The Half-Life of Marie Curie

See it if you enjoy biogrphl theater; learn some abt Curie/lots abt Ayrton. Strg acting (esply Mulgrew in the better role). Funny/feminist insights.

Don't see it if you want a perfect script; HLMC is slow in parts. Same issue repeated. MC seems too weak/weepy. Fight feels manufactured (solutn is easy).

Also The patriarchy still, sadly, dominates, especially in the sciences. Such a loss to mankind that women are not invited to the lab table. I found the play well worth seeing, but I felt the script need more oomph.... Read more Read less

See it if A play about two free think very bright woman and their thought process and relationship.

Don't see it if It is more words than action. If you want a fast play or a big production.

See it if women's relationships are significant to you. Beautiful subtle script explores the friendship of two brilliant accomplished women.

Don't see it if marital fidelity is an issue for you. This is a serious play with lots of humor not at all experimental or musical.

See it if Would like a rich and haunting play based on historical figures that explores deep friendship, smart women, pioneers. It sweeps you up.

Don't see it if Want big production, or don’t like 2-handers/historical fiction..It's well-written and performed, emotional, drama-filled, witty, & wortby.

See it if You want to see two terrific actresses play two terrific women in an interesting story about their lives and friendship. Funny and poignant.

Don't see it if You need a big production. This is a lot of dialogue and very little action. You don't like strong women characters.

See it if You like a good story about two interesting women in history.

Don't see it if You want comedy or music.

See it if Wonderful exploration of two brilliant women as they saw themselves and as the world saw them. Their contributions to science.

Don't see it if I cant imagine not wanting to see this quietly brilliant, funny, articulate evocation of these lives we need to know

Also I loved this. It was fast and witty and seamlessly performed by two accomplished actresses.

There was so much dreck this season, I felt blessed to have seen this little gem... Read more Read less

See it if If you are interested in a show about History and science. An interesting drama.

Don't see it if Do you not see if you prefer musicals or very light dramas

See it if you like historical plays with strong female characters

Don't see it if you are put off by some technical language or have trouble with accents

See it if You like biographical plays with strong actors/actresses, like strong feminist themes, or simply want to see a well acted piece.

Don't see it if You don’t like shows with only 2 characters, want a lot of action in your plays, don’t like being bombarded constantly by feminist themes.

See it if Kate mulgrew was terrific and brought a little known scientist to life. Beyond bios to friendship, struggles and inner life of great minds

Don't see it if There was some odd exposition bracketing the play and curie’s character had a bit much consumption and accent, but important women’s story

See it if you’d like to see a fabulous performance of 2 actors portraying strong and intelligent female scientists and their friendship.

Don't see it if you need a big production with many actors on stage or not interested in stories of female leaders.

See it if Funny well acted 2 character play. Educational and enjoyable.

Don't see it if Only want big Broadway productions- otherwise, cannot think of a reason.

See it if you want to see a well-acted play about the friendship of two intelligent scientists that provides insights into their personalities.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy talky, historical plays about notable scientists that is a bit repetitive.

See it if You want to see excellent acting in a show with strong female characters speaking of women's issues.

Don't see it if You want a rip-roaring comedy.

See it if Marie Curie is presented as a woman well ahead of her time, forging a place for herself in the scientific community and fighting the double

Don't see it if you do not like biographical drama

Also standard of what constitutes acceptable sexual and social behavior. Hertha Ayrton, a suffragist, scientist and closest friend of Marie has provided the moral support during the direst moments of her life.
France considered Marie an outsider (also an emigrant, a Jewess, an adulteress etc). in spite of all her accomplishments it failed to accept her as one of its own. No wonder it took sixty years after her death for her to be reburied with Pierre in the Panthéon equivalent of Westminster Abbey (1995). Was this deed a sign of retribution, or a sign of conciliation to the world-wide public opinion?
Acting is superb.... Read more Read less

See it if you're Kate Mulgrew fans; you need a change from the usual bromance/ all-male cast/ or dumb female plot; science + Nobel prizewinners rule

Don't see it if trying to empathize with female achievers hampered by a unyielding patriarchy & "the double standard" would clash with your Ice Age values

Also French laureate Marguerite Borel [pen-name Camille Marbo] sheltered Marie Curie & daughters during "l'affaire Langevin" -- not Hertha Ayrton [1854-1923], who was Marie's friend & taught her daughter math.

