor who should have stayed retired.
See it if you are intrigued with spiritualism and contacts with the after life.
Don't see it if the subject doesn't interest you.
See it if You like original theater, regardless of story. Great acting and creative set, but confusing, and quite frankly boring.
Don't see it if You like a straight-forward story that makes sense from beginning to end. Tries to be deep and clever, but even the twist was obvious.
See it if You enjoy watching a first rate actor, Bran Murray. You like those silly 40's movies about seances and the supernatural.
Don't see it if You want good writing and intelligent plots.
Critic Reviews (16)
“The director, Myriam Cyr, and three solid performers make us part of the channeling, breathless and hopeful. There is also fine lighting work by John R. Malinowski, manipulating our reactions to the spookiness...Too bad this 90-minute play’s ending is such a letdown. Toward the end, it starts speeding toward a resolution that you can tell is going to be all too pat."
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"How much you like Mat Schaffer’s new psychic thriller, 'Simon Says', will
depend on how you feel about the paranormal and reincarnation. If you are
open to suggestion, you will go with its premise. If not, this is not for
you."
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"A contemplative discourse on science, the paranormal, reincarnation, and the connections between us…There are moments late in the play that feel both overstuffed and rushed, demonstrating that subjects such as past lives, existence, and souls are very hard to dramatize in a captivating way. That being said, the trio nimbly navigates through the somewhat murky waters...The play didn’t entirely gel for me, but it was nonetheless largely engaging."
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“Myriam Cyr’s production boasts an air of clean professionalism to complement Murray’s dignified performance style but Schaffer’s play is an uninspired and mawkish exploration of mysticism that never thrills the way that witnessing a live seance should...The collective talents of the cast and crew would be better utilized in a more suspenseful and less eye-rollingly sentimental channeling of the spirits.”
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"The play jumps the track and mainly becomes a platform for a very long and convoluted monologue in which James becomes the portal for a vengeful Simon's Karmic path, or rather more likely Schaffer's interdisciplinary discourse on the unity of all consciousness…You have to hand it to the actors who take it all very seriously and with every intention to make us care about their characters' souls in flux through the millenniums. What a treat it is see the always wonderful Murray."
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“Although pacing was slow during the first scene, director Miriam Cyr’s staging moves the story along and makes nice use of the intimate space...Mr. Goes does a brilliant job of inhabiting numerous characters with distinct vocal and physical lives...Brian Murray is a marvel, his presence on the stage riveting...Here’s hoping there are more roles waiting in the wings for Mr. Murray. He is a national treasure!”
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"Potentially interesting but dramatically dull play...Director Myriam Cyr hasn’t done much to channel this material from page to stage; the pacing is flat and the acting—despite several outbursts—lacks tension. Brian Murray still possesses the intelligence and charm that has made him a three-time Tony nominee, but he's going on 79 and, if I may use a baseball metaphor, has lost some bat speed."
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"For a while, 'Simon Says' looks as if it’s going to be fun…Then, with James going into his complicated trance, the enjoyment begins leaking out...'Simon Says' turns into a tour de force for Goes as James. He twitches, he writhes, he tumbles, he switches voices, he falls, he goes numb, he looks if he’s dead…The channeler’s cavorting is initially engaging, then sillier and sillier until, finally, it’s no more than tiresome. By fade-out, it hasn’t delivered any substantive point at all."
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