Swing State NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (134)
See it if you’d appreciate an intimate character study touching on themes of loss and redemption in post-pandemic middle America
Don't see it if you’re looking for something light or overtly political. The title can be misleading. Read more
See it if Emotional roller coaster ride. I hate the playwright for being so manipulative!! Care about the 2 leads so much & wish a different ending.
Don't see it if Almost 2hrs no intermission. Warning of alcohol abuse/gun violence/suicidal attempts. Not your lighthearted entrainment. Can we be redeemed? Read more
See it if You want a show that will linger and leave you thinking. The story doesn't shy away from difficult subjects and the complexity of people.
Don't see it if You're triggered by death, grieving, suicide ideation, alcohol/drugs, policing; you want a happy show; you don't like dialogue-heavy plays. Read more
See it if you like well-written plays that resonate and work on several levels. There's a poetic air of melancholy and longing that runs throughout.
Don't see it if you expect fast pacing, an upbeat play or easy answers. This show touches on themes of loss, despair and suicide so may not be for everyone.
See it if You want a well written play with modern themes and terrific acting. The audience was riveted when I saw it.
Don't see it if You want a splashy show. This is a one set play with a cast of 4. Having said that, go anyway!
See it if I have not seen such a well crafted new play in a long time. Smart and entertaining. Entire cast was wonderful.
Don't see it if You do not enjoy new theater without a lot bells and whistles.
See it if You like character-driven dramas with four characters interacting, learning, growing, complaining, striving, surviving. And smart humor.
Don't see it if You want spectacle or a musical or slapstick. TITLE IS MISLEADING. It has NOTHING to do with politics, just being between states of mind.
See it if U want to see a very well mounted show that tackles many contemporary issues intelligently with a great cast. Mary Beth Fisher is perfection
Don't see it if triggered by talk of suicide, self harm, substance abuse, gun violence; not interested in environmental concerns. Read more
Critic Reviews (17)
“In the play’s cosmology, the debased politics of narcissism have polluted American life with the aggro-chemicals of overly heightened and disordered emotions. Democracy is a prairie.”
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“Gilman lets the thematic interpretations multiply like those wild grasses while limiting the acreage of her plot...’Swing State’ provides an effective, direct, though limited and realist, take on our moment.”
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“All the characters in ‘Swing State’ have suffered setbacks and are still scarred by them, but the play ends on a grace note, with a quiet conversation affirming the idea that for all living things, flora and fauna alike, it is best to let life run its natural course.”
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“One caveat I have is the final scene, a de rigueur resolution after a punishing climax which borders on pat...Gilman comes down solidly for forgiveness and closure. I didn’t entirely buy it tonally and it left a bland aftertaste, but I will admit: if the choice is between giving up or going on, we should arc toward hope.”
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Gilman’s drama takes audiences on a wayward chase through the pits and peaks of humanity to find the culprit. Like the dwindling prairie land, of which there is only four percent remaining in the U.S., the characters in the play must learn to fight the droughts and fires of life in order to regrow and survive.
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“ ‘Swing State’ is a fascinating look at the lies we tell ourselves and others in order to exist within a modern society that still too often feels like an insular tribe.”
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“At a time when so many younger playwrights are consumed with personal identity issues, Rebecca Gilman takes the long view, daring to wonder if the human species has much of a future. Coming hot on the heels of a summer marked by global weather disasters, the question lingers, and praise be to her for posing it. But climate change is a devilishly difficult subject to put onstage for all sorts of reasons, a problem that Swing State hasn't begun to solve. It's a brave piece, if not an entirely successful one.
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“The play's ending is a little too pat, and Gilman's attempts to bring order to a world in utter disarray doesn't quite ring true. Still, ’Swing State’ shows that human empathy and environmental conscientiousness can take root in places we least expect.”
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