The Light NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (155)
See it if you hate that any policy/cultural progress in favor of women or black people occurs at a 1 step forward, 30 steps backward pace.
Don't see it if you’re undisturbed by the never-in-our-lifetime rate of change because even w/ regression the future of you & yours is foreseeably bright. Read more
See it if Extraordinary acting from Mandi Masden; the story line develops enjoyably, almost enchantingly, but make no mistake this is a
Don't see it if You do not like dramas Read more
See it if Rarely have i seen a play which just makes you hold your breath in one instance and laugh out loud to other circumstances.This play is a tou
Don't see it if If you don't like a situation which routinely is overlooked in our society regarding females specifically black females. Read more
See it if You want to experience true acting in a must see play with many pertinent issues that are in the forefront of current social issues.
Don't see it if You’re uncomfortable with confronting issues related to the Me-too and Black Lives Matter movements as well as our political state of affair Read more
See it if You want to see a difficult subject handled well. A small wonder.
Don't see it if You want a big extravagant play
See it if you like well written, well acted shows that make you re-think your beliefs.This is as good a show as I've seen recently.Absolutely riveting
Don't see it if you want a light rom-com.There are elements of that, but it is more about Black Lives Matter/Me Too issues.Touching on a very deep level.Go!
See it if Young couple discovers intense differences due to biases based on past experiences. Can they continue to love each other? Deeply moving.
Don't see it if You are not up for heavy themes including racist oppression and rape, from the perspective of black men and women. Read more
See it if you are interested in very intense dramas about sensitive topics presented with thought provoking points of view. The actors are brilliant.
Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with an intimate staging or don't want to witness unflinching depiction of a couple on the brink of destruction.
Critic Reviews (18)
"A play — sometimes dubious and sometimes devastating — about sexual assault and its aftershocks, it’s a rom-com, a drama and very nearly a tragedy. Do we have a word for that yet? Do we want one?...Webb writes great lines and great one-liners, but they don’t always sound like spontaneous back-and-forth. The characters matter less than the arguments. If that’s a questionable trade-off, the debate is compelling and sometimes complicated...This is a tear-struck thesis play."
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“Webb's drama starts as delirious, wish-fulfillment romance...The characters are too carefully expositional, and later we're too aware of their being manipulated...by their playwright-puppeteer. Yet their fight is bruising. The actors commit themselves totally...‘The Light’ is about choosing to feel someone else's pain, and its best illustration of that idea consists in simply watching Masden and Belcher lift their internal floodgates and let a terrifying tide course right through them.”
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"The play doesn’t push any theatrical envelopes, but it does fill its sturdy, conventional box with affecting articulation and real feeling...The play works because Webb, Vaughn, Masden, and Belcher III give us not only ideas and arguments but full, familiar, suffering and striving human beings. They’re working inside a form that has its literalism and its limits, but they’re bringing dimension, tenderness, and the audacity of hope to the task."
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"This compact, superbly acted two-hander opens a new front in the ongoing -- and, too often, fractious -- dialogue about race and sex. It also introduces a playwright and director who are very much worth knowing about...'The Light' is not a polemic. Webb, a canny dramatist, provides both characters with plenty of firepower...The director, Logan Vaughn, confidently guides the action."
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"A compelling play receiving a superb production with excellent actors makes it something of a minor miracle...Logan Vaughn has directed a taught, rollercoaster of a love story...'The Light' is ten minutes too long and Webb needs to tighten the ending....Belcher & Masden's interactions are painfully real and there are moments you'll want to look away for fear of voyeuristically eavesdropping on such personal conversations. But don't. You won't want to miss a second."
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"Abundant thanks to director Logan Vaughn and the strapping Belcher and the beautiful Masden. They all dive bravely into this emotional maelstrom. They handle the lighter moments with blithe dexterity, yes, but their approach to the tougher twists is inspiring. It’s one of those situations where spectators leave awed that actors choose to go through such draining exercises eight times weekly."
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"A blazing show that reaffirms the company’s mission to produce works that provoke timely conversation...The first 30 minutes or so of Webb’s 75-minute drama is thoroughly beguiling...Sharp observations punctuate the latter parts of the drama, which stir up audible reactions from the audience...Vaughn ably navigates the play’s changing rhythms, which rise and ebb several times, and she cultivates superb performances from her two actors."
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"'The Light' is an explosive, riveting New York premiere by Chicago author Loy A. Webb on the subject of race, sex, gender, trust and loyalty ripped from the headlines at the beautiful new MCC Theater complex on W. 52nd Street. Opening the Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater, a black box theater, one of two theaters at the brand new Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, 'The Light,' developed at Chicago's The New Colony theater company, is so stunningly directed by Logan Vaughn."
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