The Plough and the Stars NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (55)
See it if You enjoy brilliant storytelling.
Don't see it if You can’t handle very tragic drama.
See it if ... you’re interested in what happens to ordinary people in the wings of history while a big historical event is being played out onstage.
Don't see it if ... you have a romantic view of Irish history in general and the Easter Rising in particular, and don’t want to be disabused of that view.
See it if You want to see the Irish Rep at its best. Outstanding, heartfelt, and sad play exploring the Easter Rising in 1916.
Don't see it if You have trouble with Irish accents or don’t enjoy historical dramas. Read more
See it if You are ready to see one of Sean O'Casey's plays performed by real pros & especially if Irish history intrigues you!
Don't see it if You are not interested in history, especially Irish history
See it if Good production of this important play. Still relevant
Don't see it if The play is very depressing Read more
See it if You like classic Irish theatre, are interested in the 1916 uprising
Don't see it if You struggle with strong accents, don't like the slight melodrama of a period piece, aren't interested in Irish history
See it if If you are an O’Casey fan, enjoy well acted, verbally dense, emotionally charged, politically insightful, and classic drama.
Don't see it if You are looking for something light and breezy, have no interest in war themes and politics, and have difficulty understanding Irish brogues
See it if Outstanding culmination of IRT's O'Casey Trilogy! Same evocative set holds cast of 14 in it's brutal depiction of 1916 Easter Rebellion
Don't see it if Outside of occasional garbled, overlapping dialogue (often due to high passions) not much to fault Clancy & Plunkett lead impassioned cast
Critic Reviews (15)
"Having also helmed that inaugural Irish Rep production of the play thirty years ago, director Charlotte Moore knows these characters well, perhaps even better than O'Casey knew them himself. While it's easy to get lost in O'Casey's verbosity, Moore continually focuses our sympathy where it should be and makes effective use of a talented cast to distract from some choppy plotting in the loosely connected acts."
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”See this production for several reasons: because it's O'Casey in rep being put on by one of New York's most vibrant off-broadway companies; because it has something to say about what is happening in our society today; because MaryAnn Plunkett's talent will make you feel compassion for someone you thought you despised."
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“O’Casey’s themes of nationalism, divisiveness, religious freedoms and ‘rights,’ the merits of socialism, and fantasy versus reality counterpoint powerfully with the current political climate in the United States and throughout Europe. Charlotte Moore directs the cast with a passionate commitment to excellence. Her staging brings out the best in each actor and assures that each actor’s character is fully developed and differentiated.”
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"Making it all work to brilliant effect is…Corcoran's remarkable set-which also turns the surrounding walls into those of a Dublin slum…The unusually well-balanced cast contains too many notable performances…so I'll note only the stirring performance of Maryann Plunkett as Bessie…Director Charlotte Moore…has made 'The Plough and the Stars' a powerhouse of electrifying acting, helping each actor create indelible verbal and physical images that resonate with feeling and meaning."
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"Weariness seems to have gotten the best of the cast and there were stretches of overly-accented dialog that I couldn’t understand. It also took too long to figure out all the relationships between the characters. But, under the direction of the Rep’s artistic director Charlotte Moore, the show still manages to get across O’Casey’s disillusionment with all sides in the conflict."
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"With almost a century of postcolonial struggle that followed 'The Plough and the Stars' - including, of course, the recent border issues raised by Brexit -the safe and conservative choices by Moore feel practically anemic."
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"'Plough' has its funny moments, most of them in Act 1. O’Casey had a fondness for dark humor. He populated the play with undereducated barflies from the lower depths who wax philosophical and political, the kind Eugene O’Neill would love. They are funny in a sad way, an Irish way...Part of O’Casey’s genius lies in his talent for depicting tragedy in situations that could simply be melodramatic."
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