The Honeycomb Trilogy NYC Reviews and Tickets

"An exhilarating D.I.Y. saga…Mr. Rogers’ vision of human relationships is nuanced, and there’s a probing moral consciousness underlying the geeky whiz-bang…Limited square footage doesn’t much cramp his imagination, which is keen, or his aspirations, which are appealingly vast…'Advance Man,' is the weakest of the plays, heavy on exposition and indeterminate in tone…In the later plays, the plotting is tidier, the conflicts sharper and the emotional force much greater."
Read more

"Jordana Williams's direction isn't always as strong as it could be, causing some of the climactic scenes to take on a tinge of melodrama. But there's far more to praise than disparage here. Rogers's script crackles with wit and intelligence; as rounded as the world he's created is, it simply couldn't work without the humor that's peppered throughout. He's created a rich, varied roster of characters that deftly explore ideas about leadership, moral relativism and the human condition."
Read more

"The ensemble cast is a joy to watch and director Jordana Williams is nothing short of an absolute bad ass. Williams and her production team’s achievements with the trilogy are simply remarkable, creating a style and a sense of action that is a genre onto itself...Rogers has accomplished a wholly unstoppable and supremely watchable epic. I wish I could Netflix Mac Rogers."
Read more

"'The Honeycomb Trilogy' addresses issues such as eco-terrorism, migration reform, and same sex unions in smarter ways than anything else produced over the last decade…An admirable achievement in terms of production, but it’s the brilliance of the writing that strikes the most, because of Rogers’ ability to manipulate genre to his convenience…Rogers is a master at using elements of drama to create worlds that thrive, but never depend, on references."
Read more

"Guiding 'The Honeycomb Trilogy' required a vision from someone who not only could see the big picture, but project the universe. Thankfully Jordana Williams was the right person to steer the rocket. It’s inevitable with each piece running about two hours that the pacing would lag, but Williams brought out the humanity of Rogers’ story. The overall execution from Williams and her entire design team is to be applauded."
Read more

"The fact that this cast manages to pull everything off with the seriousness Rogers intended is a triumph for playwright and production alike. Maybe the latter two plays in the trilogy have more of the traditional action sequences and excitement audience may expect from such a story as this, but 'Advance Man' certainly creates enough intrigue to bring us back for more."
Read more

"'Honeycomb' is an astonishing work…The 27-person ensemble is well-directed by Jordana Williams…'Honeycomb' meshes together under her stewardship like one epic journey that is staged both in bold and broad strokes for the action sequences and finely realized in the intimate moments…In addressing the larger themes, 'Honeycomb' never loses its personable charm and passionate drive to take audiences into the exciting and uncertain future."
Read more

"Ms. Cheek’s showy performance, marked by a spontaneous, giddy sense of play, complements this script perfectly. While the drama raises fascinating questions about rebuilding society, Ms. Cheek reminds us that science fiction should also be fun...Ms. Cheek is such a kinetic dynamo, Ping-Ponging from one emotional moment to the next, that what direction Ronnie takes remains a mystery until the satisfying end."
Read more

"While keeping the action in one room, the play impressively trims exposition to a minimum, but inevitably the dialogue becomes clunky. And while you can follow the play if you missed the first installment, the ending seems more like a set-up for Part 3 than like a conclusion. Still, two hours zip by. It’s a credit to the propulsive plotting that amid debates about dissent, love and honesty, the question 'Blast Radius' most frequently prompts is simply: What happens next?"
Read more

"Director Jordana Williams occasionally lets a bit of goofiness slip through, particularly in the second tier of performances—which falls off pretty seriously from the first. But it's the first tier that matters. In Cheek's long series of downtown triumphs, she has always seemed like an acting thoroughbred: compact, explosive, with a slightly wicked eye. Even so, I can not remember ever seeing her in such full, exultant stride."
Read more

"The play is fascinating, suspenseful, and gripping, and will be of especial interest to fans of the science fiction genre...This is truly an excellent play-Mac Rogers is one of the most intriguing playwrights working today...I am highly anticipating the next two installments of 'The Honeycomb Trilogy.'"
Read more

"Mac Rogers delivers an alternately thrilling, chilling, and emotionally moving piece of theatre. You don’t need to have seen the previous play to enjoy this one (though admittedly, it helps). If you like theatre, and especially if you like science fiction, and especially especially if you like both, GO GO GO. You won’t want to be out of the loop for part III."
Read more

"Though it helps to have seen the trilogy in its entirety to get the full effect, this piece stands on its own. This is science fiction, but first and foremost, it’s effective drama. And as with all the best science fiction, it asks us questions about what it truly means to be human or a monster. I feel honored to have borne witness to this magnificent series in its entirety. Go."
Read more

:The plot of 'Blast Radius' is compelling and absorbing. Rogers manages to tell a fascinating story; introduce a range of vividly etched characters; provoke thoughts about humanity, bravery, identity, values, relationships, and procreation; elicit some tears; and be quite funny. It's an impressive feat...The show isn't perfect...But, really, who cares? 'Blast Radius' is an impressive and passionately entertaining evening in the theatre. That's what matters."
Read more

