The Undertaking NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (17)
See it if you like experimental theater, or are deeply interested in how societies & individuals confront death.
Don't see it if you have little appetite for experiment in the theater, or if looking at death makes you squeamish. Read more
See it if you want to see some excellent projections designed by Tal Yarden.
Don't see it if you enjoy plays with character development, an arc, and a plot. Don't go if you feel tired—the slow pacing will be sleep inducing.
See it if you want a play about mortality based on real interviews - embalmer, philosopher, woman with cancer, someone who lost friends to Aids
Don't see it if the two actors act out the roles of the various interviewees with varying degrees of success - more in the very beginning and the rest drags Read more
See it if You like workshop style musings on death and dying with some clever stage effects
Don't see it if You want profound insight or a developed story or characters
See it if you want to see superb actors who take on more than one role.
Don't see it if you are looking for insights on death. You won't find that in this play.
See it if You are a Civilian completist. A new slant on their well researched works, this one is a bit sleepy (or I was) in its investigation of death
Don't see it if You want a play, not a folksy report on views of death, passing over, and whether there is something after.
See it if You want to see two very good actors handle complex and thought-provoking questions of death and afterlife.
Don't see it if You don't want to see a show that is too long for the amount it has to say.
See it if You like pondering the big questions of death and the hereafter.
Don't see it if You are looking for a plot in the ABC form.
Critic Reviews (19)
"The show is about confronting death, and it is both absorbingly universal and unusually personal. Two versatile actors, Dan Domingues and Aysan Celik, portray several people interviewed for the project...But mostly they play Cosson and his friend Lydia, a Brazilian artist who offers to be his guide into the underworld...Cosson braves looking confused and even faintly ridiculous. But that, the play suggests, is the price of engagement. The fog on the mirror is a sign of life."
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"'These interviews are neither diverse nor digested, resulting in a show that feels both thin and unenlightening...Feels more self-involved than bravely personal. The fact that Cosson's fear derives from no immediate health concern only serves to lower the stakes...Thankfully, Cosson includes other voices in the show...Their stories and observations give the piece some much-needed outside perspective, but the interviews feel less contextualized than they could be."
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“There's no other show like it. The two-hander explores matters that people must confront in a totally inventive way...Both Domingues and Celik make seamless character transitions that bring fascinating perspectives to the show...’The Undertaking’ presents the subject of mortality in an informative and even entertaining manner. It takes a topic that people are often hesitant to deal with and makes it entirely approachable. This is a show that should be experienced.”
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“At best, modestly successful...For rather too much of the time, however, these stimulating folks are preempted by Steve and Lydia and their seemingly endless talk about what it all means to them...Far from a disaster-- the actors are too skillful, the supporting characters too engaging...Still, it drags...Next to the company's better efforts, 'The Undertaking' comes off as a rather thin exercise diluted by excessive navel-gazing."
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“Domingues and Celik are both fine actors...But the work overall is too trapped in the real Steve Cosson's vision...The play would be better served by expanding on the use of the interviews to more deeply examine the complex issues surrounding death and dying, or by digging more into the psychological profile of the character of Steve. As it stands, both components are frustratingly underdeveloped...The production lacks a much-needed cohesiveness and unnecessarily obscures its subject matter."
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“Dull, smug and interminable...80-minute hodgepodge...Physical staging ranges from sedate to overdrive, with the actors incited to be manic. The ending, however, does have an affirmative simplicity...A slew of quirky snippets lacking depth and focus. These combined with the busy presentation all make for a slog...If it were performed at a museum, ‘The Undertaking’ would be the sort of thing one could inquisitively watch for a while and then leave to look at something else.”
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"Jordan: It’s amazing how funny and light this play can be sometimes...Ran: Steve and Lydia have a very endearing way of talking about death, suffering, and fear...Jordan: These are two really strong performances...Ran: One of the most effective multimedia uses I’ve seen in a while...Ran: I was skeptical because the show tackles the subject, death, in a very intellectual way...Jordan: The intellectual elements are often quite satisfying though."
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"A fascinating dialogue whose characters, sounds, and immersive imagery further develop our relationship with death. If you're a big fan of Richard Linklater dialogue, then this production is guaranteed to captivate...'The Undertaking' holds less immediate dramatic tension than most plays...Cosson has created a new, accessible dramatized symposium on death. Those fortunate enough to see 'The Undertaking,' may find something necessary to accept death as an inevitable part of life."
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