Was that the only bit of "artistic license" taken? Or was Madame Curie [1867-1934] the weepy, weak-kneed, lovesick romantic we saw onstage?

Though Curie is rendered sympathetically, I suspect a woman who invented the portable X-ray & drove a vehicle thru WW1 battlefields was not the wimp dramatized in HLMC. Unfortunately, Ms. Faridany was a bit knee-capped by the script.

Kate Mulgrew as Hertha surely has the stronger role and thus livens up the story.

Though I enjoyed watching these 2 accomplished actresses, I kept feeling there was a better story left unsaid.

Marie's bosom buddy French writer Marguerite Borel was accomplished and noteworthy, too. A play about the 3 of them awaits.... Read more Read less

See it if you must see this. Beautiful acting and story.

Don't see it if I can't think of a reason.

Also A beautifully performed story of two women scientists and how they supported each other through the traumas of being women in male professions.... Read more Read less

See it if You’re a fan of great acting, science, or feminist-themed works. Mulgrew and Faridany are fantastic as Ayrton and Curie respectively.

Don't see it if Wonderful acting and a fascinating, not often portrayed subject matter elevate a sometimes contrived script.

Also The Half Life of Marie Curie is a well-intentioned, likable production, with important points to make about women’s rights, double-standards that still exist and even our current “cancel culture.” Mulgrew is dynamic as Hertha Ayrton, an opinionated scientist often neglected by her male peers. Faridany’s Curie may be too emotionally fragile for some, but I found her vulnerability appropriate, as her scandalous affair has just been revealed to the world. The audience also has to believe she relies on Ayrton’s emotional support. These two have great chemistry on stage. Mulgrew’s acting is more energetic, Faridany’s is more studied, but their styles complement each other. Though the dialogue is thoughtful, the events of the play feel manufactured rather than organic, with a dramatic fight and reconciliation. As well, the end feels heavy-handed. Nonetheless, this is a powerful and thoroughly enjoyable work, which left me with much to reflect on in terms of past and ongoing social injustice.... Read more Read less

See it if You’re intrigued by a historical play about Marie Curie’s friendship with a fellow scientist, played by two exceptional actresses.

Don't see it if You don’t like plays that are mostly dialogue without an elaborate set. More a narrative of their lives than fully satisfying drama.

Also I found this play absorbing due to the incredible performances by the lead actresses. This work was very informative regarding Curie’s life and her and other female scientists’ struggle for recognition. The acting and subject matter are what make the show successful. However, the plot is fairly flimsy. Nothing much happens, other than two brilliant woman conversing, arguing and making up. This production wouldn’t be “half” as good without Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany. Though I enjoyed it, there’s potentially a much better Marie Curie play out there yet to be written.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see two strong actors portray a friendship between 2 historic women. If you love OITNB. Kate Mulgrew really carries the show!

Don't see it if You like plays that have fleshed out arcs, and compelling structures. It's very repetitive and one-note.

Also Most of the play is just rehashing of two basic conversations: 1. Marie moping around and Hertha trying to encourage her, and 2. Both of them complaining about sexism. If I had a nickel for every time a character said some variation of "If a man did what I did, no one would judge him," it would have covered the cost of my ticket. It's all well and good, but it was just so repetitive. It never went anywhere. Would have liked to see more depth and more nuance. I also didn't care for the information dump at the end.... Read more Read less

See it if a story of pioneer women in science, worth seeing just for tour de force acting alone. Writing is intelligent

Don't see it if the tone is hard hitting feminist, a bit too obvious at time

See it if you like talky cerebral plays, especially ones with science and historical figures.

Don't see it if you prefer to see action, or if you're not in the mood for a bit of science thrown into what is basically a relationship drama.

Also It's worth the price of a ticket just to see two wonderful performances from these talented actresses.

A note about this theater: do not book seats in the side sections. There's a very wide stage and, incredibly, the side section (at least the right side where I sat) is angled AWAY from the center stage instead of towards it. So everyone around me developed a sore neck from having our heads tilted left toward center stage for over an hour. What the heck, Minetta Lane people!... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see some great acting or girl power.

Don't see it if you need a perfect play.

See it if You’re interested in shows based in fact with excellent acting and messages that are still relevant to today’s woman. Like Informative shows

Don't see it if You don’t care about women’s history or struggles of the past that still exist to an extent today, don’t like female-centric/driven shows,