The House That Will Not Stand NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (107)
See it if Creole family in 1813 New Orleans copes with changes in the system of “placage”. Perspectives on freedom and independence by age & race.
Don't see it if You don’t enjoy historical fiction. You don’t want to see a matriarchal family drama.
See it if you appreciate themes of race, gender, and independence. They’re woven throughout beautifully, neither one detracting from the other.
Don't see it if you don’t like female-centric stories. That said, the themes are universal, though are told through the lens of the black female experience.
See it if One of the best dramas that I have seen in 2017-2018 season. Brava to the 7 amazing women in this powerful play. Loved it! Loved it!
Don't see it if There is no good reason not to see this captivating play.
See it if you like interesting story lines, characters and some smart dialogue
Don't see it if you don't like plays that are uneven, more like a work in progress.
See it if Some amazing performances. Gorgeous set and costumes. A very moving adaptation of Lorca moved to New Orleans after the Purchase.
Don't see it if The Southern accented English for characters that should be speaking French was an anachronism that bothered me a little bit.
See it if 18th cent. Louisiana - how women of color in common law 'placage' relationships with white men were affected after the Louisiana Purchase
Don't see it if not interested in historical dramas about racism; matriarchal households; play that has much going on so some characters undeveloped Read more
See it if a well done dissection of a unique time in the South exploring multiple takes on what is/isnt freedom in a changing Creole world is of...
Don't see it if You cannot commit to the slowly evolving pace. Are troubled by portrayals of slavery. Do not like complicated protagonists. Read more
See it if you find anything about the early 19 century history of New Orleans interesting.
Don't see it if you don't find a a play set in 19 century New Orleans about seven black woman interesting. SHAME ON YOU!!!! Read more
Critic Reviews (24)
"Drums are what herald two extraordinary monologues in this densely packed, erratic comic drama, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Their percussive insistence shapes two separate instances when both a character and the play that has hitherto confined her soar into a stratosphere of freedom...You may find it difficult to sort out all the rivalries and counterplots festering among these women...Gardley’s fondness for metaphor can sometimes strangle what should be simple exposition."
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"Though it’s luscious and structurally artful, the play seems somewhat divided against itself. In the first half, Gardley changes Lorca’s mood from Spanish lyric tragedy to ribald French comedy, and Lileana Blain-Cruz steers the deft cast through tart and sharply funny exchanges, backhanded insults and dirty jokes...Gardley tries to change the plot’s hardwired doom and gloom to notes of uplift and liberation...Having started on firm foundations, this excellent play seems to shudder at the last."
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"It’s an elegant narrative formation, and one that lends itself to heightened theatricality...Blain-Cruz’s production only intermittently taps into the play’s brassiness, its conscious defiance of naturalism, and this flickering in and out of focus isn’t simply a matter of directorial oversight...I longed for an overarching theatricality that more fully tied these moments together: a production where the the powerful realness of Gardley’s characters made fewer concessions to realism."
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"This poetical drama infused with supernatural elements boasts rich language and colorful imagination. But its narrative clunkiness is very much on display...The drama possesses many arresting lyrical elements, but Gardley never makes them cohere...The evening's tone shifts uneasily from floridly melodramatic to a near sitcom-style level of broad humor...The end result proves frustrating; the work's thoughtful and provocative aspects are undercut by its stiltedly artificial ones."
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"Between its supernatural tone and outsize feminine sexuality, the play often verges on camp. While Gardley's storytelling occasionally digresses, he still proves himself one of the great theatrical practitioners of historical fiction by depicting a little-discussed era of American history...Like a practitioner of theatrical voodoo, director Lileana Blain-Cruz succeeds at conjuring an ideal atmosphere for magic and mayhem."
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“Over the course of two acts, the house of ‘The House That Will Not Stand’ is wracked by storms, scandals, catfights, and bizarre supernatural doings. None of this is boring, but neither is it totally believable...The script is marked by stylistic inconsistencies...In the end, Gardley's house stands, even if it wobbles a bit from time to time. Its foundation is sound, and if you don't mind some of the more garish appointments, you may have a gripping experience there."
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"Finally receiving a first-rate New York production that's richly produced and wonderfully acted...Gardley injects a huge dose of humor into his play in the caustic put-downs between the women with Gravatt getting the lion's share of the most hilarious retorts...Astutely directed...Yes, you can quibble about the two-dimensionality of several characters and Gardley's occasional contemporary anachronism, but you can't argue that 'The House...' isn't wildly entertaining."
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"The elegance of Gardley’s prose and Rigg’s set is greatly enhanced by the actors as they circulate in Blanco’s predominantly black costumes and as they glide under Lileana Blain-Cruz’s style-establishing direction. The always-formidable Gravátt heads a cast of equals, each of whom instills believable late 18th-century presence...Gardley sees to it that every one of them has at least one taking-focus moment. It’s another tactic in his suave fight on behalf of woman’s equality."
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