The White Devil

See it if Great staging and costumes. Good direction makes this worth while.

Don't see it if Can be confusing at times. A long show 2.5 hours. Must pay attention . If you want something on the lighter side.

See it if Proske's techno-modernized staging of Webster's Jacobean revenge tragedy works fairly well in drawing parallels to our current polarizarion

Don't see it if As the machinations intensify & the body count rises, confusion (and fatigue) sets in Some actors more comfortable than others w/stylization

See it if to catch a rare revival of this Jacobean tragedy, enjoy violent bloodletting, murders & manipulation, along with irredeemable characters

Don't see it if difficulty clarifying many characters' relationships & with Jacobean language, don't like onstage murders & violence, like decent characters

See it if you appreciate excellent ensemble work and because it is a rarely done historic piece.

Don't see it if violence and revenge expressed in Elizabethan English doesn't sound like fun. It is a very long play.

See it if you enjoy seeing a 1612 play with a lot of violent action. Very good acting and staging and use of video. You need a strong stomach.

Don't see it if you don't like a lot of violence. This is a Red Bull production. There is a lot of talk of revenge. These are not nice characters.

Also Robert Cuccioli had a great part as a Cardinal and Pope. If you are a fan, go see this show. I like seeing these very old plays which are not often done.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy bloody, Shakespeare wanna-be plays with lots of evil characters, an occasional god fearing one and a compromised cardinal/pope.

Don't see it if you have trouble keeping track of who is who; play summary invaluable for keeping track of the characters. Some good acting/some very weak

See it if Red Bull Theatre is your thing

Don't see it if Jacobean dialogue is hard for to understand

See it if you are curious. Red Bull usually does good things.

Don't see it if you dislike bare stage, no set. Audience on three sides. Written in 1600's yet modern dress, nothing made sense, ending absurd use of drills

Also A real disappointment for Red Bull. Poorly directed, poor choices. Theater is uncomfortable, sight lines bad.... Read more Read less

See it if You are willing to give little known Jacobean play a chance, it's like watching lesser Shakespeare . ..in a tight production

Don't see it if You hate Shakespeare , duplicity , murder, and/or mayhem...in modern dress

See it if You like old plays or are interested in the historical time capsule that is Jacobean revenge tragedy.

Don't see it if You're expecting Shakespeare. The language is less lyrical and the action less urbane. Popes and blood abound.

See it if Jacobean theatre for the modern audience. Highly committed actors. Something different.

Don't see it if A lot to swallow and to digest. Dizzying. Period language.

See it if You are interested in dramatic history. This Jacobean play shows us that man's propensity to violent behavior has not changed.

Don't see it if You hold hope that man has evolved and prefer not to be reminded of how cruel we can be to one another.

See it if You like old plays to be given new life. Red Bull excels at this - great directing and staging, even though the play was rather confusing.

Don't see it if You only like modern writing, or you only like old plays to be staged classically. Terrific acting enhances the intelligent directing.

See it if you like Shakespearean type comedy/drama. I couldn't make up my mind about this production.

Don't see it if you like more traditional fare. In this production the dialogue was Shakespearean but the clothing was modern day

See it if a modern staging of a Jacobean tragedy interests you. This one is intelligently and lucidly spoken, so it is fairly understandable.

Don't see it if the idea of VR, drills, machine guns and closed circuit TV in a Jacobean drama bothers you. A lot didn't work and was laugable at times.

See it if You like Jacobean drama. Bold and bloody villains .A play that brings out the worst in everyone.

Don't see it if Deceit, adultery, murder, varieties of torture: poison, power tools, strangulation by bar bell. And my seat wasn't all that comfortable.

Also It's a 17th century revenge play. Webster would have felt right at home writing slasher movies, but his dialogue is better and his world-view though dark is more philosophical than "Halloween".The play's main female character the adulterous Vittoria is strong and intelligent. She is surprisingly sympathetic amongst a mob of murderous men. It's quite entertaining once you get accept all the mayhem. It's performed straight up but with the slightest wink in the eye of the actors and you can just make out the tongue in the cheek..... Read more Read less

See it if If you like the Webster and the genre.

Don't see it if You don't like 2 1/2 hours of confusing dialogue.

See it if rarely done Jacobean revenge tragedy approached as contemporary comedy of intrigue; know the plot: set-ups & motives not clearly staged

Don't see it if some glaring miscasting mixed with true classical theatre pros; style at times substitutes for directorial vision

Also It may well be that more familiarity with a text is required before such contemporary updates as Proske attempts can be successful in the theatre. As this mounting of a rarely-produced play of heightened language demonstrates, it is sometimes effortful for an audience to follow the stage & design "translations" that are being made for us.
That said, there are some intelligent & witty choices on display in this sometimes confusing dystopian maze of deceit & lust. The reconfiguration of the Lortel into a thrust stage effectively brings the actors into a more direct relationship with the audience. Video is used for some Jacobean stage conventions: ghosts & dumb shows, among others. A virtual reality game offers a clever updating of a wedding joust, with a poisonous VR mask standing in for a helmet.
Proske is not ultimately convincing in making a case for Webster as a playwright for our times. The retributive patterns of the plot lack a moral vision here--which isn't the case in Webster.... Read more Read less

See it if You like the combination of modern dress/props/staging with classic language. You are interested in plays from the 1600s.

Don't see it if You have a hard time with Shakespearean-style language. You don’t like dark humor or drama.

Also I fully enjoyed this. I thought the staging was marvelous - the use of projections was interesting and well done. There were a few things that they may have meant in earnest which came across as campy, but overall the effect was good.

The acting was quite good, both the “leads” and the actors who played multiple roles.

I was captivated by the story and actually interested in the characters and their fates.

Very much recommended for people who like old classic dramatic plays with murder and sex and violence.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see plays that sound Shakespearean but aren't and want to support Red Bull,

Don't see it if you don't want to work to understand what's being said, especially when, unlike Shakespeare's plays, it doesn't entirely reward the work.

See it if Great to see this classic Webster (Shakespeare's contemporary). Go to catch a different work of the same time period. Super actresses perfs~

Don't see it if Uneven (save 1) male performances, & odd choice of wardrobe making lead love Interest a guido! Its v updated (video) which is hit or miss~

See it if Splendid ensemble acting and directing. Difficult play to watch since it lacks any moral value. This is a play where characters lean towards

Don't see it if you do not appreciate the atmosphere of a Jacobean tragedy

Also towards profoundly immoral and wicked, as they exist in a sinful world, of death, treachery, cruelty, and falsehood. They do bad things in the name of love, but I do not believe they know what true love is.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy Webster's work, and Jacobean drama.

Don't see it if you want to see a truly great revival of an outrageous play...the production tries, but does not quite succeed at measuring up to the text.

See it if You enjoy overwrought acting and terrible direction.

Don't see it if You’re expecting to see a work performed in a setting and appointed appropriate to its time. This is “updated” without discernible reason

See it if You want to be totally confused from the moment the actors enter the stage. You like blood, gore, spit and actors playing more than role.

Don't see it if You want a clear storyline with more subdued performances. This was all over the place.

Also I really wanted to get into this but it was just one mass confusion. At times I felt that the actors were adlibbing their parts. I couldn't figure out where or when this took place. No costumes to speak of, bare set except for a sliding glass door and blinds. Too many characters being played by too few actors. Way too long at two and a half hours. Screens in the background showing movies of the action. Honestly I saw at least three people dozing during Act 1. They didn't stay around for Act 2. I know this type of show with the Old English dialect will find its audience, but not for me. Word of advice....if you sit in the first row, bring an umbrella or you're likely to be spit on!... Read more Read less