Wakey, Wakey NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (129)
See it if It may be gone, but Will Eno's play was deeply felt and very moving. Beautifully played by Michael Emerson and the oh-so-comforting
Don't see it if January LaVoy (memorable also in TWO TRAINS RUNNING at Signature Theatre as well). Emerson...superb and tragic. A most effecting play!
See it if A tiny play (but a long one-acter) about the biggest questions. The tension between life & death and between being connected & individual...
Don't see it if ...with a serving of life's pleasures delivered by YouTube, combine for a somewhat slow but never treacly or cranky look at the inevitable.
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
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
See it if if you like to see an offbeat type of show with a limited cast.enjoyed the thought provoking questions which were dispersed to the audience.
Don't see it if if you like traditional theater.if you are a person who does not question things in our lives.
See it if you enjoy short, but slow plays that are quite meditative and thought-provoking. Deep with some funny moments. Great acting by Emerson.
Don't see it if you want to see a play with a clear narrative and more action, you don't like long monologues or minimal movement and staging
See it if you are stimulated by interesting dialogue and visuals despite feeling this is more of a monologue than a play.
Don't see it if you expect a real plot and don't like to think a bout sad things.
See it if You are interested in how one man approaches life and death. Very thoughtful dialogue. Captivated by the energy driven by the inevitable.
Don't see it if You aren't introspective about yourself, much less have to listen to someone else's AHA moments.
Critic Reviews (35)
"Eno’s effective but terribly sad play...Emerson’s performance is remarkable. What he does will leave you deeply moved. As the end approaches his face is wracked with a combination of pain, bewilderment and fatalism, all fused to poignant dramatic effect. The author, who also is the director, energizes the play with projections...'Wakey, Wakey' is highly sensitive theater that may touch raw nerves...On the other hand, it can also provide a note of courage and understanding."
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“Michael Emerson does a fine job conveying the mixture of apprehension, bewilderment and remorse Guy is experiencing. Bill,and many others in our audience were totally moved by his textured performance. But the moments dragged for me and confirmed my suspicion that (after having seen five of his plays) I'm just not an Eno gal.”
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"If that sounds tricky to watch and baffling, it is—and yet you hang on every word...Eno by not making the story or Guy easy to comprehend makes it that much more engrossing. Sometimes, just when it feels too slight, Eno inserts a piece of mischievous whimsy, or sharp observation, or, at one point, the sudden, mournful strains of 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'...An unexpectedly uplifting play."
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"'Wakey, Wakey' isn’t really a play. It’s an accounting of the things that matter in life...Presented with quiet authority and a soft, ironic humor by the remarkable Michael Emerson, observations that might otherwise seem random, and sentimental, coalesce into a painful but brave last embrace of ordinary pleasures...The evening gains additional poignancy if you see it as Eno’s tribute to James Houghton, the founder and artistic director of the Signature Theatre."
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"Will Eno's elegant and gently sad 75-minute play...Although Guy's stream-of-consciousness monologue comes in a disjointed start-and-stop way, it is surprisingly illuminating...Production values are stellar...Emerson is remarkable as Guy, a likable and reflective man whose nuanced facial expressions reflect amusement as well as the stings of discomfort, pain, thirst...We leave the theater touched by the spirit of Guy and his words."
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"It all can amount to too much in the end, however. Even with the talents of Emerson and Lavoy to guide the production, the play still struggles in its tonal shifts, overreaching in its attempts to bridge its moments of cynicism and fear with its tender moments of redemption. Eno undoubtedly loves to show his hand in this play, but sometimes it is that very hand that obstructs our view...But all that isn't to say that 'Wakey, Wakey' doesn't have its moments; in fact, it has plenty."
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“Eno knows that his approach, resolutely shirking conventional expectations, will infuriate some theatergoers. His previous works in this gnomic vein (‘Thom Pain,’ ‘Title and Deed’) left me uninfuriated but also unenthusiastic. But ‘Wakey Wakey's’ sharp writing, heightened by the easygoing asperity of Emerson's performance, stirs deeper feelings. Granted, the truth it conveys is small, rarefied, and overly hedged with decorative distractions. Even so, it's genuine."
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"Eno's meditation on life and the end of it, is gently, beautifully performed by a cast of two...While in no way a chore, the show itself nevertheless feels a bit half-baked...As a quiet reverie about the final moments in a quiet life, 'Wakey, Wakey' gets the message across, elicits a chuckle or two, and occasionally brushes at the heartstrings. But it never quite blooms into something much bigger than the sum of its parts."
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