What Did You Expect?: Election Year in the Life of One Family, Play Two NYC Reviews and Tickets

"The main strength of 'What Did You Expect?' is not in the sparse dose of explicitly political discussion, nor in the factual tidbits, but in the way that the six actors credibly inhabit their characters. There is little conventionally dramatic in the play; rather, we witness the believable rhythms of real time as it unfolds. Theatergoers must abandon traditional notions of what constitutes a drama in order to appreciate Nelson’s approach, but the acting makes this much easier to do so."
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"'The Apple Family Plays' were a remarkable achievement in American theater and 'The Gabriel Family Plays,' though familiar in construction, are no less remarkable for their astonishing naturalism and for much, much more...Given the high quality of Nelson’s writing and the playwright’s direction of the cast, any cavil about not enough Trump denigration taking place and not enough misgiving about Clinton being expressed is just that: a cavil."
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"Like watching paint dry, with no drama, no secrets, no nothing...I keep hoping for these plays to get better, to do something, say something and, alas, they do not. It takes every ounce of my being to stay awake and care. Even the actors don’t change. Granted they are all extremely good actors, so natural, too natural...If plays by Richard Nelson were what was considered great American drama when I was growing up, I don’t think I would have fallen in love with theatre."
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"The central player in ‘What Did You Expect?’ is Ms. Plunkett as the widow. It’s impossible to say whether this is the writing, or simply the power of the actor; presumably both…Plunkett and her husband Sanders, both of whom are astonishingly good, were also mainstays of Nelson’s four Apple Family plays…While the six plays written thus far have all been masterful, the Gabriel plays might have an edge thanks to the lessons Nelson learned from the Apples...The entire cast remains excellent."
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"As usual, Nelson brings things right up to date with a reference to Hillary’s pneumonia and Jimmy Fallon’s messing up Donald Trump’s hair on TV. The political elements seemed less important and less integral this time, almost as if they were grafted onto the play. The varied conversations also seemed less part of a coherent whole this time. Anyone who has not seen the previous play may not get a lot out of this one. Nevertheless, the ensemble cast is once again superb."
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"The cast members, with perfect ensemble acting, are more impressive than the dialogue the author has provided them...This is an intellectual lot, and one might expect conversation to sparkle more than it does, save for some laugh-eliciting outbursts...Backs are frequently turned to the audience, which leaves some straining to hear quiet talk at such moments."
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"Quietly dazzling...Our uncanny, intimate relationship with the Gabriel family of Rhinebeck, New York, has burrowed to an even deeper level of closeness...The style is just as leisurely and conversational, again creating an eerie verisimilitude from exquisitely understated acting, the complex psychology of honesty and characters with far-ranging interests and plenty to say...Whatever happens on Election night, it’s oddly comforting to know the Gabriels will be in it with us."
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"The genius is in the way their story is told. The masterful actors, their small playing space surrounded on three sides by the audience, speak in normal, conversational tones, creating a feeling of incredible closeness. You have a sense of eavesdropping on their intimate conversations...Oddly, however, in a hyper-partisan national atmosphere, the actual campaign is seldom mentioned...It’s hard to believe these aware people wouldn’t have more to say."
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