The Spoils NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (10)
See it if You want to see an entertaining new show. Very interesting. Very funny too.
Don't see it if You don't like watching people sit around and complain about their problems and each other. But in this case it is very entertaining!
See it if you are a millenial living in NYC and want to see yourself up on stage; you like realistic writing.
Don't see it if you are tremendously bothered by indulgent writing by writer/actors. Jesse's character is the most fleshed-out, and he sandbags the others.
See it if a very edgy, intense, somewhat raunchy off off Broadway show
Don't see it if you are offened by the "c" word (its used alot), you like happy upbeat shows
See it if like seeing a movie star do a nice job on stage. This does not happen often
Don't see it if you don't want to see into the lives of a spoiled kid in his 30's. He is a dick and it worked for me.
See it if you're a fan of Jesse Eisenberg (he both wrote it and stars).
Don't see it if you're in the mood for something light.
See it if You are a fan of Jesse Eisenberg
Don't see it if You are squeamish or easily offended.
See it if You're interested in social issues explored by celebrity talent.
Don't see it if You're more interested in upbeat or bombastic works.
See it if You like quick paced comedy.
Don't see it if You want an ending that doesn't feel forced and contrite.
Critic Reviews (28)
"An engrossingly acted, impeccably staged production...'The Spoils' needs the fully thought-through, richly acted production it has been given. On the page, it comes across as almost as aimless as Ben. Yet Mr. Eisenberg’s acting experience serves him well as a playwright, and his clever, frantic dialogue assumes an irresistible authenticity when it’s spoken by the right actors."
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"This work is far from a vanity project. The plays themselves are good, and getting progressively better...When Ben’s crap inevitably hits the fan, 'The Spoils' counterbalances it with decency. In Eisenberg’s intensely awkward performance, Ben is both repellent and riveting. He’s a self-dramatizing tragedy: a terror and a pity."
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"If you’re looking for a fast-paced comedy that flies by, you’re in for a treat with 'The Spoils'...Ben truly shows what a procrastinator he is.. A five-star performance; his character will stay in your mind long after the show is over."
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"The result is like watching a YouTube loop of some hapless jerk jumping into a frozen pool, over and over. Eventually you begin to wonder if the play was expressly designed to produce this series of extreme mortifications...Perhaps that’s irrelevant. But even looked at as an anonymous text, 'The Spoils' disappoints... At this point, Eisenberg hasn’t found a way to make even his best shtick very resonant."
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"An unpleasant play can still be satisfying. But an aimless one? Not so much. 'The Spoils,' a modern Manhattan dramedy with a mean streak wider than Broadway, falls, alas, into both categories...Antiheroes can be intriguing. But Ben’s not fascinating... A last-ditch effort to humanize and redeem him doesn’t do it."
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"The cast is terrific and director Scott Elliott finds it in his heart to extend some compassion to Eisenberg’s perfect little beast...And while 'The Spoils' is more of a 'Day in the Life of …' character sketch than a fully constructed drama, it leaves us wanting to find a kind way to put Ben out of his misery."
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"Eisenberg plays his twitchy, overbearing character to unsurprising perfection, but it's hard not to wish he would go in a different direction in his future writing endeavors...'The Spoils' seems far too intent on leaving a sour taste in your mouth without being particularly illuminating."
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"Speedily directed by Scott Elliott, this New Group production barrels through, and the young cast navigates the dense dialogue and snarky remarks with expert ease. The one caveat is a scaredy last-minute cop-out, as if Eisenberg couldn’t quite face what he’d wrought. Still, for the first time in his short career as a playwright, we can’t wait to see what he’ll do next."
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