LaBute New Theater Festival 2019 NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (108)
See it if Bold scripts: provoke thoughts on Hitler & making/unmaking of history, “blackness”/PC, gunshot/“modern mourning” process... 4 great actors!
Don't see it if Easily offended; not into political topics; expecting a flamboyant production; 2 of 3 plays are monologue-play;
See it if you enjoy satire. you enjoy dark humor. you appreciate thought provoking plays on ethics and moral. If you want to see great acting.
Don't see it if you are afraid of hot topics such as racism and get easily offended by satire
See it if YOu like thought provoking great drama that gets you almost angry. It is very shocking at times
Don't see it if YOu don't like being uncomfortable.
See it if you like political plays, plays about the current cultural moment. That's its strength. The second one act was my favorite.
Don't see it if you don't like analyses of our current culture.
See it if You like LaBute plays and enjoy short plays with great acting.
Don't see it if You like plays with more full sets and longer plays.Are uncomfortable with material you don't agree with.
See it if LaBute is a master of dialogue and the use of the precise word for the moment. It’s revealing theater but seldom gentle or uplifting.
Don't see it if If you fear topics that are too sensitive to discuss with strangers. Or don’t like that his bothersome characters are a lot like us.
See it if you are willing to do the hard work to get below the surface of LaBute's work. My initial score was lower. Thinking made me raise it.
Don't see it if you dislike works where none of the characters are likeable and all are self absorbed.
See it if You like character pieces that make you think.
Don't see it if You are bored by one-person plays (this has a cast of 4, but 2 of the three acts are solos).
Critic Reviews (19)
"Each of his new plays is absorbingly written and perfectly acted…In 'The Fourth Reich' we meet…a…guy who casually chats to us about why maybe Adolf Hitler really wasn't such a monster…In 'Great Negro Works of Art'…a white woman…and a…black man…meet after connecting on a dating app…'Unlikely Japan'…keeps us glued to its tale of a woman's guilt at having spurned the attentions of a man, the high school beau in whom she'd lost interest."
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“In this trio of plays...Everyone is pretty much unlikable...Each play is built around good intention, but...not enough to pave the road to a riveting piece of theatre...'‘The Fourth Reich:’...Not only was the text going nowhere, but the intended recipient was unknown...’Great Negro Works of Art’...Not a new idea but it could have been...’Unlikely Japan:’...Lacks gravitas and becomes a ho-hum...All in all a great set of intentions that fail to lift up off the page.”
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“A master class times three on how to create uneasy drama and intent...They each get a polished presentation that digs deep into the idea of truth-telling and fact checking...A compelling circle of earthen dirt to dig into, regardless of the dynamic...The writing highlights what LaBute does best, telling detailed and strange stories of attraction, bad behavior, and shame, forcing us to look at lies and truths through a lens that is warped.”
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“Three premier one-acts by...LaBute. The first one was ‘The Fourth Reich’...White does well...and Pierson’s direction is simple, yet effective...In ‘Great Negro Works of Art’...Both actors again do a fine job...The final play ‘Unlikely Japan’ is directed by LaBute...The psychology of truth and belief is different for everybody, but in LaBute’s world it always seems he sees the worst traits in people to be fodder for his writing. I find his work morose.”
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"If LaBute intended to provoke, his circumspect treatment has undermined that intent...The final and, in my opinion, least successful work is 'Unlikely Japan'...As is often the case with LaBute, the women do not come off well; one is a bit dim and the other lacks compassion...In all three plays, LaBute seems to be holding back and showing a muted, less confrontational side. The actors in all three plays were first-rate."
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"A provocative program, with two particularly strong works following a problematic opener...'Great Negro Works of Art,' is set in a museum...LaBute explores their differences as the two walk around observing paintings and verbally spar with increasing intensity...'Unlikely Japan' consists of a heartfelt monologue by the impressive Gia Crovatin...'The Fourth Reich' is difficult to swallow...LaBute’s efforts to make us look at Hitler in a different way are shallow, and even offensive."
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“'The Fourth Reich:' White is pitch perfect...Pierson’s sense of timing and choice of even tone add chill to this effective piece...'Great Negro Works:' Writing is accomplished, its arc thoroughly realistic and relatable. Both Jones and Meaney are very fine...'Unlikely Japan:'I don’t believe it..Had the playwright given us a couple with a deeply wrenching past, distress and self examination might be viable. Under these circumstances they’re not. Crovatin is handicapped by the script."
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"The first and final pieces are character studies in which one actor addresses the audience directly...These bookend reveries...are well performed by Eric Dean White and Gia Crovatin but they’re slight works. And, if I’m going to be honest, they’re annoying too, striking me as the kind of weaselly...excuses kids give when they don’t want to take responsibility for their own actions...Taken together, they add up to a declaration that truth is merely the property of whoever is telling a tale."
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