The Babylon Line NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (138)
See it if You like plays where nothing really happens, the cast is excellent.
Don't see it if It gave me a sense of half (the three women friends) of the cast being bullied by the other half. I found the second half moved faster. Read more
See it if you like: Josh Radnor (who is excellent); 1960's period pieces; well acted comedy dramas; and if you or your parents lived thru this era.
Don't see it if you don't like: ethnic comedies or stories about Long Island or the 1960's; non-linear dramas.
See it if Top notch actors playing students in the adult writing class in Long Island. See their quirks & how they get along with each other.
Don't see it if Last 30 minutes has "dream sequence" alternate ending which is confusing and meanders. Cut the last 30 minutes. Show runs 2 hours 20 min.
See it if You enjoy really good acting and Richard Greenberg's writing.
Don't see it if N/A
See it if you like long, talky, quirky shows. If you like Richard Greenberg plays.
Don't see it if Almost 21/2 hours is too long
See it if The cast was amazing, and the play is very interesting.
Don't see it if It's almost a character study, but about a group of characters. Interesting little piece, but only for serious theater people.
See it if You are interested in great ensemble acting. Takes place in a writing class which was interesting.
Don't see it if You want to completely understand the plot. Think I missed something. Didn't care for Elisabeth Reason - the character and the portrayal.
See it if You want to experience a very original and creative play by the talented Richard Greenberg. Excellent cast and performances,esp.Reaser&Graff
Don't see it if You prefer straight forward,step by step plots.It is a quirky and unusual play and may not be for everyone's tastes
Critic Reviews (32)
“'The Babylon Line,' while highly listenable, never finds the right balance between its contrived storyline, self-conscious dialogue, and colorful but artificial characters. In other words, while superficially charming it lacks sustained credibility and structural stability….Director Terry Kinney hypes up the energy, creating a mostly comedic atmosphere, but the humor is spotty, and the darker scenes are hard to reconcile with some of the broad accents and eccentric behavior.”
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"Richard Greenberg’s 'The Babylon Line,' is already at the end of the play before it even starts...Kinney uses previous characters and inside jokes, but seriously who else but a critic is going to get the humor? These women are politically offensive and instead of making a comment, we are supposed to get that footnote...By the end of the play it felt like we had just sat for over two hours in Mr. Greenberg’s therapy session where even he couldn’t figure it out."
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"Greenberg can’t seem to make up his mind what characters, plot line, or ideas he wants us to follow...Fortunately, his many detours and transgressions work only to keep us riveted...Greenberg and director Terry Kinney know precisely how to deliver and play, respectively, this material...One of the true theatrical pleasures of “The Babylon Line” is its dark playfulness...’The Babylon Line’ has much to say about the nature of creativity and how imagination shapes reality, and vice versa."
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"Greenberg’s look at a creative writing class in the local adult education program initially shows promise…The first act proceeds smoothly, but after intermission things go seriously off the rails. The second act is overlong and overwrought, burdened with lame gimmicks and false endings…Director Terry Kinney gets tripped up in the second act problems."
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"The mostly entertaining show, which features a number of well-drawn, idiosyncratic characters as well as playwright Greenberg’s signature wit, sympathy, and splendid use of language, is riddled with incongruities...Additionally, the piece seems to end two or three times, making the experience bottom heavy and overlong...Director Terry Kinney keeps the piece moving, creating attractive onstage pictures. There is, however, a missed opportunity for small idiosyncrasies."
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"If you love the way Greenberg writes about the extraordinary twists in ordinary lives — which I obviously do — you will be patient with the leisurely setup...Trust that with this prolific Tony-winning playwright, payoffs are eventually coming, lots of them, and they are worth the wait...Director Terry Kinney treats them at first like gossipy, close-minded cliches. We are meant to underestimate them, but Greenberg and Kinney have more in mind for this first-rate cast."
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"'The Babylon Line' has abundant wit; but it’s a melancholy wit that is this playwright’s mid-career trademark…Greenberg has a gift for creating clear, distinct characters with elliptical dialogue...In the current production, expertly directed by Steppenwolf veteran Terry Kinney, the playwright’s efforts are enhanced by balanced, insightful performances from the seven cast members and the evocative scenic design and costumes."
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"Unfortunately, those characters seldom achieve fully human dimensions in the play...What emerges is a muddle of ideas and styles...With 'The Babylon Line,' Greenberg's characteristic wit and intelligence are present, but so is a commitment to language that often overrides attention to plot and character. Scenes and speeches can seem forced into the whole."
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