Straight NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (240)
See it if You want to see some great acting, especially about what it's like for the two gay characters. It felt very real to me.
Don't see it if You don't like gays...? Other than that they joke about sexual activities a couple times, but nothing too crude.
See it if You enjoy romance, character studies, intense scenes
Don't see it if This show doesn't offer easy resolution so if that puts you off, go see something else.
See it if ...just see it. Take anyone who questions their place in life and labels others impose on others. Profound & emotional.
Don't see it if LGBT Bothers you or if you are homophobic or closed minded. If you tend to get over emotional...don't see it.
See it if You like to debate sexuality and gender roles and if you like plays with young, realistic characters talking about love, sex & relationships
Don't see it if Plays about sexuality make you uncomfortable.
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 enjoy plays that examine complicated relationships. Straight is particularly relevant in today's society of sexual & gender fluidity.
Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with the subject of straight, bi, and gay sex.
See it if you want to see a story that explores sexuality without getting raunchy.
Don't see it if frank discussions about sexuality offend you.
See it if you like contemporary themes, good acting
Don't see it if you don't care about personal life challenges
Critic Reviews (31)
"Depending on your point of view, Ben is either a free spirit who won’t be bridled by traditional, black-and-white ideas of sexuality or someone who lies to others, and possibly to himself, about his true longings...Jake Epstein, Jenna Gavigan, and Thomas E. Sullivan are game as the lusty trio and there are some well argued ideas, but the tone was too cute and then too pseudo-profound for me to 'bi' into it."
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"The problem I had with 'Straight' is not that the scenario reminded me precisely of what my husband and I went through when we met, but that was in 1979 and the play takes place now, almost 40 years later...The writing gets a bit choppy here and there. A pivotal point of the narrative strains credulity. The script could have gone off the rails into an unintentional, millennial 'Design for Living,' but the playwrights have their hands firmly gripped on the wheel of traditional melodrama."
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"A surprisingly honest play that refuses to offer simple answers to complex questions…‘Straight’ is a remarkably well acted piece of theater…’Straight’ covers this seemingly familiar ground wonderfully. It is a combination of smart writing, great sound, and fantastic acting by the ensemble. It races by in 90 minutes without feeling rushed or hurried. 'Straight' simply feels honest, and that is tough to pull off."
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"A compelling, affecting new play by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola...'Straight' is a little clunky in passages...The acting is a little tentative in parts...'Straight' is an important play: it reminds us that while contemporary sexuality is far less culturally rigid--or dangerous--than it was even a decade ago, coming to terms with oneself is not automatically easier or less terrifying as a result."
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"Did the writers intend 'Straight' to be a comedy or a serious drama? There was a lot of forced laughter for the first few minutes but it soon subsided. Eventually, my audience wanted to take the play seriously but Ben isn't deeply enough written for a successful serious play. However, comedy needs funny lines and these are rare in 'Straight'."
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"The play is smart, with some super-clever lines, and the cast is appealing. Jake Epstein gives a charged, multi-layered performance, gradually building upon emotion...Sullivan is an actor to watch...Jenna Gavigan as Emily, turns in an effective if not inspiring performance, but then, she is offered way less meaty material. The 90-minute piece is deftly directed by Andy Sandberg, who keeps the actors moving about seamlessly, and treats the intimate moments with respect."
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"With little to draw upon, Gavigan produces a warm and heartfelt performance, especially with a jaw-dropping last-ditch plot twist that could polarize skeptics...But neither Gavigan nor Epstein holds a candle to Thomas E. Sullivan now making his off-Broadway debut...Canny, cringe-worthy, and yet discerning, with a hint of shrewd mischief, this 90-minute production achieves what some of the best theater aims for, pondering the profound and without providing any straight resolutions."
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"'Straight' is a first-rate comic drama about wrestling with sexuality and being torn between two worlds. Here labels, however inadequate, are a very big deal. Could it have been written 20 years ago? Sure. But in the capable hands of director Andy Sandberg and a terrific cast, the well-worn subject feels as potent and relevant as ever...This tight-as-a-drum production is well cast, with actors teasing out emotional depths from what could be cookie-cutter characters."
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