The Last Match NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (249)
See it if You like tennis/sports and you like the idea of peeling back the public personas of the superstar players to see how human they are.
Don't see it if You wouldn't be interested in watching a tennis match. The pretend game they are playing is important to the structure of the play.
See it if you love the stomach-turning intensity of a well-played, back-and-forth sports match. This play really gets that feeling right.
Don't see it if you can't relate to the competitiveness of world-class athletes. You'd be expecting politics in a play about Americans versus Russians.
See it if you like good dramatic intimate acting and good writing. Well done.
Don't see it if you're looking for razzle-dazzle entertainment
See it if It helps to love tennis. Soak up USTA environment in midtown wintertime w sleek set. Leads look and sound like jocks. Four interesting chars
Don't see it if You need resolution. Play ends on a gentle philosophical note with no POV. Read more
See it if you love a fast paced show that reflects real journey of people
Don't see it if you hate tennis
See it if Intensely confrontational drama that juggles brilliantly among the two male leads. Superb acting and easily relatable
Don't see it if Minimalistic setting and costumes. Far from flashy, big production. More internal conflict than anything else Read more
See it if like tennis and sports in general
Don't see it if you don't appreciate a good game in sports Read more
See it if you can appreciate an unconventionally staged show that is built on the interaction of the main characters during a stylized tennis match.
Don't see it if don't want to think about the larger issues of life as they may be represented in the back-and-forth format of a match.
Critic Reviews (23)
“'The Last Match,' an occasionally humorous, heartfelt attempt to explore not only the competitive dynamic between two top players but the personal…matters that collide with their professional ambitions…Aside from the gradual revelation of who these people are and what drives them, there's very little plot...There's nothing especially unusual or eye-opening about any of these things but Ziegler at least gives her actors theatrically vivid things to say and do.”
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“Anna Ziegler attempts to take us inside the minds of two athletes as they battle it out on the tennis court...I’m not sure what tennis stars think when they’re in the middle of a match, but it’s undoubtedly not what Tim and Sergei spout as they play air tennis on the Laura Pels stage...‘The Last Match’ is that rare play that might be improved if it were a two-hander.”
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"The concept of the match as a platform for backstories is an interesting one, but I didn’t think it was handled particularly well. I found much of the material a bit trite. The ending may be appropriate, but it doesn’t satisfy. The cast perform well, although I can’t vouch for the verisimilitude of the tennis strokes...Gaye Taylor Upchurch’s direction is fluid. If you don’t know anything about tennis scoring, you may find yourself adrift."
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"Ziegler’s incisive, spare dialogue and Gaye Taylor Unchurch’s inventive staging manage to give a sense of the ecstatic blood-rush of competition and how it drives these two men...Bethel captures Tim’s charismatic confidence without being arrogant and Alex Mickiewicz’s takes full advantage of the juicier challenge of combining Sergei’s Slavic temper with his devastating insecurity...We follow the points just as eagerly as if we were at the real match."
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"Ziegler and Upchurch rely on the aura of make-believe one can bring to the theater, plus the expertise of a top-notch cast of four...It is quite amazing how much excitement is achieved, and how much insight is communicated about all four individuals as well as about the sport...I do find that it could be trimmed some, as there tends to be repetition of some aspects...However, even as is, this is excellent, involving theater."
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"An excellent ensemble...The energetic direction by Gayle Taylor Upchurch effortlessly brings us onto the court of a live tennis match without ever feeling unnatural...The simplicity of this play, and the pace with which it moves, masks a much more profound discourse about ambition, pressure, success, failure, and purpose—subjects we can all relate to...'The Last Match' is an exhilarating and smart exploration of the athlete’s psyche."
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“In Ziegler’s ‘The Last Match’ two tennis stars go head to head in a quarterfinals match at the U.S. Open...Much of the play consists of these guys' thoughts during their volleys, which are ingeniously staged by Upchurch, interspersed with off-court scenes with their women...All four actors are superb, the guys absolutely believable as tennis players, the women compelling and often poignant...I thoroughly enjoyed this play and think you will too.”
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