The Best We Could (A Family Tragedy)
Closed 1h 30m
The Best We Could (A Family Tragedy)
76

The Best We Could (A Family Tragedy) NYC Reviews and Tickets

76%
(138 Reviews)
Positive
78%
Mixed
18%
Negative
4%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Slow, Thought-provoking, Clever

A cross-country road trip veers off course when family collide with the values of a changing world.

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Member Reviews (138)

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928 Reviews | 933 Followers
75
Clever, Great writing, Great acting

See it if Entertaining story will absorbing storytelling and great performance. Solid staging.

Don't see it if Could be 10-15 min trimmer.

913 Reviews | 265 Followers
77
Slow, Quirky, Intelligent, Great acting, Ambitious

See it if you like unvarnished family interaction, at times tense, at times loving, at times compassionate and at times dysfunctional.

Don't see it if you are bothered by breaking the 4th wall, one actor playing multiple roles, bare staging.

721 Reviews | 221 Followers
84
Conflicted, Revolting, Tragic, Funny, Intense

See it if Non-linear unraveling of desperation and shame threatens a wobbly family. Starts slow and funny, gets intense and distraught.

Don't see it if You can’t bear an egotistical father with a cracking facade, and his sincere daughter trying to make sense of it. Caustic narrator. Read more

735 Reviews | 159 Followers
85
Thought-provoking, Intelligent, Great staging, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you like family dramas, esp. father & daughter stories; enjoy clever staging with minimal sets, like character studies, good acting

Don't see it if you need more literal staging, don't like direct audience address, need to know where story is going from the very start Read more

557 Reviews | 139 Followers
79
Slow, Intense, Great acting, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if you are interested in a family drama which builds as the play goes on; the acting is excellent w/each having a distinctly different persona.

Don't see it if you are expecting action throughout the play, which starts slowly and builds until an extremely disturbing and once unthinkable ending.

501 Reviews | 329 Followers
80
Intense, Intelligent, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if Everyone was excellent and it's always great to see Frank Wood and Constance Shulman. I always see everything at Manhattan Theater Club.

Don't see it if You want something light. Read more

506 Reviews | 256 Followers
80
Quirky, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if Interesting take on a dysfunctional family. Great acting.

Don't see it if If you prefer a musical then skip this one.

529 Reviews | 108 Followers
90
Great writing, Must see, Masterful, Great acting, Absorbing

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

Critic Reviews (12)

The New York Times
March 6th, 2023

“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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New York Theatre Guide
March 2nd, 2023

“ ‘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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Theatermania
March 2nd, 2023

"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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Lighting & Sound America
March 7th, 2023

“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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Talkin' Broadway
March 1st, 2023

“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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New York Stage Review
March 1st, 2023

“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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TheaterScene.net
March 6th, 2023

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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Theater Pizzazz
March 1st, 2023

"'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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