The Mushroom Cure NYC Reviews and Tickets

“Strauss is an affable performer...Overall, however, he works a little too hard in attempting to make a comedy out of his experiences, and his relationship with that graduate student who becomes his partner in pharmaceutical crime isn't always believable. ‘The Mushroom Cure’ is a mildly amusing hour and a half, but kids -- please -- don't try this at home!”
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“Strauss makes the standup-monologue-as-one-man-show his own, with a sweetly vulnerable take that has quite a few belly laughs...You’ll feel that you’ve entered into the labyrinth of the creative mind...A lovely remembrance...This is a tale of boy-meets-girl underneath all of the remarkably intricate talk of drug dealers...A real treat. One caveat, I’d limit the amount of times the lights go out...We want to see his pathos, his heart on his sleeve. He’s the whole reason we are there.”
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“Over the course of 90 minutes, Strauss reveals perhaps more than anyone ever wanted to know about obtaining drugs, including psychedelic cacti which requires circuitous preparation before ingesting, and dealing with an unorthodox community of chemists...As a result, Strauss’s more banal ramblings caused a couple of audience members to nod off...It's astutely directed by Jonathan Libman.”
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"Mining a great deal of laughter from disabling pain, it tells what Mr. Strauss says is the true story of his quest to rid himself of obsessive-compulsive disorder with psychedelic drugs, and it feels true partly because of the awkwardness that underlies his demeanor...The show is a bit overlong...but it winds its way to a reasonably happy ending: Mr. Strauss is here in front of us, well enough to spin his tale."
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"Strauss' true-life tour de force is a funny, frenzied trip through his OCD and the methods he uses to try to cure himself...His constant, manic attempts to achieve perfection can be maddening and even heart-wrenching. Strauss has an engaging, ironic delivery that keeps you riveted throughout the show’s nearly two-hour running time...'The Mushroom Cure' might benefit from a stronger structure and a 20-minute trim—but hey, no one’s perfect."
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“In the course of 90 minutes, we follow the ups and downs of Strauss’ professional, mental health and romantic lives in great detail. To his credit, Strauss gives the impression of delivering these stories as if for the first time. He is fresh and very involved, yet sensitive to the audience’s reactions. He manages to make a tediously unattractive condition fascinating and also manages to make himself affecting and human. OCD has never been as attractively rendered.”
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“Strauss takes us on his fatally flawed magic carpet ride...Some of his states are humorous, his commentary funny. Other sections are tedious...The production might have been perfect, brilliant genius: if the script sections were tightened, if tepid sections that flat-lined were jettisoned...Strauss needs to work on a balance of tone...As a shorter piece, 'The Mushroom Cure' might have been magnificent, illuminating, humorously scintillating. As is, the show is funny, revealing, and enjoyable."
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“Desperation courses through Adam Strauss’s performance...Yet Strauss, a stand-up comedian, tells his story with humor as well, as the best playwrights do for serious material...Strauss is becomingly ordinary, with his mop of black hair itself displaying some disorder, but less than his personality provides...Under the direction of Jonathan Libman, Strauss does a splendid job of navigating romance, pain, desperation, and humor in the piece.”
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“Adam Strauss' hilarious, harrowing 90-minute one-hander...Strauss is a natural storyteller, his tone and cadences bringing audience members right into the personal hell he faces every day. By the end of the play, you join Strauss by relinquishing the idea that you can control everything, and begin to let go...With help from director Jonathan Libman, Strauss puts together a compelling, if sometimes frantic, presentation.”
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"Strauss delvers his story with conviction and sincerity making it an enjoyably heartfelt night at the theater...The director, Jonathan Libman works well with Strauss and the two find comedy in this disease, which is often hard to talk about. The ability that this actor has to laugh at himself is remarkable, and, in return, allows us to laugh at ourselves."
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"Strauss is a highly intelligent, charming, and absorbing storyteller...The audience is taken in and out of his anxious obsession so swiftly – just when you think you’ve got it figured out, he pulls you in again. This isn’t just exciting; it’s comforting, too. It assures us that this story may not have a ‘happy’ ending, but the ending is in fact sitting in front of us. He’s not cured, necessarily, but working on it, and navigating the captivating imperfection inherent in existing."
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"I paused twice to consider the messages he delivers: that there is beauty within imperfection even if we cannot see it in one reality and that embracing our deepest fears will rid us of the feeling of powerlessness we are convicted to when in distress...Adam Strauss, through a blend of comedy and drama in his poetic narration, is a highly commendable act which is recommendable for any interested in the culture of psychedelics."
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"Adam Strauss’s one-man trip of hallucinogenic self-help promised a lot and delivered comparatively little...There were a few poetic moments of genuine insight, though the delivery stifled any poignancy they might have had. I really wanted to enjoy it, but it teetered over the line from endearing to self-indulgent, lacking the pathos needed to make it work as comedy...There’s definitely a good comic in there, I just don’t think the story was quite there."
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"Intensely gripping, irreducibly psychedelic and emotionally charged, sometimes it seems that words simply cannot do justice to the atmosphere of a performance...There really aren’t many more naturally gifted storytellers than Strauss. Describing in depth the sheer uncontrollability of his obsessive-compulsive disorder, this is pretty serious stuff, so may not be for everyone."
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“Strauss, an established stand-up comic, was diagnosed with OCD in his 20s...His quest for a cure is absorbing, poignant, tender. There are moments of hilarity (he is a comic after all) and flashes of a frightening trip...’The Mushroom Cure’ has evolved over time based on Strauss’s journals...Directed by Jonathan Libman, the performance is witty, intelligent, well-paced and provocative. Eighty-five minutes with no intermission flew by.”
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"The beauty of the writing here is how Strauss places his attempts at reaching what in drug taking is called a Plus Four experience, the 'at one with the universe' state, in the context of his everyday life. While this would be fascinating written down, Strauss's engaging but laidback approach is the best way to understand how someone could be driven to extreme measures to regain control of their lives. Highly recommended."
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