The Show-Off NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (32)
See it if Love satire/comedy with good dialogues & distinct characters portrayed by good cast. Like old American plays with good period set & costumes
Don't see it if U don't like revival of dated period defined plays because U unfairly judge them with today's perspective without appreciating their value. Read more
See it if you enjoy a glimpse into a time past. There are strong characters, taught writing with a twist ending. I prefer "nostalgic" to dated.
Don't see it if you cannot enjoy (or understand?) a play that is set in a time before the internet. There is still shine on this old play.
See it if you would like to see a comedy with some serious notes, set in the 1920's. An old-fashioned, annoying focal point who makes good.
Don't see it if you dislike family comedy-dramas set in the 1920's, with a main character that entertains, but that you detest. Read more
See it if you enjoy a well-crafted play, but could be played for more comedy.
Don't see it if Edward Albee is your cup of tea.
See it if you want an escape from the usual fare to a place and time that was pure, simple, and delightful. This show was sweet without being cloying.
Don't see it if you need harsh anything for a theatrical experience to be worthwhile. This is a delicate piece, perfectly performed, and very charming too.
See it if You want to see a pleasant but pointless play. To me it seems to be a well done production of a not very good play.
Don't see it if You’re looking for something with a lot of depth or meaning. This is well done but I just don’t get what it was done for.
See it if you like a witty comedy about characters who are regular people, not over the top. I enjoyed the playwright's true to life dialogue.
Don't see it if you like dark comedy or dysfunctional families. The interactions between family members are very realistic and often very funny.
See it if Good ensemble play about a family in the 1920's . Traditional and representative of another time. Funny and sad. Well acted.
Don't see it if You do not like dated dramas about families and relationships.
Critic Reviews (21)
"A disjointed production...Its chief asset is Annette O’Toole...The dramatic sparks between Ms. O’Toole and Mr. Schneider suggest what the production might have been if all of the principals were operating on the same aesthetic plane. Instead, there is an awkward jumble of acting styles...In the battle between Mrs. Fisher and this vulgar interloper, the deck is heavily stacked, and that makes 'The Show-Off' no fun at all."
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"In this mostly miscast production, indifferently staged by the troupe’s artistic director, Wackerman, nothing shines. To be fair, however, it’s not just the staging that seems lacking; 'The Show-Off' doesn’t have much underneath its dust...Though meant to amuse, the antics of this lying narcissist don’t seem very funny, and sudsy subplots inspire the actors to play Act II like a drama—with deadly results...They say that comedy is tragedy plus time. Comedy plus time, in this case, is tragic."
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"'The Show-Off' is ostensibly a comedy, but the truth is that it's not very funny, at least not as directed by Dan Wackerman...One wonders if we would actually laugh at this jazz-age clown as portrayed by a more natural comedian; here, we just grimace to the sound of crickets...American audiences have delighted in the redemption of this shyster for 92 years (and six Broadway revivals), but 2017 might just be the year that 'The Show-Off' ceases to amuse."
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"Perhaps Kelly's great success has grown too old for contemporary audiences to be easily familiar with its comedic targets...The rather thin plot is stretched to the limit, leading to a possible redemption for the rascal. The period flavor presented by director Wackerman's talented ensemble helps coax the material along, but 'The Show-Off' comes off more as a historic curiosity than a worthy obscurity."
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"The current Peccadillo revival leaves one wondering why it should be considered a comedy at all...Dan Wackerman's production lays bare the creaks in Kelly's script. It begins with a flurry of exposition that leaves one wondering if it will ever get going. A subplot, about the youngest member of the Fisher clan and his industrial invention, is the baldest of plot devices...Indeed, the designers' contributions are far more compelling than the text that they have worked so assiduously to support."
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"An American classic of long standing, George Kelly's 'The Show-Off' may have dated. However, as has often been seen with legendary Moliere comedies, the right style will make all the difference. Dan Wackerman's handling of 'The Show-Off' has deflated the high-jinks and satire that is very much in evidence in this long admired character study of a typically American type. It is left to the right director to bring out the brilliance in this 1920's comedy in some future revival."
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"George Kelly's 1924 consistently amusing dramatic comedy shows how un-musty a 93-year-old play can be thanks to the adroitly addressed direction of Dan Wackerman and his responsive ensemble...It remains for the many splendid performers and their delivery of Kelly's crisp dialogue to glide over the play's few exposed seams...This is no resurrected trifle, but a well-written and worthy revival of a comedy classic."
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"There’s a reason it’s so little revived, it really isn’t a great play. And what may have been funny and topical in 1924, is nigh unto incomprehensible in 2017...Although I will admit that the second act is better than the first, the ending is jaw-droppingly ridiculous, and just plain unbelievable. It’s a shame really that so much good work has been put into the production of a play that just can’t reward the effort of either the actors and crew or the audience."
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