7 Minutes NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (7)
See it if A union committee made up of 11 women gathered in a factory room will have to vote whether to accept a 7-minute reduction of their lunch*
Don't see it if you don't believe unions should be an integral part of American society. Or perhaps this may be a compelling reason to see this play. Read more
See it if you like anxious dramas, like plays about unions and work related issues, like a face paced show, like off-Broadway
Don't see it if you don't like process shows, shows about labor and unions, shows in the round, smaller theatres Read more
See it if a debate on labor issue with sides intelligently and emotionally presented, 2 actors especially good; cast that is all women and non-binary
Don't see it if don't like theater in the round (especially if some don't project), want all of the actors to have fully developed characters, expect* Read more
See it if you like shows about workers rights, you like good writing, you like ensemble pieces, activist pieces, underdog group fighting for rights
Don't see it if you want a coherent ensemble, if you don't care much about labor issues, you care about a clean cut show, you prefer fleshed out characters
See it if This show needs some work but is good enough.
Don't see it if Needs better direction to be more effective.
See it if If you care about labor issues, this is a must see. It's a bit slow at first but then becomes totally gripping.
Don't see it if If you don't care for political theater, pass on this one.
See it if if you love social and labor justice minded theater
Don't see it if you only value entertainment in theatrical experience over artistry/activist pieces
Critic Reviews (5)
"'7 Minutes' is smart. It’s also chilly, as if someone has run the air conditioning at full. And while the documentary framing lends it currency, it can feel familiar...In this production, directed by Mei Ann Teo, ideas dominate, with character consistently subordinated to debate. This is partly a problem of translation...Waterwell’s version uproots it to Connecticut, but without any real feeling of place or circumstance. It could be anywhere...The stronger actors — Marshall-Oliver and Davenport among them — can fill in these blanks, but the weaker ones struggle to flesh out the women and nonbinary workers behind the words."
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"It’s not much of an argument at first—only Linda (Ebony Marshall-Oliver), the committee’s spokesperson, who has relayed this offer, has a problem with the idea initially. What unfolds, however, is less a comment on class struggle than a disquisition on how difficult it is to transmit a small, nagging thought from one mind to the next. Marshall-Oliver, a brilliant, methodical performer, reveals that gentle strain, transcending a sometimes awkward text."
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But even if you think you know where 7 Minutes is headed -- and you don't, thanks to a nifty last-minute twist -- the line of Linda's argument easily reels one in…Indeed, you'll feel the crackle as Linda gradually forces the others to consider the unthinkable, that in agreeing to this small concession they may be unwittingly collaborating in their long-term ruination…the entire cast, consisting of women and gender-nonconforming performers, keeps things simmering until the final vote.
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On one level the play is very much like Reginald Rose’s 12 Angry Men in which a group of disparate people must also make a life or death decision. However, unlike that play, the characters in 7 Minutes are not clearly delineated so that we do not know where many of them stand or who they are. While the production directed by Mei Ann Teo is absorbing for most of its running time placing us in the room where it happens, her staging having the actors move about a great deal makes it difficult to keep most of the 11 women separate from each other.
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"4.25/5...The play’s dialogue is special. You are witnessing real, raw emotion traded by factory walkers who, while they may seem different from one another, share the desire to keep their jobs and pay their bills. Herein lies the genius of this play. Massini captures people’s needs, fears, hopes, and grit, as they perceive a threat to their livelihood with backs against the wall in a timed exercise...It has great potential to migrate to Broadway and beyond, so catch it while you can in this intimate setting."
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