The Appointment
Closed 1h 30m
The Appointment
74

The Appointment NYC Reviews and Tickets

74%
(24 Ratings)
Positive
75%
Mixed
17%
Negative
8%
Members say
Ambitious, Clever, Edgy, Quirky, Funny

About the Show

Lightning Rod Special's new musical satire about the American abortion debate.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (24)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
118 Reviews | 47 Followers
95
Fun, Hilarious, Entertaining, Delightful

See it if You just love a good time. Best production of this fun show since the original.

Don't see it if Oh, just go.

84 Reviews | 9 Followers
90
Edgy, Quirky, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Hilarious

See it if laugh out loud funny while also tackling serious material. oh, and dancing fetuses.

Don't see it if it’s a musical about abortion so.. keep that in mind

494 Reviews | 123 Followers
86
Topical, Provocative, Fun

See it if you think the world needs important edgy political theater that's also entertaining, featuring skits/cabaret of dancing and singing fetuses.

Don't see it if you think the world does not need edgy political theater that's also entertaining, featuring skits/cabaret of dancing and singing fetuses.

140 Reviews | 10 Followers
84
Edgy, Dizzying, Ambitious, Clever, Absorbing

See it if edgy political theatre that makes audiences feel uncomfortable.

Don't see it if You are easily discomforted by political theatre.

409 Reviews | 84 Followers
79
Resonant, Thought-provoking, Indulgent, Funny, Edgy

See it if This potent yet uneven devised theatre piece hits many targets in the pro-life/pro-choice polemic with both empathetic and satiric power

Don't see it if Essentially sketch comedy, often missing its mark (usually the skits concerning the performing fetuses) & audience participation falls flat

142 Reviews | 37 Followers
73
Thought-provoking, Quirky, Edgy, Entertaining, Clever

See it if you’re up for some musical vignettes about abortion, including dancing fetuses. You enjoy absurdist theatre.

Don't see it if you’d be offended by a musical about abortion, or if you need a linear plot. Read more

393 Reviews | 93 Followers
72
Great cast, Absurd, Quirky, Edgy, Confusing

See it if you like experimental shows that deal with a hot topic through an existential, feminist, & personal lens. Absurd and serious simultaneously.

Don't see it if You don't like to feel squirmy in the theater. Some scenes were brilliant while others seemed long and I just didn't get it.

1312 Reviews | 354 Followers
71
Edgy, Funny, Confusing, Clever, Banal

See it if If you want an absurdist show. It runs hot and cold in writing.

Don't see it if A truly consistent show. This one runs the gamut.

Critic Reviews (11)

New York Magazine / Vulture
January 19th, 2023

“It is a wild experience to watch...’The Appointment’ isn’t a straightforward polemic. What it captures, instead, is the surreal and maddening emotional logic of the discourse.”
Read more

Theatermania
January 20th, 2023

“ ‘The Appointment’ is neither ridiculous enough nor dramatic enough for the juxtaposition between the extremes to really resonate.”
Read more

Lighting & Sound America
January 25th, 2023

It's an evening of obvious gags and elevated decibel levels. Exactly why everyone involved feels the need to ride the nerves of audience members who are surely in sympathy with their arguments remains unclear. But The Appointment overwhelms its best moments with crass, badly executed comic bits designed to overturn the clichés peddled by abortion's most disingenuous opponents. The collegiate sketch show-approach of a profoundly divisive issue is dispiriting; you can only get so far on attitude before some wit is also required.
Read more

New York Stage Review
January 19th, 2023

“There are many, many outrageous moments in ’The Appointment,’ the wonderfully squirm-inducing abortion-themed satirical musical from Lightning Rod Special.”
Read more

Theater Pizzazz
January 21st, 2023

The show—mainly a series of often leadenly satirical songs, dances, and sketches performed by the fetuses—never engages in polemics. Whatever you take away regarding the creators’ position on abortion is up to you to decide for yourself, just as you’ll have to figure out the purpose of scenes like the one in which a Thanksgiving dinner goes awry when a family of fetuses is shocked when their fetus turkey comes back to life, even making prophetic statements.
Read more

T
January 23rd, 2023

“The ensemble of actors scores so brilliantly in their big musical numbers, and in their improvisational scenes, that the humor and musicality turn us around.”
Read more

The New York Times
April 21st, 2019
For a previous production

"What you will definitely not feel after this remarkable phantasmagoria is clearheaded. Or smug, or righteous, or vindicated in your beliefs, no matter what they are, about an endlessly divisive subject...Unfolded in a series of songs and sketches, this production implicitly pushes arguments for and against abortion to their extreme limits...This thoughtful, profoundly imaginative show concludes in a silence that is all the more eloquent for the sound and the fury that preceded it."
Read more

Time Out New York
April 24th, 2019
For a previous production

"A feverish explosion of the abortion debate that replaces rigid political views with a visceral exploration of the emotions that fuel both sides...When they’re playing fetuses, the seven performers are consummate clowns who know how to manage the crowd...But they also draw you into the show’s less heightened moments...Most of 'The Appointment' is open to interpretation...But although it jolts and excites discussion, its silent finale cuts through the noise."
Read more