The Karpovsky Variations NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (26)
See it if A strong & extremely well acted family drama. The audience experienced a great script & a slice of culture. Bravo to this fantastic cast!
Don't see it if If you prefer a light drama or musical, then skip this one.
See it if you love a great story with great heart but also family drama, and a simple show all together. Also if you appreciate off-off Broadway.
Don't see it if you don't like Off-Off Broadway shows, small intimate settings, shows still being developed, family based shows, Jewish drama/comedy Read more
See it if You want to see something thought provoking, in a smaller, more intimate venue.
Don't see it if You like over the top, Broadway musicals.
See it if Your interested in something that will make you think. On the surface the plot is about one superficial family. When examined your realize
Don't see it if It goes much deeper than that. It’s about isolation, tradition, family, Religion and the search for one’s identity. Avoid if not interest. Read more
See it if You love a great family drama
Don't see it if You are looking for a fancy stage production or a happy story
See it if You like family dysfunction stories that feel pretty real. Intimate theater really helps bring the stories to life. Great for off-Broadway!
Don't see it if You need lots of costumes, scenery etc and don’t want to focus on the characters and their journeys.
See it if you like plays about music in families lives and the expectations of carrying it on from generation to generation. Acting is commendable.
Don't see it if you expect a musical - very few notes here! These variations are among family members and jump from scene to scene on a minimalist set.
See it if The acting is top-notch, and the characters are fully realized enough that I left the theater angry at one of them.
Don't see it if It has a lot of time jumps, and the staging is INTENSELY bare bones (3 chairs).
Critic Reviews (4)
Adam Kraar’s new drama, The Karpovsky Variations, is a memory play about a dysfunctional family of driven people and the music that inspired them. Unfortunately, in its current form it is both confused and confusing. Without a family tree, it is difficult to keep straight all of the names of characters both seen and mentioned. Director Tasha Gordon-Solmon has eliminated almost all of the scenic elements described in the script which does not make it any easier to follow. There is a fascinating story hidden in this material but it hasn’t been allowed to surface yet.
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The story that seems to be struggling to emerge concerns Julia Karpovsky…trying to connect with her family [and] trying to find her sound…. But playwright Adam Kraar is not content to focus on Julia…The play, which is being given a minimalist production with an uneven cast, features just as many scenes about Larry, Harry and Barry…The choice of what scenes to include too often feels arbitrary.
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"The individuals who populate 'The Karpovsky Variations' always feel authentic and well-observed, even in its most unusual plot point. Complementarily, the production's effectively spare staging keeps the focus on the superb cast, whose work is nuanced (down to a subtle shift in accents in one flashback) and enthralling. A symphony-sized story told as an intimate chamber piece, 'The Karpovsky Variations' really sings."
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"The 'Karpovsky Variations' has strong Jewish thematic value and speaks to universal issues. Moreover, it encapsulates some of the emotional push-and-pull that family members feel when they are together, and when they long to be."
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