Snow in Midsummer NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsMember Reviews (67)
See it if Goes from mystic to realism. Long siloques.
Don't see it if Needs working out. Average actors. Written poorly.
See it if You like a slow story that has some unexpected twists to the plot. This is presented on a fairly bare stage so it takes some imagination.
Don't see it if You want some action or if you want a show that is paced well. The whole first half (one hour) is practically nothing but lead up to story. Read more
See it if you want to experience a new production based on a centuries-old Chinese play in with a cast of 10, some in multiple roles. Great lighting.
Don't see it if you don't like violence. Would be rated higher if I could hear it all - some problem with accents, but mostly projection when faced away.
See it if you enjoy mysteries that require you to connect the dots. It contains ideas that suggest a parable with soap opera plot twists.
Don't see it if you are not prepared to pay careful attention to details.
See it if you like an unusual piece of theater that is part ghost story and part murder mystery. Very interesting story with talented Asian actors.
Don't see it if you have trouble with accents or have problems with violence on stage. There are gun scenes and assaults. Read more
See it if A story that has many things ghost, murder, love, regret and revenge.
Don't see it if It is a little slow and you need to listen well. Read more
See it if Have interest in the mystical beliefs in China.
Don't see it if You want a well thought out play.
See it if Simply put, this is Folklore with karma.
Don't see it if If you were looking for a musical, wrong choice.
Critic Reviews (10)
"'Snow in Midsummer's' greatest highlight is its visuals, particularly Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew's lighting, which is consistently evocative. But overall, too much flab — including a subplot about a shady doctor, a couple characters whose exact purpose is confusing, and multiple mom reveals — muddies what has the potential to be a tight and compelling murder mystery."
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"For 'Snow in Midsummer,' her contemporary adaptation of the classic Chinese work, however, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig has not only added modern elements and themes to the plot ... but also reconfigured it as a supernatural murder mystery. The result, at least as presented by Classic Stage Company in the shaky New York premiere production opening tonight, is admirable but diffuse."
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Too melodramatic and unconvincing to succeed, Snow in Midsummer exerts the lurid interest of a crime scene, but real engagement is undermined by ponderous pacing and an unearned air of solemnity. Whatever statement Cowhig is trying to make is obscured by a parade of melodramatic events. Its big takeaway? Beware of ghosts.
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"Directed at a fever pitch by Zi Alikhan, Cowhig's play, however, lacks the edge-of-the-seat suspense one hopes for and anticipates. Instead of offering apprehension and eeriness, the production is frenetic and loud. The actors seem to be in constant motion, and tension is jettisoned through ear-splitting screams and angry shouting"
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"If you knew nothing about 'Snow in Midsummer' when you walked into the Classic Stage Company theater — not having read the press release earlier, I didn’t know a thing — it’s a fair bet only a few minutes would pass before you’d suspect that Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s play is based on a long-revered Chinese myth or legend."
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"Cowhig’s adaptation embellishes the play’s original structure, working into her version a wide swath of social commentary relevant to very modern issues of gentrification, gender equality, homosexuality, sexual assault, poverty, stolen children, greed, black-market organ harvesting and climate change. That’s a lot to pack into a work in the guise of a murder mystery with supernatural overtones."
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"The play is something of a soap opera. But thanks to some impassioned performances, sharp direction by Zi Alikhan, and a script that leans heavily into ancient Chinese beliefs regarding death and the afterlife, the production is never less than gripping."
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"There’s an ongoing lament through 'Snow in Midsummer' that all the living plants of the town have dried up and crumbled in the drought. But the production as a whole still feels a little like a forest choked with underbrush–the trees are strong and powerful, but it’s hard to see them."
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