Smart People
Closed 1h 50m
Smart People
75

Smart People NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%
(70 Ratings)
Positive
74%
Mixed
17%
Negative
9%
Members say
Thought-provoking, Ambitious, Absorbing, Great acting, Intelligent

About the Show

Second Stage Theatre presents this comedy-drama tackling issues of race, sex, and class, starring Joshua Jackson and directed by Tony-winner Kenny Leon.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (70)

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52 Reviews | 17 Followers
85
Clever, Indulgent, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Relevant

See it if you enjoy lots of quick dialogue, political discussions, dissecting race relations

Don't see it if you don't want to be mentally challenged, you're looking for carefree fluffy entertainment.

Nic
593 Reviews | 102 Followers
85
Ambitious, Funny, Great acting, Great writing, Relevant

See it if A frank discussion on race executed deftly in the framework of a comedy with strong writing and performances appeals to you.

Don't see it if You've seen one too many race plays where the liberal white guy's point of view is prominent. (My only criticism of this show.)

68 Reviews | 27 Followers
85
Funny, Great acting, Ambitious, Clever

See it if Enjoy intelligent, humorous dialogue about race with excellent acting

Don't see it if Aren't interested in the subject, object to talky plays with no action and not much of a set, and are looking for a satisfying ending

186 Reviews | 37 Followers
80
Ambitious, Intelligent, Thought-provoking

See it if you're in the mood for a thought-provoking play with some humor

Don't see it if you're not in the mood for a more serious play

109 Reviews | 341 Followers
80
Ambitious, Engaging, Thought-provoking

See it if you're up for yet another play about racism in America. Smart People is funny, engaging, provocative, and original.

Don't see it if you need less talk and more action in your theatre. This show is a bit long and pretty talky, but I enjoyed it.

191 Reviews | 58 Followers
79
Ambitious, Disappointing, Indulgent, Relevant, Long-winded

See it if You enjoy plays that make you think about race and how it defines your actions and reactions. You enjoy seeing TV actors on stage

Don't see it if You don't like wordy plays with a lot of dialogue and very little actual action. Situations that are somewhat contrived and not believable

551 Reviews | 347 Followers
79
Original, Quirky, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Confusing

See it if You are open to some interesting opinions that you may not agree with, presented by excellent actors.

Don't see it if You don't care for a talky evening with a disappointing ending

178 Reviews | 30 Followers
78
Great writing, Great acting, Clever, Edgy, Thought-provoking

See it if you want to explore racism from many different angles

Don't see it if You expect your dramas to have a plot

Critic Reviews (30)

New York Post
February 13th, 2016

"'Smart People' is saying something about race and racism — but what? Lydia R. Diamond’s most clever gambit here is to frame her argument as a rom-com in which sexual and academic power moves — two of the characters teach at Harvard — play against pseudo-edgy speechifying...How ironic that a show about race would be skin-deep."
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AM New York
February 11th, 2016

"No overall storyline develops and very little occurs for two hours and 15 minutes. It’s hard to imagine the play appealing to an audience other than the academic types that it depicts. Leon draws shaded, believable performances from the quartet, but the play might have been more entertaining had he placed more emphasis on the humor in the script. It also may work better if cut down to 90 minutes."
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Theatermania
February 11th, 2016

"'Smart People' feels like a rough draft of a potentially greater play…Diamond's contrivance is ultra-transparent. This wouldn't be a problem if it led to something. After 90 minutes of exposition we expect a truly spectacular main event, but all we get is a limp version of a drinking and fighting play…Thankfully, the performers are able to make Diamond's text seem halfway plausible."
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BroadwayWorld
February 24th, 2016

"New sharply satiric comedy...Diamond's crisp and clever dialogue is accented by director Kenny Leon's slick production...'Smart People' is very funny because it reflects a very sympathetic human foible; the desire to resolve our racial conflicts without messing things up every time we open our mouths."
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Lighting & Sound America
February 16th, 2016

"The strength of 'Smart People' is also its weakness: Diamond is so busy giving her characters smart, scathing things to say that she never manages to establish a central conflict...She's brilliant at argument, less so at creating drama...If you're going to enjoy 'Smart People' you'll have to look at it as a frequently stimulating symposium rather than a fully realized dramatic work. Still, under Kenny Leon's acute direction, all four cast members make strong impressions."
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Talkin' Broadway
February 11th, 2016

"The play's impersonal, almost mechanical, construction makes it difficult to care most of the time…Many of the performances don't help, either…Despite these problems, 'Smart People' is never boring, and in it Diamond finds plenty of enlightenment and entertainment in the topics she tackles…There's no shaking a sense of disappointment that she wasn't willing to cut just a bit deeper."
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TheaterScene.net
February 24th, 2016

"An uneven but clever and witty satire...While the play knows where it is going, it is not always obvious to the audience. 'Smart People,' however, is a clever, perceptive look at race in the work place and how it impinges on romantic relations in our private lives. Mahershala Ali, Joshua Jackson, Anne Son and Tessa Thompson are charismatic performers worth watching for in their future stage roles."
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CurtainUp
February 12th, 2016

"Diamond's characters come off mostly as very talkative issue-representatives. It's not that what they represent, isn't worth thinking about and what they say isn't often sharp and funny. It's just that it all comes off as too familiar and lacking in real depth, with Diamond's facility for snappy dialogue sabotaged by plot devices that too often smack of contrivance...'Smart People' ultimately disappoints because it could have been so much smarter."
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