Straight NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (240)
See it if you can identify with a lead character who is afraid of confronting his sexuality. Jake Epstein was excellent.
Don't see it if you don't like LGBTQ shows or are looking for a show that wraps up the story in a pretty little bow.
See it if You like drama based on current racial topics.
Don't see it if If you are not open-minded about racially charged topics.
See it if want to see a modern love story.
Don't see it if don't like plays, theather was small.
See it if you can deal with a story dealing with different sexuality.
Don't see it if if you are closed minded
See it if You like "real-life" stories with a big twist at the end
Don't see it if You want closure at the end of a play or if you need to see something long
See it if you're interested in gen-x contemporary theater about sexual identity, handled with simplicity; small productions.
Don't see it if you're looking for in-depth, original, well-thought-out drama about the fluidity of sexual identity; this one is sadly full of stereotypes.
See it if you love the lgbt community or if you are questioning your identity.
Don't see it if you do not like the LGBT community
See it if if are looking for a play that has great writing and has a resounding message that will make you think how we are all label in one way.
Don't see it if your not open minded or squeamish with adult language or sexual situations.
Critic Reviews (31)
"A smart, bracing production brimming with clever wisecracks, some thought-provoking observations on sexual identity and one very promising newcomer…'Straight' is by no means a balanced dialectic comparing homosexual and heterosexual love...The standout is Mr. Sullivan...He delivers the play’s ribald asides with laserlike timing."
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"If the setup sounds fustier than a '70s issue of 'Blueboy' magazine, playwrights Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola are actually attempting to explore loaded contemporary issues, such as the reductive nature of identity labels and the way some straights fetishize queerness. But these intriguing ideas come through in clunky debate-club dialogue, two-dimensional stereotypes and a surprise-free storyline that makes you yearn for some much-needed drama to come out of the closet."
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"A tender exploration of the pros and cons of being bisexual in a contemporary society that often insists you can only be one or the other...What’s wrong with 'Straight' is there’s a lot of talk about things like genetic engineering and Socrates’ bisexuality, but the talk is stiff as a Yankee spinster’s corset and not always believable...It’s sensitively written and well played by an excellent threesome (no pun intended), but 'Straight does' not entirely convince."
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"Director Andy Sandberg directs this competent cast to believable performances, despite his frustrating choice to stage nearly everything on the couch downstage center...It's hard to think of this as anything more than needless, low-stakes melodrama. In 2016, the off-Broadway audience deserves something far more challenging."
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"Just as Ben talks a good game when whichever of his two lovers happens to be on hand, the authors work to create a potentially juicy situation, then punts just as it is about to get good...The playwrights are pretty good at bright dialogue...Just as it looks as if the situation must break wide open, however, the authors throw in a twist that earns a gasp from the audience, but which, frustratingly, leaves far too many plot points dangling."
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"A few moments stretch credulity too much...Even in its current form, however, this is a creative and thought-provoking play, an unexpectedly potent spin on what many might (perhaps rightly) consider a superannuated genre. If many stigmas have been removed from our theatre and our society, 'Straight' smacks us in the head and the heart to remind us of the many that still remain—and that, just maybe, exist more in the eyes of the beholders than in the eyes of the beheld."
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"'Straight' is elegantly written and equally smartly directed by Andy Sandberg...The play works partly because of its appealing and attractive cast...We learn very little about all three other than their interest in football, beer, college, sex and career...'Straight' will either strike you as old-fashioned and dated or right up to the minute depending on your point of view. However, the engaging cast makes this worth the price of admission."
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"The play’s most significant weakness is that Ben’s internal struggle is neither believable nor relevant...Director Andy Sandberg tries to keep the pace moving, but the long, mostly two-person scenes that revolve around a couch, make it difficult. The ending is a twist that feels abrupt and un-earned, though perhaps with an intermission and a more developed second act, its consequences might be further explored and keep 'Straight' from feeling so dated."
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