The Liar
83

The Liar NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%
(151 Ratings)
Positive
91%
Mixed
7%
Negative
2%
Members say
Clever, Funny, Entertaining, Delightful, Great acting

About the Show

Classic Stage Company presents David Ives' adaptation of Pierre Corneille’s 'Le Menteur,' a 17th-century farce filled with misunderstandings and mistaken identities.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (151)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
83 Reviews | 40 Followers
95
Delightful, Funny, Great acting, Clever, Refreshing

See it if You enjoy a really good comedy with great acting, historical 17th century background with contemporary flair, something really different

Don't see it if You don't like rhyming verses, and don't enjoy funny plays, don't like anything Shakespearean-like

79 Reviews | 58 Followers
94
Absorbing, Clever, Entertaining

See it if If you're a fan of David Ives and enjoy smart plays with interesting female characters.

Don't see it if You aren't a fan of smart witty drama that's at times hilarious.

133 Reviews | 35 Followers
92
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny, Great staging

See it if Gem of a production, fine acting, direction and completely delightful. Top notch!

Don't see it if If the classics bore you

65 Reviews | 10 Followers
92
Delightful, Entertaining, Funny

See it if You like entertaining 17th century costume farces with contemporary throw away lines. Terrific poetry translation, excellent acting.

Don't see it if You don't like farces or plays in poetry or versions of old plays.

236 Reviews | 174 Followers
90
Clever, Funny, Hilarious

See it if you need an injection of silly bawdy theatrical fun and love silly rhymes

Don't see it if you don't like silly

261 Reviews | 70 Followers
90
Clever, Delightful, Funny, Great writing, Great acting

See it if U love interplay of classic language rhythms mixed with modern speech a la Hamilton in a 17th century play brilliantly updated by David Ives

Don't see it if You don't want to laugh at brilliant rhyming wordplay by a terrific cast in a beautifully written modern update of a classic comedy

112 Reviews | 19 Followers
90
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny, Great acting

See it if you like great acting, and a fun romp!

Don't see it if you hate verse, and classical theatre. ALthough it is classical with many funny modern updates.

176 Reviews | 14 Followers
90
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny, Great writing

See it if Like clever plays

Don't see it if Like Ives a lot. The show was fun and well acted

Critic Reviews (40)

BroadwayWorld
January 30th, 2017

"Sharp and funny verse comedy...A sparkling Classic Stage Company production directed by Michael Kahn...Kelly Hutchinson gives a fun turn doubling as the flirtatious Isabella and her twin sister, Clarice's stern and domineering maid, Sabine. Adam LeFevre is sweetly gregarious as Dorante's father, Geronte...The plot isn't the point here. Ives is a proven master of wordplay and Kahn has his company emphasizing his wit at a clipped pace."
Read more

Lighting & Sound America
February 3rd, 2017

"Dishonesty is the best policy in 'The Liar,' at least when it comes to delighting the audience...The references ricochet between the court of Louis XIV and the most recent edition of 'Variety,' and Michael Kahn's fast-paced, expertly cartooned production is filled with actors who know how to make the most of this comic cognitive dissonance...The fun rarely flags...Ives' arrant japery can be enjoyed entirely for its tonic qualities. Whatever century you're in, hilarity never goes out of style."
Read more

Talkin' Broadway
January 26th, 2017

"Romantic, ribald, classical, modern, lyrical, thumping—Ives maintains, amplifies, and deconstructs these contradictions countless times across the two-hour evening, somehow exploring every conceivable permutation among nine sharply defined characters without ever wearing out the gimmick's lilting welcome...When the execution grates, it's because Ives shirks the high standards he's set for himself...Otherwise, Ives is in fine form, his writing lively and his plotting smart."
Read more

TheaterScene.net
February 6th, 2017

"In the era of 'alternative facts' and 'fake news,' David Ives' delightful adaptation of Pierre Corneille's 17th-century French farce, 'The Liar,' could not be timelier. Written in rhymed couplets - just like the original - the language is delicious and the anachronisms for its time period add a dollop of piquancy to the fun."
Read more

CurtainUp
January 26th, 2017

"Words win the day whenever Mr. Ives takes on a centuries-old classic. Even liars are fun and funny when 'translaptated' by him...It helps that Michael Kahn, who directed this production's premiere in DC, is on board to ensure that prevaricating Dorante's misguided courtship of a Parisian beauty erupts into deliriously entertaining mayhem to extend the humor of the word play with typical comic ingredients...Ives' verbal wizardry makes the entire play feel as if just written."
Read more

Theater Pizzazz
January 29th, 2017

"Ives has breathed new life into Corneille’s' Le Menteur,' a wacky seventeenth-century comedy. A game, stylish cast under the direction of Kahn zips commandingly through Ives’ iambic-pentameter couplets, which echo the original French while also making zippy use of modern English. 'The Liar' is as fresh today, in Ives’ literate, witty retake, as it must have been in 1644...Kahn’s finesse with his gung-ho cast keeps the play rolling along like a well-oiled, cheery train."
Read more

Front Row Center
February 3rd, 2017

"Ives’ reach is vast and his timing is impeccable...Characters fly back and forth like so many badminton shuttlecocks. Plot takes second place to action. Belief is surrendered at the door, and all we have to do is follow along. Indeed we do, and it is a fine and funny ride. It does, however, lack sparkle. Carson Elrod and Kelly Hutchinson provide plenty of zest, and you cannot take your eyes off them when they are onstage. But there was a missing element among the others."
Read more

Stage Buddy
January 30th, 2017

"Ives' laissez-faire reworking of the 17th-century play, only amended with some new scenes and subplots, is a theatrical confection...Under the crisp direction of Michael Kahn, the players bound about the stage, admirably agile...Ives' translation is extremely accomplished in its meter and rhyme, and is littered not only with modern references to Sterno, Chanel perfume and contact lenses, but dramaturgical Easter eggs."
Read more