The Object Lesson
Closed 1h 40m
The Object Lesson
70

The Object Lesson NYC Reviews and Tickets

70%
(106 Ratings)
Positive
64%
Mixed
23%
Negative
13%
Members say
Clever, Quirky, Ambitious, Disappointing, Great staging

About the Show

Actor-illusionist Geoff Sobelle’s immersive theatrical installation turns New York Theatre Workshop into a storage facility of gargantuan proportion, where audiences are free to roam and poke through the clutter.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (106)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
79 Reviews | 20 Followers
85
Ambitious, Confusing, Masterful, Quirky, Thought-provoking

See it if You are open minded, playful, polite and interested in participating in an experience that involves ideas of object memory and perminance

Don't see it if You need to be comfortable and don't want to have to move around to see things or if you want to see a traditional play

61 Reviews | 28 Followers
80
Clever, Enchanting, Exquisite, Thought-provoking, Masterful

See it if you like immersive theatre. This piece is a new form of its genre and you shouldn't miss.

Don't see it if you feel claustrophobic about space.

ABG
162 Reviews | 72 Followers
80
Confusing, Enchanting at moments, Occasionally boring, Refreshing, Sometimes joyous

See it if You love great clowning, transformed theatrical spaces, existential pontificating.

Don't see it if You have a bad back.

112 Reviews | 19 Followers
79
Absorbing, Refreshing

See it if You like new and different evening - not quite the immersive theater of today, not quite a standard one man show - something in between

Don't see it if You are wedded to specific story line or plot Read more

238 Reviews | 33 Followers
79
Clever, Entertaining, Great staging, Edgy

See it if You want a unique theater experience. One man climbs the box lined walls in a horder's nightmare space and tells stories, finds treasures.

Don't see it if You can't tolerate clutter & lots of people sitting all over the place on top of boxes, on the floor; feels a little like a lunatic assylum.

714 Reviews | 253 Followers
79
Clever, Resonant, Ambitious, Dizzying, Thought-provoking

See it if You love interactive theatre, performance art, storytelling, and/or clowning that has deeper meaning.

Don't see it if You prefer to sit in a seat (not on a box) and see a play with a plot. This is inventive storytelling with props and audience participation.

53 Reviews | 17 Followers
79
Clever, Refreshing

See it if You can get past a First 1/2 hr that meanders aimlessly...weak, then brilliant and original.

Don't see it if You want plot...this is performance art

407 Reviews | 66 Followers
79
Clever, Delightful, Confusing, Ambitious, Edgy

See it if you enjoy mime, clever use of electronics, illusion and wry comedy

Don't see it if clutter scares you

Critic Reviews (35)

Theater Pizzazz
February 19th, 2017

"For everyone who stores, keeps, won’t let go of, and makes excuses for items that no longer have any redeeming value (nostalgia or otherwise) – this one’s for you!... This immersive, more to the point, big question mark of a production, gives Sobelle a platform as a theater artist and teacher, a place to practice the art of sublime ridiculous in his conquest of seeing the absurd live and grow...Be prepared to witness the most unusual salad making technique ever seen...anywhere!"
Read more

Theater Pizzazz
February 14th, 2017

"Slow, tedious, and boring. At 100 minutes, it feels like an endless, pretentious piece of claptrap...It takes Sobelle so long to get his ideas across that one loses interest long before each eventual teeny, tiny example of his theme is presented...Most of the audience must sit on boxes for the entire length of the play, so one suspects that the standing ovation at the end is as much a result of a desire to get up off the boxes as soon as possible, as it is for the approval of the play."
Read more

Front Row Center
March 3rd, 2017

"We are caught in the finest of nets, placed exactly in the center of Sobelle’s magic spell. Delighted to be so...Sobelle leads us on what appears to be a random journey. Part clown, part jester, part trickster, he sails from box to box...The performance concludes with one of the b-e-s-t magic tricks I have ever seen...Unfortunately, it is also one of the l-o-n-g-e-s-t tricks I have ever seen...Get a ticket for this limited run and sit as high up as you can–literally and figuratively."
Read more

Front Mezz Junkies
February 9th, 2017

"A valiant attempt of creating something unique. Sometimes the reminiscing and ‘play’ seem drawn out and repetitive...Sobelle imbues a humanity and sincerity that is lovely and engaging...It was poetic for about the first third, but then, as with most of the vignettes, the charm starts to wear off...There are moments of humor and wit along side other tidbits of emotional engagement, but spaces so dead and empty that it's hard to stay connected."
Read more

Theatre Reviews Limited
February 9th, 2017

"'The Object Lesson' is an important exercise and worth the visit...The impact of Geoff Sobelle’s immersive experience is sometimes diminished by the nature of the piece itself – something both Mr. Sobelle and director David Neumann should continue to take into consideration. No matter where audience members sit, there are vignettes of 'The Object Lesson' that simply cannot be observed."
Read more

New York Theater
February 9th, 2017

"There are moments, jerry-rigged with makeshift lighting and some surprise stagecraft, that are both funny and, quite improbably, beautiful. It feels like the kind of show designed to give bragging rights to aficionados of way-out theater such as myself. But it also inspires a contemplation of the meaning of objects in our lives, how an evocative old box of memorabilia–even if not your own–can provoke a swift stream of memories."
Read more

The Huffington Post
February 9th, 2017

"Sobelle, ostensibly known for award-winning installations, continues spinning sentences that are notable for adding up to nothing much. In response, the audience occasionally laughs. Otherwise, the attendees are polite throughout...Early on, Sobelle dubs the undertaking a 'bulls**t enterprise.' Let’s give him that final word on one of the most impoverished theater pieces by which this reviewer has ever been assaulted."
Read more

Theater In The Now
February 24th, 2017

“An extraordinary work of art…Through illusion, clowning, and storytelling, the installation piece becomes a jungle gym of wonderment…Sobelle’s innate skills for storytelling are on display here…Sobelle’s narratives are captivating…There are certain beats that drag on a bit too long…The staging is intricate and precise. Every moment is well calculated…’The Object Lesson’ is continuing to remind audiences the diversity when it comes to how theater can be made and told.”
Read more