Torch Song (Off-Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (377)
See it if See if you have OR have not seen the original. Plot as relevant today as in the 80's A touching story-Michael Urie & cast are outstanding.
Don't see it if No reason not to see unless you are homophobic.
See it if You enjoy coming of age stories and life lessons and want a solid cry
Don't see it if You don’t want to see a play full of heart and pure raw emotion
See it if You want to see a lovely production of this WONDERFUL script. Moving and heartbreaking. Michael Uri and Mercedes Rules give great perf.
Don't see it if You are looking for light fare or a musical.
See it if you love great, touching theater.
Don't see it if You have a problem with gay men.
See it if You want to see great performances by Michael and Mercedes. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry being transported back to a time we’ve luckily outgrown
Don't see it if You don’t want to be emotionally affected by a call to the not so distant past
See it if If want to see a very unorthodox family with humor and empathy
Don't see it if You feel LGBT people can't have families
See it if you want to see a play that mixes comedy and drama, always intelligently capturing the feeling of truth and real life.
Don't see it if you know you will not be able to connect in any way to the story ... although the wonderful cast and writing may very well prove you wrong
See it if you want to experience an entertaining theater experience that is also touching and extremely well performed.
Don't see it if you are a narrow-minded individual who is turned off by well-drawn and emotion-provoking gay characters in a meaningful production.
Critic Reviews (35)
“It’s a first-rate affair under Moisés Kaufman’s typically sensitive and forthright direction...Michael Urie has inherited Fierstein’s five-dimensional role and is wonderful in it. It’s as if he’s inhabited by a whirling dervish aching to escape, a bundle of worried nerves. He cedes the stage only intermittently and he never runs out of charismatic energy...Fierstein’s fiercely, funnily honest writing remains simply paramount. He is a theatrical wonder. So is his play.”
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“It’s 45 minutes shorter than the original…That’s the good news. Late in this comedy, the lead character references those soapy Susan Hayward movies of the late 1940s and ’50s, and it must have been the thought of all those black-and-white glam tears that inspired director Moises Kaufman’s weepy staging...Making Arnold a first-class sufferer doesn’t ennoble him; it merely makes him pathetic…Ruehl’s delivery is marvelous...Urie knows how to land a line, but often prefers to detonate it.”
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“This new ‘Torch Song’ is still a full-course meal of comedy and heartbreak, stuffed with Arnold’s kvetching and zingers and served by a first-rate crew of actors under the steady hand of Moisés Kaufman...The piece is divided into three parts...The final section, ‘Widows and Children First’, is the meatiest and most hard-hitting...The bell-bottom jeans and cultural references are dated, but Fierstein’s message of love and good parenting will never grow old.”
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"I had forgotten how ahead of his time Fierstein was in his treatment of long-term gay relationships and gay adoption and how forcefully he dealt with the importance of living an authentic life...Urie knows how to get the laughs without straining for them. It helps that he is supported by an excellent cast...The direction by Kaufman has many grace notes throughout...I was happy to find the play alive and kicking and still able to provide an entertaining evening."
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“This triumphant and beautifully imagined revival proves that ‘Torch Song’ remains both prophetic and timeless...Urie makes the role unmistakably his own...That ‘Torch Song’ takes Arnold’s journey toward love and acceptance with all seriousness is what made it so groundbreaking more than three decades ago. Of course, the play is also funny as all hell. The cast lands punch lines and navigates nuanced emotional turns with equally exquisite rhythm, thanks to Kaufman’s finely calibrated direction.”
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"In Urie, this production under the steady hand of director Moisés Kaufman, has found an actor who can match the authenticity of Fierstein’s performance with a virtuosic talent that is a privilege to observe in motion...The play is both tenderly moving but also absolutely hilarious, showcasing Fierstein’s gift for comedy...This hilarious and touching production is anchored by the virtuosic Michael Urie in a star turn you won’t want to miss."
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"Thank you, Mercedes Ruehl. Before the entry of her both hilarious and hurtful mother in 'Torch Song,' it can feel—as witty as many of Harvey Fierstein’s crisply written zingers are—that you are enduring a series of extended confessionals...In its early stages it feels static...We hear of things happening, we don’t see them, and that distancing distances us...Ruehl is marvelous, and helps make Urie’s performance more textured."
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"Guided by Moisés Kaufman’s gentle direction, Urie gives a nuanced, emotional performance. Yet he wisely avoids any attempt to channel Fierstein...Urie’s gift for physical comedy keeps the first act entertaining and moving along as the story of love and loss is set up. Some might quibble, though, with his inconsistent Brooklyn accent and less-than-imposing stature...But the real heartbreaker comes in the second act."
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