Wakey, Wakey NYC Reviews and Tickets

70%

(130 Reviews)

Positive

65%

Mixed

20%

Negative

15%

Members say

Great acting, Thought-provoking, Slow, Disappointing, Absorbing

About the Show

Signature Theatre presents a thought-provoking new play about some of life's biggest questions, written and directed by Obie winner Will Eno ('The Realistic Jones'). Starring Emmy winner Michael Emerson ('Lost').

What are we here for? Is time a friend or an enemy? Do we all eventually end up in the same place, but take different routes to get there? 'Wakey, Wakey' challenges the notion of what really matters and recognizes the importance of life’s simple pleasures. (All of which might sound dreary, but there’s a chance this will be a really good experience.) Inspired in part by the playwright-director's friendship with the late James Houghton, Signature Theatre's founder.

Member Reviews (130)

Ambitious, Confusing, Disappointing, Edgy, Quirky

See it if you're a Will Eno or Michael Emerson fan, you enjoy the unexpected, you're interested in a new perspective on approaching death

Don't see it if talk of impending death disturbs you, quirky surprises set you ajar, hard to grip characters

Great acting, Profound, Quirky, Thought-provoking, Absorbing

See it if Eno's existential 'stand-up' about the end of a man's life Michael Emerson quite extraordinary as Guy with a moving LeVoy as the 'caretaker'

Don't see it if Eno is an 'acquired taste' Piece can be a bit slow & too quirky for some & Eno's choices as director a bit too twee but often very moving

If you like will eno's sly existential humor see this; otherwise, you may be scratching your head

See it if a kind of comic homage to Our Town asking ?s about life/death; M. Emerson as dying man turns in virtuosic improvisational performance

Don't see it if observations about life/death so varied, no coherent point of view; Eno can write a brilliant monologue/Thom Pain; this is not @ that level Read more

Clever, Edgy

See it if January LaVoy a great talent is wasted in a 15 minute role, The Meaning of Life seems to be overdone. A diifernet approach here.

Don't see it if Not sure if I would say :See It' but I was impressed gy the short performance og Ms. La Voy

Great acting, Profound, Thought-provoking, Resonant, Slow

See it if you enjoy one-man shows (there is a second character at the end), or existential/philosophical works.

Don't see it if you need action--any action at all. This show is mostly just a single man sitting and talking about life. Read more

Confusing, Disappointing, Excruciating

See it if You have no choice

Don't see it if You have a chice

Great acting, Confusing, Indulgent, Slow, Nothingburger

See it if want to see a fine actor looking miserable for good reason and if you worship at the altar of Eno.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy half-baked banalities being passed off as gems of wisdom and won't accept special effects in place of theater. Read more

Great acting, Great writing, Great staging, Intelligent, Thought-provoking

See it if You are ready to face how the end of life affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally. If you are alone, this will be more disturbing.

Don't see it if You recently faced a serious illness or had someone close to you pass away. Are afraid of being alone. Read more

Critic Reviews (35)

"Dying is a stand-up routine in 'Wakey, Wakey,' the glowingly dark, profoundly moving new play by Will Eno. Portrayed with a master’s blend of pretty much every emotion there is by Michael Emerson, the monologuist at the center of this short, resonant tragicomedy is the M.C. of his own demise...The astonishment of Mr. Emerson’s performance is how universal and particular it is, saying that, yes, we all die, but we all die as individuals."
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“A quietly beautiful piece…Eno knows that there are only so many ways of saying, ‘You will die; celebrate life,’ so he makes a spectacle of vamping and false starts, awkward yet deeply felt pauses, as the keen, funny, transfixing Emerson reads from index cards, gets his slides confused and bathes the audience in his gentle, beatific fussiness...You know how great actors have the ability to age decades right before your eyes? That happens here, and it's a pure astonishment.”
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"A rambling monologue of no apparent consequence...But then, halfway through, the tone flips...I felt my hostility toward the first half of 'Wakey, Wakey,' with all its dull cuteness, beginning to melt, and I wondered if this was part of the play’s design...Partly that’s because January LaVoy is so radiantly warm onstage...As Guy, Michael Emerson, though technically excellent, cannot get so far with his character, or not at any rate with Eno fussing over him as director."
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"The hook that reels us into this abstruse, tricky, stream-of-consciousness contemplation of mortality is a beautiful performance from Michael Emerson...While the thematic richness of 'Wakey, Wakey' creeps up on you during its brief 75-minute run time, few will make the claim that this is a major addition to Eno's distinctive body of work...Nevertheless, Eno's unique voice — quizzical, perceptive, assertively compassionate — is one to be celebrated."
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"A work of humor, humanity and grace that makes you want to hug your lover, your neighbor and maybe an usher on the way out. It also offers a captivating, playful and deeply moving performance by Michael Emerson...Eno breaks the fourth wall but here he also suggests a wondrous fifth: a world beyond the memories of the past and the realities of the present and towards the inevitable adjustment nature demands. It’s a loving transition, theatrically told in a style that is Eno’s own."
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"'Wakey, Wakey' struck me as indebted equally to two Irishmen, Samuel Beckett and James Joyce...His subjects are death, existence and the meaning of life. This near monologue is delivered with exquisite, deliberate conviction by Michael Emerson in a voice at once quizzical and confessional, an irresistible combination. Big ones, these questions, though delivered with a kind of innocence Beckett mostly abjured but that Joyce could take delight in."
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“Death becomes Will Eno, writer and director of this odd but gently urgent play…Played by Michael Emerson with a magnetic open-hearted humor, we stay connected even when the going gets curious. And it does...Guy takes stock and shares a little advice. 'Take care of each other,' he says. Playing an aide, January LaVoy arrives late to do that. We should be so lucky as to have someone who radiates as much warmth as this actress does when time’s up."
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"His thoughts seem to wander every which way...but when you take a closer look, they're as focused as a laser beam...Even after Lisa enters the picture, Eno's dialogue remains stilted and aloof. It serves the play's purposes—and could not be given a more naturalistic performance than the one Emerson is delivering. But if you require peaks and valleys of drama to keep you engaged in a story, you may get sleepy within 'Wakey, Wakey's' microscopic modulations and extended silences."
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