Tiny Beautiful Things NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (202)
See it if You want to see a play told simply, with great emotional heft and resonance in everyday life.
Don't see it if You want a straight foward story with a beginning, middle and end.
See it if You want to see fantastic actors in a wonderful, thought provoking show.
Don't see it if You want a light time at the theater. This play will make you think. At one point basically everyone in the audience was crying.
See it if You love great, insightful writing and flawless delivery.
Don't see it if You are expecting a comedy or mindless entertainment.
See it if believe in the power of the human spirit and the beauty in helping others by sharing your experience.
Don't see it if You don’t want to see a deeply emotional show Read more
See it if you want a talky play that has something to say.It had me in tears at the end, but there was a lot of laughter before that point.Very moving
Don't see it if you want a play with traditional plot.This is series of Dear Abby type letters, but on a deeper emotional, philosophical level. Excellent
See it if Clever play about an advice columnist. Intelligent, witty and at times brutally honest.
Don't see it if The play talks explicitly at times about sex, drugs, relationships, etc. It may not be for the squeamish.
See it if If you like musicals and like Carole King's music. Good story of her life and career.
Don't see it if You do not like musicals and are looking for serious plays. You do not like Carole King's music.
See it if If you’re a fan of the song writer
Don't see it if F
Critic Reviews (42)
“Vardalos delivers a powerful performance as Sugar...Under Kail’s fluid direction, the actors offer authentic performances, giving each character a believable personality…Attending a performance of 'Tiny Beautiful Things' is like seeing dozens of plays whose characters, conflicts, settings, and themes change with every twist of the kaleidoscope revealing the tiny beautiful things that make us human, and vulnerable, finite, and resourceful–full of grace and truth.”
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“Even as well performed as the show is…85 uninterrupted minutes of it is asking for trouble. It's the kind of material many people prefer to read in dribs and drabs…; on stage, though, with one letter and response following the other, with the letter writers being generalized figures (only subtle hints differentiate one from the other), and with the only dramatic tension residing in what the next letter might say, there's plenty of room for boredom to invade the premises.”
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"Whether it be the revisions, the cast changes, or simply the luxury of two months of prior playing time, 'Tiny Beautiful Things' plays considerably better now than the first time round...What was formerly admirable and well-meaning is now a heart-tugging, emotionally rewarding evening with no qualifications...Vardalos takes Strayed’s book and translates the magic to the stage."
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"With a compelling stage presence, Vardalos portrays Sugar...Vardalos puts plenty of feeling and sincerity into Sugar’s personal responses. Occasionally the back-and-forth becomes a bit wearisome, as all of the inquiries aren’t dealing with momentous problems, but there are also significantly poignant moments...The content runs the gamut of human experience and difficulties."
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"There's no narrative...Kail moves everyone nicely around Rachel Hauck's homey set, but I got antsy after the first 15-minutes. That’s partly because I’m not big on the pop psychology that gets peddled in most advice columns. But it’s also because most of the show's dialog sounds like the kind of aphorisms you might find on posters at your local yoga studio...But that’s just me. Most of the folks seemed enraptured...So the decision about whether you should see it is up to you."
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"No matter what difficult subject Strayed tackles, there is someone in the audience who has lived it...Knowing that and being a part of that gives the evening a kinetic poignancy that is cathartic and moving. That exchange exists nowhere else but in live theatre, and is brilliantly displayed in this stunning production. Bottom Line: Cheryl Strayed’s 'Tiny Beautiful Things' is a powerful and moving testament to the strength and resilience of the soul."
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“On stage, Sugar’s narcissism is exacerbated because the play doesn’t use any dramatic device to create a piece of narrative. There is no sense of jeopardy, no progression, no development of Strayed as a character…There are also some piercing moments toward the end, where the brevity of Strayed’s writing again proves so much more powerful than the gloopy, be-your-best-self sermonizing preceding it…They are too brief and fleeting...A little too late, Sugar acquires some snap.”
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“Vardalos brings a forthright sensibility to the role of Strayed…And she shows even more restraint in adapting the material, letting Strayed’s own lyricism and storytelling speak for itself…It’s easy to see the appeal—her advice can seem both homespun and hard-won…She’s also attuned to the possibility of forgiveness—even, perhaps hardest of all, of our own shortcomings...And that’s a message that resonates, even in the slender form of a theater piece.”
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