The Confession of Lily Dare

See it if you love Busch and/or 1930s melodramas. Campy w LOTS of plot. Gr costumes/wigs. Rare laughs; mostly smiles. Stylized acting can be wearing.

Don't see it if you want insights. Purely for entertainmt. Is long. Drags a bit. Needs cuts. Has a good heart, like Lily. Only recommend to old-movie fans.

See it if You're a Bush fan. Entertaining with good performances. Funny-ish.

Don't see it if There's A LOT of painfully cliched jokes, mostly on the first act. Eye-rolling. Act 2 is more streamlined and the story takes center stage.

Also It's cute and the actual story is interesting and complex. The presentation is really good. The first act felt like a drag show and the second like great vaudevillian theater.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy farcical campy humor. I really enjoyed the story most of all and liked the nod's to the style of old hollywood movies.

Don't see it if I didn't find it all that funny and didn't laugh that often but I could still appreciate the story and the show.

See it if Charles Busch trying to do what ludlum and Quinton did so well. The show has some good moments but not many.

Don't see it if If you had camp, drag silly absurdist humor. If you want a more serious show.

See it if you want to see campy Charles Busch's latest vampy femme fatale creation in a fun (if overlong) parody of classic Hollywood film noir.

Don't see it if ur looking for something serious, heady & substantial; ur not interested in theater that's contrived, melodramatic & farcical (by design).

See it if You’re a fan of Charles Busch, you love to laugh, enjoy 40’s movies cliches, drag tropes, a bit of risqué humor, mindless fun, sharp wit

Don't see it if Not a fan of drag, can’t relate to movie references, don’t like the deliberate tackiness of Busch shows, can’t get Busch’s humor

See it if you enjoy camp - here done well by a good cast with a take on the 1930's movie scene. Great costumes and good supporting sound.

Don't see it if you don't like what Busch offers up. Not a hilarious show but many light moments that make you chuckle.

See it if You enjoy and/or are familiar w/mid-20th century melodramas. You like satire. You're OK w/raunchy humor. You like drag performances.

Don't see it if You're expecting a farce: funny lines though not all the time. You dislike old-fashioned, classic melodrama. You dislike intimate stagings.

Also Kudos to a very talented cast, though must give special props to scene-stealer Jennifer Van Dyck!... Read more Read less

See it if boisterous exuberance with great costumes and a touch of poignance is your idea of a fun night out. Especially delightful for opera lovers!

Don't see it if you are averse to drag performance, dislike opera or find stories dealing with adoption triggering.

See it if You’ve never seen Busch in one of his own plays — he’s an NYC icon and treasure. His plays are always campy fun.

Don't see it if You’ve seen a bunch of Busch plays & are debating seeing this one. It’s enjoyable as always, but kind of slow — not his best piece.

See it if to see Charles Busch if you are curious and if you love old movie melodramas and would enjoy a play in that style.

Don't see it if if you don't know much about old movies or if you want to really laugh. This is only mildly amusing.

See it if you are a fan of Busch or you like a very witty, extremely funny show. Be prepared to laugh a lot. The cast is excellent.

Don't see it if you like serious drama or sophisticated comedy. The plot is intentionally silly but very well played.

Also The casting was great. Some of the actors played multiple roles and were extremely funny. Busch outdid himself with the witty and amusing dialogue. I enjoyed this show very much from beginning to end.... Read more Read less

See it if Great to see Charles Busch in an intimate theater. Some funny one-liners.

Don't see it if Plot drags in places & would benefit from cuts to 90 minutes no intermission. Much of plot is narrated (not shown).

See it if You like cheesy old theater humor

Don't see it if You are looking for a well written comedy. It’s not that, it’s also not a well written drama in any fashion

Also There wasn’t much I liked about this. I didn’t really care about this person. I’m not sure if I was supposed to? I also don’t understand why the lead was played by a male in drag?
This definitely has a musical type feel to it even though it’s not a musical. The audience members were clapping after every scene. They were even clapping when the actors were lip-synching. And the audience did the most annoying thing an audience can do. They clapped for an actor who read off a list of things in order. I never understand this. Why are we clapping? Because the actor said all of their lines in the correct order?
I assume this is a new play but it has the feel for one of those old plays that are not funny anymore and should be put to rest... Read more Read less

See it if You want/needsan evening of fun at the theatre. Good old fashioned campy fun.

Don't see it if You want some serious drama. This is Charles Busch camp.

See it if You appreciate the Charles Bush take of old movies and divas.

Don't see it if You don't like camp.

See it if you are in the mood for a fun how that you don't have to think too much about.

Don't see it if you don't like camp and farces. I generally don't like the genre, but this show is particularly intelligent and well done.

See it if a fan of 1940's melodramas with larger than life leading ladies & like Busch's style of parody. Some laugh out loud moments.

Don't see it if not into cross dressing, camp humor, some dry patches (very few) & want something serious.

Also The entire cast was terrific with special shout out to Busch & Jennifer Van Dyck who are hilarious.... Read more Read less

See it if You want a fun wonderful time. Lily Dare goes from orphan to cabaret star to madame. Lots of scenes, super costumes, cast terrific.

Don't see it if You do not like drag queens/ Charles Busch. That would be the only negative.

See it if you like funny parodies of old movie genres. Entertaining throughout peppered with some laugh out loud moments.

Don't see it if you don't like shows with cross-dressers.

See it if you like paradies, farce, camp, pure entertainment, clever writing & good performances.

Don't see it if you favor plays that provide insights, explorations of the human condition, serious "messages" & dislike "over the top" silliness.

See it if you enjoy Busch's style. The show is a campy, vaudeville-like showcase.

Don't see it if you don't like men in drag or stories about the 1920's/30's.

Also The crowd in the room was certainly enjoying the show, but it didn't quite make it for me. Could certainly be trimmed to 90 mins.... Read more Read less

See it if you think what could be better than a brilliant 1920s silent movie melodrama with the protagonist in drag - probably not much

Don't see it if you need strong political statements in all of your theater. Those statements are here but not beating you with them

Also The extraordinary writing of Charles Busch and direction of Carl Andress is supported by both a great technical staff and wonderful acting. Jennifer Van Dyck hits the targets wonderfully with each of her 4 roles.

Despite its overall over the top hilarity, Lily Dare has its moments of exceptional melancholy and ends on that note meshing loss with gain.... Read more Read less

See it if You’re a Charles Busch fan who’s ready for another atmospheric go-round.

Don't see it if You’re into realism.

Also Given a fine production by Primary Stages, The Confession of Lily Dare pushes all the buttons for Busch fans. I had the nagging feeling that the script could have been funnier, but judging from the laughter of those around me, I’m in the minority. I did think this was better than Cleopatra, so Busch is heading in the right direction. And his game supporting cast is excellent. Beautiful costumes and lighting too. If you are a Busch fan, don’t hesitate to see this!

Also, Mr. Busch, how about a NYC revival of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom?... Read more Read less

See it if you love Charles Busch, follow his work. There are some laughs, but not as hearty as I recall in the past. And corny as ever!

Don't see it if you are not a Busch fan. You are uncomfortable with cross dressing, explicit language and acting.