The Portuguese Kid NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (190)
See it if like Jason.. It was cute..
Don't see it if it was ok, cute.. No reason not to see.. I thought it would be funnier
See it if You want something light and funny. The acting was good and the story was just stupid, yet entertaining.
Don't see it if You want something laugh out loud funny. Want something deep.
See it if you like farces that are funny with clever dialog, great acting, excellent sets and superb casting.
Don't see it if you dislike silly, fluffy and shallow plays that are have few serious "messages" and perceptions and are "raunchy."
See it if you want a madcap nonstop comedy, very current with references to Trump . Don't mind sexual and ethnic references/humor. Light and funny
Don't see it if Want something deep and meaningful. Don't like sexual references. Are easily offended by ethnic humor.
See it if you love Jason Alexander (and/or Sherie Rene Scott) and don't want to miss anything he (they) does.
Don't see it if you want to see something original.
See it if you’d enjoy rom-com w/ expected outcome or want to see Jason Alexander perform on intimate stage. Mary Testa’s character & stage was great.
Don't see it if you prefer your plays with great susbstance.
See it if Sheree Renee Scott was hysterical. Jason Alexander -- no so much. There were a lot of very funny lines/moments, but somehow it did not
Don't see it if funny. There were also many moments of pathos, which did not seem in character with the comedy. it just did not seem to know what it was. Read more
See it if It is light fun with some good actors. If you like little romcoms that are smart and well acted, you should see.
Don't see it if If you're looking for something weightier or important.
Critic Reviews (38)
"Shanley, who also directs, has attempted to write a warm-hearted farce. But where the heart ought to be there’s nothing but the shifting gears of a playwright pushing characters into outlandish situations that are rarely amusing...Shanley has directed the younger actors to match Scott’s Energizer Bunny mannerisms tic for nervous tic...Alexander should be credited for not delivering an equally fraught performance, even when the writing calls for it."
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“A new overripened affair...There are plenty of laughs on hand...While dramatically suspect, Testa positively fuels the play; one can only imagine how flat things might fall without her entrances—like clockwork—whenever Shanley needs a spark...Alexander and Scott both give their all, despite the hand (and lines) they’ve been dealt...The kids are as effective as necessary, getting the laughs Shanley provides."
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“This alleged romantic comedy is about as buoyant as a lead balloon and as original as a Trump joke...There are some funny one-liners, but far fewer hits than misses... Scott was the only one who appeared to be having a good time. The others acted as if they wished they were somewhere else. I know I did...The revolving sets and the costumes were up to their usual high standards. I wish I could say the same about the efforts of the playwright."
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"'The Portuguese Kid' doesn’t soar, but the playwright’s trademark wit and a crackerjack cast at least get it off the ground...There are uproarious laughs and sharp characterizations, briskly directed by Shanley, but the predictable plot runs out of steam before the 90 minute running time...Despite the familiarity of the premise, 'Kid' is an enjoyable, if forgettable comedy."
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"Shanley’s comedy...offers a certain amount of laugh opportunity, not from great writing, but as a vehicle for a good cast who can mine the most out of lines and situations even when the plot becomes rather limp...Shanley’s writing is only intermittently funny along the way, but his cast members consistently come to the rescue as they make the most of everything they are given and are an entertaining lot...Overall this is only a somewhat diverting time in the theater."
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"A comedy regarding inexplicable sexual desire, the play is an underdone mélange of farce, Greek mythological references, insult humor, and extrasensory connections. The dramaturgy here is surprisingly desultory...Shanley manages to massage this on-paper mishmash with capable actors and the smartest production values MTC can buy, and the result is one hundred minutes of agreeable, albeit fitful, amusement.”
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"It's an awfully disappointing show...Sexual hijinks are supposed to ensue but what we get are lame jokes that lean heavily on the low humor of ethnic and gender stereotyping, lots of yelling and a few Trump references thrown in for good, or not so good, measure...Even a cast that includes such comic heavyweights as Scott, Alexander and the redoubtable Testa as Barry's overbearing and overprotective mother can't get this one off the ground."
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"A delightful new comedy...If this sounds like a lot. It is. And it all works. This is a play that feels like a play—the kind that writers don’t really write anymore...It’s John Patrick Shanley’s version of a Neil Simon relationship comedy; a silly romp with likable, quick-witted characters who have no real problems but for the ones they create for themselves, and each other, as drinks are poured and doors slammed."
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