The New Englanders NYC Reviews and Tickets

74%

(63 Reviews)

Positive

73%

Mixed

19%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Absorbing, Relevant, Disappointing, Thought-provoking

About the Show

MTC premiere's Jeff Augustin’s newest play where a mixed race family, a teenaged daughter, and her dads are all trying to find happiness.

From the show:

Can you ever really live the life you envisioned? In a mixed race family, a teenaged daughter and her dads are all trying to find happiness. Eisa wants to be the next Lauryn Hill and is struggling to break free of her sleepy New England town where she feels hopelessly trapped. Her fathers are being pulled in different directions of their own, one trying to re-connect with an old love, the other clinging to the path he always believed would be their future.

Member Reviews (63)

Great writing, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Entertaining

See it if Great and important themes being discussed, not really preached. Gives space for audience to think. Great acting.

Don't see it if Issues of homosexuality are not for you. Sometimes slow. Could use a little trimming. Read more

Entertaining, Great acting, Relevant, Funny

See it if You enjoy comedic family dramas. Great acting, especially by the young actress.

Don't see it if It's a good show but about 15min too long.

Disappointing, Edgy, Depressing, Shallow, Contrived

See it if Mixed race 2-dad 1-daughter family discover how isolated, lonely and disconnected they are. Some creative ideas & slice-of-life elements.

Don't see it if Not credible. The characters are too thin, and have inconsistent bizarre behavior. The teens are especially contrived. Band-aid ending.

Dull, Earnest, Relevant(ish), Disappointing, Trite

See it if u want a front porch view of a seemingly ordinary (albeit mixed race & gay) family whose cracks in their cheery facade get a cursory probe.

Don't see it if u expect any deep insight re: mixed coupling, gay marriage, discrimination, teen angst, drug use or the perceived tranquility of New England Read more

Resonant, Thought-provoking, Disappointing, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if A fine ensemble (esp the always interesting Bougere), Ali's strong direction & some potent writing from Augustiin helps hefty issue drama

Don't see it if Just too many plots lines (while all of various interest) to keep afloat Augustin's writing veers from astute to soapy to finally exhausting

Featuring black & white gay fathers raising a black teenage daughter in a small new england town, this play tries to update "our town" for the 21st century; unfortunately, this doesn't come close to being a successor to that classic

See it if some astute observations on growing up black in a narrow-minded white NE town; sharp perfs by Javier Munoz, black dad, & daughter Kara Young

Don't see it if tries to do much too much; different plot lines involving unhappy fathers, disgruntled teen & her teacher, simply don't cohere

Intelligent, Great writing, Great acting, Thought-provoking

See it if Interracial gay dads are impacted by infidelity, white privilege, and their angry daughter's vendetta against her white teacher.

Don't see it if "White people can't believe that we have lives beyond our skin/I'm a black student and you're a white teacher and it'll be seen that way." Read more

Insipid, Banal

See it if You enjoy seeing new work and have patience for scenes that feel like "playwrighting 101". Insipid behavior by psycho kid & cheating dad.

Don't see it if You hate contrived 2 character scenes that are lots of talk & unbelievable in the extreme. Nobody talks or acts that way. Read more

Critic Reviews (6)

"Trying Too Hard to Be Special: Gay dads and their 'woke genius' daughter face the limitations of life in a patchy new play by Jeff Augustin."
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3/5 Stars "Augustin cleverly puts a mixed-race family at the center of the story, illustrating that although chasing dreams can be more complicated for people of color, ennui is ubiquitous. While it is only 100 minutes long, however, 'The New Englanders' feels unfocused and overstretched."
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"The New Englanders Is Like a Donald Margulies Play With Gay and Black People: Two dads raise a rebellious daughter in New England in Jeff Augustin's latest play."
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"Jeff Augustin's 'THE NEW ENGLANDERS' Seeks To Expand The Perception of Stage Characters of Color"
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3/5 Stars "'Mixed-Race Gay Couple with Daughter Clash': Jeff Augustin's play doesn't quite get to the bottom of a family's incipient dysfunction"
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"The changes in the typical American family are indeed welcome. But these now acceptable new family units have brought on new new issues...And it should thus not come as a surprise that the marriages possible in our more open minded societies don't all follow a blissfully ever after path."
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