"It's always nice to see sci-fi wrested from movies and TV and brought back to the stage. This is especially true when it is in the hands of talented artists like Mac Rogers and director Jordana Williams. By relying on the storytelling and the acting, they don't need to force in a lot of special effects, taking the risk that those effects won't work or will seem shoddy to the audience. When it comes to stoking the audience's imagination, less is often more. Rogers and Williams hit that balance nicely."
Read more

"Audiences looking for conventional domestic dramas and generic white-yuppie comedies will recoil from this show's imaginative genre elements. But because it is good sci-fi, it's good theater. Rogers and company have hit upon a way of making the usually spectacle-driven genre work excellently onstage. They don't skimp on plot twists and pulp sensation but they bring to the absurd stakes a sense of realism and humanity."
Read more

"This engaging work taps into the themes of humanity that made Mac Rogers's previous foray into science-fiction so compelling, and is both a heartbreakingly bleak look at our rebellion and a useful mirror in understanding the nature of terrorism...Those just tuning in, however, will thrill to see the evolution of these characters."
Read more

"Mac Rogers makes no apologies for loving genre and sci-fi in particular. And personally, I agree with him...Though sometimes the family drama and the apocalyptic sci-fi drama appear to be from two different plays, there is rarely a dull moment. Belly laughter erupted from the audience at all the right times (and none of the wrong times)...A perfect entertainment to ring in 2012."
Read more

"The actors keep the on-stage energy intense throughout the production. I pay the actors, the designers, and the director the highest compliment when I say their work is almost invisible, as the technical seams of the production disappear and the human emotions conveyed take on the appearance of unvarnished reality. This play will keep you on the edge of your seat for two hours. It’s a more intense, satisfying experience than you can get on your couch or in a movie theater."
Read more

"This sci-fi tour de force is must-see theater...This is definitely the theater of Big Ideas...Sci-fi in Mr. Rogers’s hands invigorates the stage and elevates it to where it used to be: the place where we go to learn about ourselves and experience catharsis in the company of others, which is the only antidote to the excesses of modernity. I hope his example inspires a thousand imitators to write stories for the stage that instruct and delight as much as the 'Honeycomb Trilogy' does."
Read more

"I worry that Rogers' savvy and all of Williams' considerable directorial resources aren't enough for this trilogy...This story is ultimately a sci-fi miniseries, given an Off-Off berth, and it doesn't do full justice to this ambitious work. It deserves a bigger budget and richer production values. Through nobody's fault here, 'Blast' still feels a bit like a pantomime act. And audiences truly deserving to get the full impact of this work.
Read more

"The emotional material here is so deft that it pushes for real estate on a par with Shakespeare, Ibsen and O'Neill...If there is any deficit to 'Sovereign,' it's that the magnificent duet cuts down on material for a talented supporting cast. But as 'Sovereign,' and indeed, the whole of 'Honeycomb' teaches, there just isn't time to do everything one might set out to do in life. So make the time to catch this show, you'll regret it if you don't."
Read more

"While this interstellar enigma carries the play briskly toward its celestial conclusion, it is the surprising tenderness and humor with which Rogers renders Bill, Amelia, and their children that keeps the action absorbing...A grounded production, which only falters in the staging of two key moments. One of them is a fight scene, perhaps too loosely choreographed by Joe Mathers, and the other involves the climactic but clumsy flipping of an alleged doomsday switch."
Read more

"A play every bit as rich and daring as the previous two...Director Jordana Williams returns with a third tactful staging, ably completing the long and stirring transmutation through which Rogers has taken these characters-from small domestic anxieties to far-reaching debates about mankind's survival in the face of oppression and moral decay."
Read more

"Rogers' writing is daring. The political is artfully embedded into the personal. He makes us question democracy when confronted with the possibility of utopia, but also indignant at the disregard of the majority's voice and individuality so readily...Jordana Williams' direction is nothing short of fantastic. I was with this play every moment. And I eagerly await what happens next in part two."
Read more

"If you want to make an argument for bringing science fiction to live theater, look no further than Mac Rogers’ 'Advance Man,' both a compelling family drama and a bleak vision of Earth’s future...What’s incredible to witness in theater is a character with such a powerful grasp of words...Across the board, all of the performances are incredible."
Read more

"A much-needed mirror on our own world, built on an alien honeycomb. By the end a good deal of the audience alternates between gasping and crying, yours truly included. Twice...'Blast Radius' demonstrates that the stage is also a perfect medium on which to tell our old/new stories of oppression, destruction, and defiant resilience, and could teach Hollywood a thing or two about how to do it right."
Read more

"Rogers succeeds in his goal: a low-tech science fiction epic and he has delivered admirably throughout. The endgame is heart-wrenchingly sad, touching, and bittersweet. While I feel 'Sovereign' could stand alone, it relies on the pathos and performances of the previous installments much more than the others did. The accomplishment of the world Rogers and Gideon have built is the entirety of the world and the characters they created throughout the three plays: all of the nuance, all of the humanity."
Read more