LaBute New Theater Festival 2019 NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (108)
See it if The performances are outstanding. Labute's ear for contemporary speech and psychology is breathtaking.
Don't see it if you are looking for light fare or melodrama or easy comedy.
See it if you crave intellectual/social challenge- off mainstream and sometimes politically incorrect viewpoints reflecting efforts to fit into world
Don't see it if you prefer multi-actor, complex set and plot plays, comedies, or musicals to soliloquies
See it if You would enjoy 3 short plays that shine a light of truth into some of the darkest, ugliest and scariest parts of ourselves.
Don't see it if You’re not willing to be challenged and probably first and foremost with a look in the mirror. Read more
See it if "Great Negro Works of Art" is outstanding. LaBute at his best - love the dialogue. The other two were OK but not to his usual level IMHO.
Don't see it if you are triggered by Hitler, the Holocaust, race relations, gender issues, and mass shootings.
See it if You enjoy plays with intriguing insights. It brings disturbing thoughts to the forefront and gives voice to people's internal struggles.
Don't see it if You are not a fan of small theatres, taboo topics or one-act plays.
See it if you like short pieces that make you think.My favorite was Fourth Reich.Very timely.LaBute rarely lets me down.He did not disappoint!
Don't see it if you want a Mamet play or a light and fluffy musical.These 3 shows plays have a lot to say and they say it well.
See it if you enjoy LaBute's sustained awkwardness, sketching out in few short minutes whole personalities, deeply flawed,annoying, always relate-able
Don't see it if you see through some of the dramatic devices, don't enjoy provocation that sometimes feels like it's there for provocation's sake alone.
See it if You like Neil LaBute, you want to see top actors (working on major TV shows but with theater lives too), you enjoy one-acts.
Don't see it if You don't like LaBute's verbal style, you dislike short plays. Read more
Critic Reviews (19)
"'Great Negro Works of Art' is an ur-LaButian text, starting with a title that should inspire an anticipatory wince, but vague enough to make it difficult to pinpoint the issue...Mr. LaBute’s writing is as skillful as ever, but Tom and Jerri’s date spins into a predictable downward spiral...Mr. LaBute may be mellower, but that does not make him any more uplifting."
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"'The Fourth Reich': Under John Pierson's direction, White's portrayal is quite warm and thoughtful, even flashing a bit of stand-up comedy showmanship on occasion...The program's third entry, 'Unlikely Japan,' is directed by LaBute and is decidedly more low-key than its predecessors...What connects the three pieces is how they all deal with the subjectivity of what we regard to be the truth, stemming from individual points of view."
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“Ninety minutes of pure LaBute, a format that may not be in the playwright's best interest...In each of the plays featured here, one feels two steps ahead, fully aware of where the action is headed and impatient over the time it takes to get there...The best piece, ‘Unlikely Japan’...LaBute's admittedly strong direction -- explores the multiple layers of guilt and denial at the character's core, making Katie the most compelling character of the evening...This is a flat collection."
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"Offers neither fodder for the salacious nor the gut punch and unlikely poignance of his best work, it’s a timely affirmation that LaBute remains among our most vital and necessary observers of messy modern life. That timeliness extends to the subject matter of the new plays...'Unlikely Japan,' another one-character piece, ends the collection on a high note, reminding us that LaBute’s female characters can be as sharply drawn and as vexing as his guys."
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"Suggests that LaBute wants to remind ultra-sensitive audiences that his plays do not represent his views, but rather illuminate the dark truths lurking within the dubious characters he fashions...Curiously enough, one can’t help but notice that much as the playwright strives to present what he sees as the truth within his characters, the two women he creates here are not as self-aware as the men, even though one of these guys advocates for Hitler."
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“An exhilarating trio of short plays by noted cultural provocateur Neil LaBute...Each is a well-crafted topical theatrical snapshot smoothly dramatizing contemporary United States themes. LaBute’s distinctive dark humor and sharp insights into the human condition are realized by his bitingly precise dialogue. Most crucially he has created enthralling showcases for actors to dazzle in...Three knockouts make for a thrilling event.”
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“All three plays...are provocative and deal with hot topics...They are all calculated to sting, surprise and stir up the kind of feelings you might otherwise not care to acknowledge...‘Great Negro Works of Art’ is excellent...'The Fourth Reich' is under the playwright's direction. It's a chiller that may make your skin crawl...'Unlikely Japan:' It's the what-if kind of story that is given some heft by the compelling way that Crovatin takes us back to the teen romance."
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"All three offerings are by LaBute himself, and therefore, the enterprise feels a bit less exciting. It’s not uncommon for a famous writer to offer a bill of great short plays that he’s amassed over the years, but these three new plays seem decidedly underdeveloped...I found myself impatient attending three plays that would have been better served by a table read. Even famous writers need to bother with the rigors of fully developing their work."
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