The Best We Could (A Family Tragedy) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (146)
See it if you like great acting and a contemporary play with a twist I didn't see coming. Loved it!
Don't see it if can't think of anything why not to see it, actually. At least not without giving too much away. Read more
See it if Brilliant acting in what felt to me a 21st century version of Death of a Salesman.
Don't see it if If you have enough heartbreak in your life.
See it if You enjoy well-written plays, creative storytelling with minimal sets, and brilliant actors.
Don't see it if You're looking for a show with flashy sets and/or you don't enjoy shows with a darker theme.
See it if You appreciate a good drama told with humor, great acting and great staging!
Don't see it if You’re triggered by disturbing content
See it if you are looking for powerful performances with a very current subject.
Don't see it if you just saw The Doll's House and hated the staging. Read more
See it if you like non-linear dramas with lots of humor as well. The writing is layered & nuanced - so is the acting. Excellent all around.
Don't see it if you don't like small shows, prefer musicals, prefer something only light. This is very funny but sucker punches you with its depth.
See it if Do you want to see a masterful piece of theater. Sit back and watch it build the entire way to the perfect ending
Don't see it if You can’t enjoy a piece of theater that takes place on a very black box-ish type stage with very little props or gimmicks Read more
See it if you want a story that doesn't romanticize families.Families are messy things,but they are what matters.The acting and writing are excellent.
Don't see it if you want a mindless musical.I thought this show was fun, well acted, well written, and had something to say.It is a real look at real life. Read more
Critic Reviews (12)
“If there’s an element of myopia to Feldman’s otherwise searingly insightful play, it’s the cultural specificity of someone with the luxury of blowing in the breeze, trying out this or that, with a safety net to catch them when they fall.”
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“ ‘The Best We Could’ makes us hyperaware of its theatricality, but the premise isn't fantastical. It's painfully plausible. It takes emotions and experiences we as humans champion — connection, family, integrity — and flips them on their head.”
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"This concluding vignette is indeed the "tragedy" portion of the playwright's self-proclaimed "family tragedy," but being a road trip play, any theoretical spoilers are just Feldman emphasizing journey over destination. "
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“For a play to qualify as a tragedy, the people in it must, at a minimum, be interesting. That's the problem, with The Best We Could, a road trip drama that steers uncertainly toward a big revelation that destroys a family of three. The trouble is that playwright Emily Feldman is more adept at theatrical devices than in delineating characters whose dubious choices inflict pain on their loved ones. Who are these people? And why should one care about them?”
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“On its own terms it's an affecting little drama with a great central role, fortunately played here by a pretty great actor.”
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“The ubiquitous figure registers more as a cutely pretentious presence, tempting a slightly annoyed reviewer to say that with ‘The Best We Could,’ the playwright could have done better.”
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Hands down Emily Feldman’s "The Best We Could (a family tragedy)," at the Manhattan Theatre Club, wins the most ironic title of the year. Not one character does the best he or she could in this heart-twisting five-actor drama. The play details the long, slow descent of a family, cushioned only by an occasional jest and buoyed by the intensely moving acting by the ensemble with Frank Wood standing out in a superb demonstration of artistry.
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"'The Best we Could' shines with profound complexity, moment and powerful performances by an exceptional ensemble, well shepherded by Daniel Aukin. Kudos to the creative team who brought Aukin’s vision to life."
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