The Babylon Line NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (138)
See it if You like Richard Greenberg. You appreciate Julie Halston. You wonder about life in a community like Levittown. Surprise circular ending.
Don't see it if You have to pay full price. You appreciate more high minded theater.
See it if you want to see a play with an unusual structure with a message that can be interpreted in several ways
Don't see it if you don't want to be challenged as a theatergoer
See it if A nostalgic look back at a certain place in time from Long Island. Randy Graffand Frank Wood steal the show. Funny.
Don't see it if If you're not familiar with LI in the '60s, you might not get the references. I found Elizabeth Reaser annoying.
See it if You want to see great acting in a well-crafted, character play. You enjoy slice-of-life dramas.
Don't see it if You want a play with a lot of action or that has a big event.
See it if you enjoy a play that gives you a glimpse at its characters in a particular setting and moment in time.
Don't see it if you would be bothered if most of a play's action is in its language rather than its staging.
See it if you: like comedies that poke fun at pretentious academics & suburbanites; like Josh Radnor, enjoy Jewish-themed jokes, like light comedy.
Don't see it if you are offended by caricatures of Jewish Long Island matrons & academics, don't like comedies with a narrator, don't like Josh Radnor.
See it if You can relate to people who use creative writing as a mirror to their souls, in a well done show about their interactions with each other.
Don't see it if You are looking for a musical and the premise doesn't spark an interest.
See it if enjoy funny repartee from a seasoned playwright delivered by a well directed cast
Don't see it if you don't care for trite references to literature delivered by a cast telling a fable
Critic Reviews (32)
"Richard Greenberg's clever, sentimental and occasionally steamy drama...Played with the right touch of aching restraint in director Terry Kinney's faded memory of a production. Greenberg's choice to include a lengthy 'what happened to then next' epilogue is the only misguided move, especially when points concerning Aaron and Joan get rushed into an ending, but 'The Babylon Line' is still a pleasing excursion with good humor and warm pathos."
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"Greenberg has a knack for creating characters who consistently surprise us without contradicting what we already know about them, and he can spin a narrative that has the richness of a novel...Under Terry Kinney's direction, a fine cast brings this eccentric menagerie to life...Greenberg builds a marvelously complete universe with his characters...For all his irony and wit, Greenberg captures it in its twilight glory."
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"The more the pieces fall into place in Act II...the more entertaining and rewarding 'The Babylon Line' is. It's in the more intimate scenes that Greenberg stumbles and stands in the way of the play's greatness...Ignoring someone for two hours and then showing us in the last 10 minutes how vital they always were is a tricky prospect, and one that Greenberg has not nimbly navigated...The outcome may be worthwhile, but...sticking with these people until you reach it is not easy."
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"It's all overambitious and too diffuse. Yet, Greenberg is still very much at the top of his game as a gifted wordsmith, which means bursts of lyricism as well as characterizing conversations filled with hilarious and stinging comments...The concluding update of how everyone fared over the years feels tacked on...But with Greenberg doing the neatening up, you can't help being glad that you took that train ride to suburbia with him."
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"Although 'The Babylon Line' is as funny and literate as his previous works, Greenberg seems to be struggling to unite all the separate threads into a smooth whole, awkwardly depending on the central character's breaking the fourth wall. Certainly, the play is populated by well-drawn personalities, but that isn't enough to make it work."
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"A master wordsmith with a gift for poetic language and a sharp eye for characterization, Greenberg keeps us engrossed during this meandering journey, even if we’re still a bit flummoxed when the proverbial train finally pulls into the station...Greenberg knows the rules so well he feels free to break them, here, eschewing a simple linear plot...It’s amazing the play doesn’t collapse under its own weighty ambitions...Those seeking an easy ride might be better off staying home."
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"Richard Greenberg is a master of word wars. Intelligent, clever word wars!...His arguments are Shakespearean in their verbiage, a heightened emotional state...At the end of the play there were polite applause but we want emotional connections–especially when there is so much promise. Emotionally we were left stranded on the boarding platform, hoping for another train to come our way."
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"When he just lets the story unfold, there is something beautiful being played out between the teacher and his writing class students, most excellently played by a cast of pros…Each and every time Greenberg veers out of the classroom and propels Radnor to break the fourth wall, the play loses all sense of authenticity and importance...It’s almost comically insane that a story about an adult education creative writing class taught by a writer gets thrown off track by the writer of the play."
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