Woman and Scarecrow NYC Reviews and Tickets

“A blistering beauty of a play that rages with regret and pitch-black humor...A poetic drama with a peculiar, tricky shape...The production can’t find its tone...Straining for laughs, it undermines the humanity that Carr’s comedy needs to stand on...It piles on obtrusive design elements that overwhelm the intimate space...Haberle’s performance never feels convincingly like a deathbed...Gut-punch insights don’t get much space to land in this impatient, unbalanced production."
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"Death is rarely easy or pleasant, and neither is Marina Carr's chamber play about the process of dying and what that might reveal about how we should live...The performances are committed, and the design is wonderfully eerie...But even if most of the action is a morphine-fueled deathbed dream, Haberle seems too robust to be on the verge of shuffling off this mortal coil, and her desperate griping grows repetitive in director Ciarán O'Reilly's static staging."
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"Directed with the right amount of etherealness...The play itself is nonlinear, and O'Reilly's physical production gives off a similar vibe...Only Haberle's performance feels tonally out of sync, pulsing with energy that feels too excessive...This vitality is strangely jarring, and throws off the momentum of the piece as a whole...Bogged down by symbolism, overly poetic, and circular in its arguments, this is a relentlessly depressing play in desperate need of both an editor and some levity."
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"Callous as it may seem, after a while one begins to wonder if she really will manage to shuffle off this mortal coil, so many grievances has she to share...Admittedly, for a good chunk of its running time, 'Woman and Scarecrow' coasts on its lively, rancorous exchanges...But, as it gradually sinks in that there will be no real conflict or meaningful dramatic action -- just more railing at the injustice of the universe -- a certain tedium sets in."
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"Unfortunately, O'Reilly's heavy reliance on the production team is also indicative of a significant problem: the play is repetitive. Despite finding new, and often lovely, poetic ways to convey the centrality of death to life, Carr's thoughts and arguments quickly begin to sound like the same melody over and over again, just in a different key. O'Reilly tries to distract us from this fault by giving the Gottlieb-Rumery-Corcoran trio creative free rein."
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"O’Reilly has delivered a top-drawer production, coaxing the best out of a difficult play, with a roster of remarkable actors who have plunged into their roles head-on with fierce commitment and splendid, award-worthy performances across the board...Carr is, if nothing else, immensely literate and observant of the human condition. At the same time, much of the philosophizing is banal, only elevated to soaring heights by Carr’s skill as a playwright and wordsmith."
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"An up-close and personal look at a deeply-flawed woman in her final hours of life...The play does have its share of black humor and high spirits. Woman, in fact, has more vim and vigor than your typical person in the pink of health...An ambitious play. It is brimming with references to popular culture, literature, and mythology...That said, it doesn't totally succeed as a drama. But it surely will remind you that nobody escapes death."
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“Exquisite, sublime, smart, and damn funny. Woman, played by the incomparable Haberle, and Scarecrow by the brilliantly talented and funny Gray, are pugilists with their words, sparing off and punching out. This is one hell of a good play with an ensemble that takes your breath away, makes you think, and touches your heart...An event to be witnessed...Take a friend so that you can...discuss what you have experienced and what it all means to that thing you call your life.”
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"Carr’s new play explores the tenuous boundaries between life and death: the extraordinary work redefines those boundaries and exposes their weaknesses...The playwright raises rich and enduring questions left for the audience to grapple with...O’Reilly directs with his keen eye for subtlety and with his steady hand of encouragement. He teases from the exceptional cast the nuances of each character."
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"Tries, with limited success, to inject mystical folkloric fantasy into a contemporary story of marital infidelity…Stretched out over two acts, these fantastical elements...become as tiresome as Woman's persistent ranting. No sooner does she quiet down…than something presses the wrong button and her peeves are off and running. This isn't to deny that there are, indeed, some powerful scenes…Each member of the impressive cast is well-equipped to handle Carr's language."
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"Probably morbid by dictionary definition, it’s also riveting; rife with poignancy, frustration, ego, anger, defiance, awareness, love, and emotional pain we rarely see in lives portrayed mid-journey. The play is startling and imaginative...Language is rich, character and situation beautifully detailed...This is a helluva ride. A powerful, conceivably polarizing piece wonderfully realized. Not to be missed."
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"Fiercely candid, surprisingly funny, and devastatingly poignant...It’s a compelling contemporary update of the age-old theme of 'memento mori,' delivered by a top-notch cast, with a timeless reminder for all of us that the time to be happy is now...Offers an impressive company debut of Carr’s gripping work and a stirring message about living life to the fullest while you still can. With such an auspicious beginning, we can all hope to see more of Carr in Irish Rep’s upcoming seasons."
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"With skillful direction by Ciarán O’Reilly, this production delves into the innermost feelings of a woman who is learning about the meaning of life at the last possible moment...Gray does a stellar job of going through the motions with Woman. Scarecrow captures the duality of a lifetime confidant and blunt friend...Carr’s grim script offers little humor...'Woman and Scarecrow' encourages audiences to think about life and the importance of one’s choices."
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"Carr is an elegant writer who turns out some mordantly funny lines here and there...However, the play seems rather lifeless. O’Reilly’s staging attempts to inject some energy...but the verbose and overlong text provides few opportunities for action...The only part that moved me was the ending monologue...The work might be better on the written page or in a radio broadcast...As expected at Irish Rep, the acting is on a high level."
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