Snow in Midsummer
Closed 2h 30m
Snow in Midsummer
71

Snow in Midsummer NYC Reviews and Tickets

71%
(69 Ratings)
Positive
67%
Mixed
27%
Negative
6%
Members say
Ambitious, Confusing, Intense, Absorbing, Slow

A murder mystery by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig adapted from a classical Chinese drama.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (69)

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TT
146 Reviews | 28 Followers
95
Great storytelling, Intense, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if You like Murder mysteries with ghosts and ancient curses. You’re curious about Chinese culture; this adapted from 1400 classic.

Don't see it if You don’t like sparse staging, albeit clever transitions. Guns and violence. You don’t like to enjoy good storytelling. You want it light

61 Reviews | 82 Followers
85
Absorbing, Entertaining, Great acting, Slow

See it if You enjoy supernatural elements, want to support a wonderful AAPI production, enjoy a good mystery.

Don't see it if You need fast paced action, you have difficulty appreciating plays that are not centered around American culture. Read more

172 Reviews | 19 Followers
85
Great writing, Great acting, Exquisite, Enchanting, Absorbing

See it if you want to see a great ghost story adapted from a chinese classic and staged magnificently. textbook case on how to update classics!

Don't see it if You have a short attention span or can't see past cultural differences to a story that moves and involves!

260 Reviews | 55 Followers
85
Resonant, Ambitious, Profound, Thought-provoking, Great acting

See it if you have any interest in the history of Chinese theater. I had no idea that there was a flourishing dramatic movement in China the 13th C.

Don't see it if you are not interested in non-Western theatrical experiences. Read more

53 Reviews | 12 Followers
85
Thought-provoking, Resonant, Intelligent, Clever, Absorbing

See it if Well worth seeing. I've wanted to see this for some time since it was produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Don't see it if You aren't entranced by the supernatural.

752 Reviews | 145 Followers
84
Intense, Slow, Entertaining

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

98 Reviews | 15 Followers
84
Historical, mythical, ambitious

See it if only if you have fully read Classic Stage Company's online program BEFORE you decide whether to see this or not. It is NOT for everyone.

Don't see it if you cannot put yourself into a long Chinese play from Shakespearean times with murder and vengeful ghosts as part of the narrative. Read more

127 Reviews | 15 Followers
83
Ghost story.

See it if you like powerful--though sometimes overacted--dramas, with the occasional dollop of humor.

Don't see it if Unbridled histrionics turn you off. Read more

Critic Reviews (10)

New York Theatre Guide
June 8th, 2022

"'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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Theatermania
June 8th, 2022

"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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Lighting & Sound America
June 15th, 2022

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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Talkin' Broadway
June 13th, 2022

"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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New York Stage Review
June 8th, 2022

"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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Theater Pizzazz
June 14th, 2022

"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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Front Row Center
June 16th, 2022

"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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Exeunt Magazine
June 9th, 2022

"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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