The Red Letter Plays: Fucking A NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (123)
See it if You enjoy writing that gingerly references classical literature i.e. The Scarlet Letter, that brings a modern twist to an old story
Don't see it if You have no interest in thinking about painful issues like abortion or unlawful imprisonment and a justice system gone awry. Read more
See it if you like Suzan Lori-Parks, quirky writing, unforgiving/unforgivable characters. The show is worth seeing!
Don't see it if you like Brecht and think that derivative plays are a waste of time. This is Mother Courage with a twist
See it if you love a profound and powerful piece of work and Brecht's Epic theater
Don't see it if you prefer a more indulgence in theater
See it if Christine Lahti as Hester carriesher letter A spectacularly well. Parks play is engagingly dark and inventive. Refreshingly now!
Don't see it if Adult themes and dark tales bother you
See it if you aren't afraid of dark, violent subject matter that is intelligently written and beautifully acted and staged. There's also music!
Don't see it if you don't like dark, intense, violent subject matter with a dystopian view of the world.
See it if you enjoy Suzan-Lori Parks' work and are looking for something different and a bit challenging.
Don't see it if you want a straightforward plot and theme production.
See it if You enjoy new forms of drama that experiment with different styles, or if you like work similar to that of Brecht.
Don't see it if You dislike tense, bloody plays or dystopian dramas.
See it if Dark, fatalistic early SLP work with a Brechtian spin. Bonney's top-notch direction leavens unrelenting bleakness with moments of hope
Don't see it if Brechtian didactics & uncompromising script (with brutal subject matter/misogynistic themes) may be fatiguing. Outstanding ensemble, though
Critic Reviews (30)
"The play’s tragic ending approaches the level of Greek tragedy. The play is enhanced by musical interludes...The casting of Lahti as Hester is an interesting case of nontraditional casting in reverse. The role has been traditionally played by a black actor. Casting a white actor shifts the basis for much of the injustice from race to class. Fortunately, the play can support either interpretation...Jo Bonney’s confident direction holds everything together."
Read more
"Both productions sock you in the gut with their visceral and violent imagery...Bonney’s staging emphasizes the allegorical aspects of Parks’ script which takes on a more Brechtian tone....Though we are always aware we are sitting in a theater and never identify with the people onstage as much as we do with those from 'In the Blood,' Parks’ prescient insights are particularly haunting...The cast...provides piercing perspective on damages wrought by misogyny and class oppression."
Read more
"I have long admired the work of Christine Lahti and here she is at full force as Hester Smith...One element that seems superfluous and pretentious is the foreign language known as Talk...although perhaps that does add somewhat to the eerie overall effect of the production, an ambiance that Bonney maintains...You may at times wince from what you are watching, and yet the acting and the author’s bleak outlook on humanity, entwined with the theatricality, are powerful."
Read more
"An ambitious work that turned out to be neither a reimagining of nor a response to the 1850 literary classic...but instead something wholly its own...A fresh, stirring revival...An updated classical tragedy fraught with contemporary societal issues...Lahti is transcendent as Hester, her every gesture signaling the utter desperation she feels...Parks is fierce in her writing, which sparkles with overt and subtle dichotomies that bring it all together beautifully."
Read more
“'Fucking A' doesn’t really sustain itself over its two-hour-plus running time. That’s the takeaway from director Bonney’s occasionally stirring revival…The plot is intricate and a bit of a mess…The action also grinds to a halt every few minutes for one of Parks’ original songs…Lahti…makes Hester a paragon of both abjectness and steely determination in dire circumstances. But the script, including the abrupt twists of the bloody and tragic climax, keeps letting her down.”
Read more
"Lahti plays Hester with sour wit and brittle dignity. Here again Parks artfully exposes the hypocrisy of those who denounce Hester...But the second of her 'Red Letter Plays' becomes overstuffed as prostitution, lynching, mass incarceration and Homer’s 'Odyssey' are all thrown into the mix. Moreover...the stylized dialogue, broadly sketched characters, and off-key musical interludes feel like Bertolt Brecht-by-numbers. 'Fucking A' has a lot of points to make, but they’re a little too blunt."
Read more
"Racing story lines of society, sexuality, violence and revenge click into place with Parks' dramatic writing and the riveting performers...The songs, reminiscent of Brecht and Weill, are biting and personal. While none will linger in the Great American Songbook, they lend power and humor to the show's vengeance and passion...A blood-soaked and grisly production, 'Fucking A' gives vent to a contemporary unease of violence, misogyny, hopelessness and economic malaise that's hard to shake off."
Read more
"The emotional stakes of the action are never given the opportunity to compete with the metatheatrical drapery...Ms. Lahti comes up short when it is her turn to offer a foil to the gallows humor, an emotional entry point which will bring both aspects of the drama into sharper relief."
Read more