The Changeling NYC Reviews and Tickets

"There's a lack of subtlety to the play's unambiguous moralizing and a strange off-kilter feeling to the weaving together of separate dramatic and comedic plot lines that render it somewhat inert in its latest production. Despite the employment of an ensemble cast as capable as it is large and richly atmospheric spatial and sound design, Red Bull's 'Changeling' never quite builds the salacious, seldom-performed work to the level of dynamism for which its productions are known."
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"This blood-soaked, sex-drenched verse drama finally lives up to my expectations...For the high-minded audience member, there’s also plenty to chew on: issues of gender and class identity abound. But you don’t have to be an academic to appreciate 'The Changeling.' Its core elements—lust, jealousy, and murder—make it one of the most appealing and absorbing dramas of the rip-roaring Jacobean period. Thanks, Red Bull, for giving it the production it deserves."
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"The large cast is splendid. Every word of this very wordy piece can be heard an understood...This very dark work is sprinkled with bon mots including riotously raunchy double entendres. Running more than two hours with an intermission, it is not a work for those with attention-deficit disorder."
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"Berger’s production of 'The Changeling' gives a window into issues of power and gender with a modern eye…Felciano is the main attraction here. He’s got leading man good looks under a layer of disfiguring make-up and he draws you in to look closer…Unfortunately, Topham is not quite a match for Felciano…The comic-relief in the asylum segments never quite hits the mark and even the way Berger moves the asylum inmates in and out of the space feels internally illogical."
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"What Red Bull does on stage with the play, directed by artistic director Jesse Berger with a 13-member cast, is always competent, sometimes striking, but for me, I’m sorry to say, for all the stabbings and embraces, more appreciated than enjoyed."
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"Berger’s production bounces like a billiard ball from tragic intensity to melodramatic rodomontade, from romantic lovemaking to Grand Guignol ferocity, from bantering sex comedy (reminiscent of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’) to bedlam farce. He gets points for the show’s liveliness and clear diction, but never does find whatever it is that that would allow the characters to be fundamentally believable despite the extreme situations and relationships the playwrights impose on them."
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"For all intent, this is still a moral tragedy, and tragedy steeped in utter corruption is what should be at the core of the production. Instead, what we get is more like melodrama, with an underplayed sense of sexual madness. Even the play’s dark humor has been mined for laughs rather than for the way its sardonic quality reflects the overall tone...There is an unfortunate mix of elocution styles."
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"A finely wrought, emotionally fierce production of the seminal Jacobean revenge tragedy…The complications and grand twists which include ghostly hauntings and guilt-ridden visions comprise the two acts which clip along at a pace that thrills and engages. This is no small thanks to the exceptional teamwork by the acting ensemble and Berger’s conceptualizations and natural, seamless staging."
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