Smokefall NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (69)
See it if You like quirky plays with phenomenal ensemble acting.
Don't see it if You hate plays that are a little off-beat.
See it if You like magical realism or Wes Anderson's films. Quirky story w/ fascinating characters. I cared & was interested in their journeys.
Don't see it if You don't enjoy magical realism or the utilization of flashbacks or narration to tell a story.... I however, enjoyed all of these elements.
See it if You enjoy great actors.
Don't see it if You'd rather be home watching HBO or Showtime and are going to complain that you could see something like this there.
See it if You like thought-provoking place with great ensemble acting. Was pleasantly surprised and enjoy this more than I thought
Don't see it if you don't plays that make you think and leave things open
See it if My husband liked it more, but I did appreciate the acting and orginality. Zachary Quinto....
Don't see it if you can't embrace deep family stories and a weird obstetric twist.
See it if you want to see a show that reaches pretty ambitiously and manages to almost never fail, and esp. if you like Sarah Ruhl's more poetic work
Don't see it if you want something linear, or literal.
See it if Best scene - Quinto and Hutchison in plaid suits as twin fetuses about to be born. A hilarious vaudeville sketch. But very intellectual
Don't see it if arburdism is not your thing. Zachary Quinto is also the narrator and dominates the stage most of the time. He's so talented. Handsome, too
See it if You enjoy fun entertainment that makes you think You don't mind non-linear plays
Don't see it if You expect a fully realized piece. 1st act was great. 2nd act not as successful and sometimes preachy.
Critic Reviews (46)
"Haidle refuses to be bound by traditional concepts of realism. And his surreal, imaginary bent is a critical component of his storytelling here, as it lets him dive into complicated realms of thought, feeling, and perception...For all the benefits of this originality, however, at times it's counterproductive...Haidle often seems to suffer from having too many ideas. Even so, his concerns are genuine and the emotions they generate real."
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"Haidle’s previous New York plays flirted with non-realistic situations, but 'Smokefall' is the most precious and facetious of the bunch...The talented cast is surprisingly bland...A fantasy on the familiar theme of the dysfunctional family. Whimsical most of the time, clever at others, it will please some, and put off others. In this reviewer’s opinion, its offbeat and idiosyncratic format does not reveal anything new about families or how we should live our lives."
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"Haidle's careful deployment of humor is present and vital throughout 'Smokefall'...The comic and the tragic are kept in a fine balance, but emotional extremes on either side are tempered by the intellectual heft of the show: when confronted with a choice whether to elicit thoughts or feelings, Haidle seems to lean towards the thinking route... Suffice to say that the playwright has at least offered us a take on the existential family drama that's fresh, dreamy, and gripping."
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"Haidle has written a splendid play in which magical realism counterpoints a family drama with considerable success...The first act is the stronger of the two. It is in the second act when the playwright tells and retells the same stories over and over again that the power of the first act diminishes...The cast portrays the host of characters with honesty and believability and leads the audience into the womb of wonder that is the autumnal smokefall of life."
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"'Smokefall,' feels influenced by the work of Thornton Wilder, with its mix of the homespun and the metaphysical...If 'Smokefall' is a self-consciously poetic effort that winds up less engaging emotionally or dramatically than the modern classic it evokes, the play along the way has offered a number of funny, strange or strangely alluring moments; an effective metaphor or two; and some fine acting."
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"‘Smokefall,’ while stuffed with playful conceits and clever dialogue, remains too self-involved and cerebral to reach across the footlights and draw us into its emotional web. Haidle loves piling on the symbols and philosophical mind play, usually at the expense of the play itself.‘Smokefall’ is efficiently directed, acceptably acted, and nicely designed. But the play remains too preoccupied with thoughts about higher meanings and not enough with the human conflicts that make drama dramatic."
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"Seeing 'Smokefall' again, I realized that Haidle hasn’t written characters and perhaps never intended to...'Smokefall' is filled with talk about DNA, destiny, free will, and original sin...I enjoyed 'Smokefall' much more the second time around...The play is as audacious as it is full of itself."
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"When presented in Chicago, the play was such a success that the Goodman Theater moved it from its small stage to its mainstage to ecstatic reviews. Although the current production has the same director, Anne Kauffman, something seems to have been lost on the trip east. The New York cast, entirely new, seems competent so I am not sure they are to blame. I wish the play had been able to maintain the promise of its first act."
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