Simon Says
60

Simon Says NYC Reviews and Tickets

60%
(63 Ratings)
Positive
32%
Mixed
47%
Negative
21%
Members say
Disappointing, Slow, Confusing, Thought-provoking, Great acting

About the Show

Three-time Tony nominee Brian Murray stars in this supernatural thriller about the psychic exploration of an ancient mystery.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (63)

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129 Reviews | 11 Followers
90
Absorbing, Clever, Great acting

See it if you want your mind to be blown

Don't see it if want a comedy

228 Reviews | 88 Followers
80
Thought-provoking

See it if you want to see a play that raises existential and philosophical questions about life and death.Great acting, great staging,profound!

Don't see it if you don't have an open mind.

88 Reviews | 15 Followers
78
Absorbing, Intelligent, Riveting, Thought-provoking

See it if If you like a well-acted intriguing story.

Don't see it if You don't like supernatural thrillers.

53 Reviews | 16 Followers
78
Great acting, Intelligent, Thought-provoking, Slow

See it if You enjoy the paranormal or you enjoy a show where you have to use your brain to follow the dialog and understand what is happening.

Don't see it if You are looking for mindless entertainment.

538 Reviews | 80 Followers
77
Absorbing, Edgy, Quirky, Thought-provoking

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.

268 Reviews | 36 Followers
75
Confusing, Ambitious, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Entertaining

See it if you like stories about the supernatural, channeling with dearly departed, stories that make you think. You want to see a somewhat famous act

Don't see it if you don't want to figure what's going on, who who. Is it Jim speaking or the man he's channeling? You want more realistic acting

202 Reviews | 53 Followers
72
Absorbing, Great acting, Thought-provoking, Intense, Original

See it if you are interested in themes of soul transmigration, reincarnation, spirit channeling, spirituality, and love. Some great performances.

Don't see it if you have no interest in the above themes, are not open-minded about life after death; you want a linear straightforward story.

124 Reviews | 27 Followers
71
Great acting, Great staging, Confusing

See it if You like plays about the occult and mysticism

Don't see it if You don't like a three person play that involves one character channeling a spirit!

Critic Reviews (16)

The New York Times
July 11th, 2016

“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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TheaterScene.net
July 14th, 2016

"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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CurtainUp
July 9th, 2016

"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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Theatre is Easy
July 15th, 2016

"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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Theater Pizzazz
July 11th, 2016

“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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Stage Buddy
July 18th, 2016

“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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Theatre's Leiter Side
July 11th, 2016

"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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The Huffington Post
July 9th, 2016

"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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