AdA: Author Directing Author NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (49)
See it if It is a great concept. and so well done. Each author directs one of the one act skits written by another in a sequence of couple
Don't see it if only if you abhor short plays. (these are winners) Read more
See it if Explorations of the theme "power" are timely, uncomfortably real and resonant. Must see!
Don't see it if If you don't enjoy scaled back staging and one acts.
See it if You enjoy short and thought-provoking plays. The actors are superb, literally.
Don't see it if You'd rather enjoy a longer play. Read more
See it if Theatre with a Capital T, what an evening in the theatre should be, engrossing, thought provoking, involving, can't forget you've been there
Don't see it if you require "huge" production values to disguise the fact you're in world of play & conflict, other people's problems/conflicts = boredom 2u
See it if As short-play collections go, this one delivers with a triptych of two-handers exploring long-term bitter feelings among rival.
Don't see it if As you might expect from a production at La Mama, spare sets and uncomfortable seats, but they make the most of what they've got here.
See it if You have a good sense of humor and enjoy watching power struggles play out
Don't see it if You don't enjoy some dark humor similar to Edward Albee's plays Read more
See it if you appreciate short sketches with minimal sets, small casts and intense drama focused upon relationships and perspectives tensions/changes
Don't see it if you prefer comedies, musicals, light or simplistic themes or longer dramatic works with complex set and costume design
See it if you love Richard Kind, Victor Slezak and Margaret Colin. Super acting. Two of the three plays riveting. Neil La Bute's play the best. Go!
Don't see it if you don't like short plays. if you find tight seats (no arms) on bleachers uncomfortable.
Critic Reviews (8)
"'After the Dark:' Under Ms. Buchacaâs direction, many of the shifts in dynamic compel, although an unthinking equation of sexual desirability and power needs more scrutiny...'Summit:' Absorbing...Under Neil LaButeâs direction, a few details feel off...Ms. Buchacaâs play is so topical that it resists analysis...'I don't know:' LaBute returns to his frequent and rather tired assertion that most men are brutes, and most women are witches...I wished I were somewhere else."
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"'After Dark:' While at first this seems to be pretty much Colin's show, Jessie turns out to be more than just a sounding board for a tour-de-force monologue...'Summit:' Despite LaBute's pacey direction and the author's smart dialogue, the play's super timeliness exacerbates that it comes off as somewhat contrived...'I don't know:' Kind gives his usual standout performance...Covatin is a star in the making...These intriguingly connected plays are well worth a trip to La MaMa."
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"An intriguing evening of one-acts...Innovatively and minimally staged...âI donât know what I can save you from,â the last one-act, is the most astounding and manifests a fitting âboomâ to the evening. Calvaniâs superb direction of the wonderful Crovatin and the equally amazing and versatile Kind is devastating and nearly surrealâŠThe concluding revelation at once clarifies and shocks, thanks to the masterful actors, exceptional direction and LaButeâs writing, which distills disturbing genius."
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"The direction is strong, each playwright making the most out of a fellow artistâs somewhat mundane material. These are three lugubrious stories with rather unlikable people. Each play has two characters in a power play, in which the person seemingly in charge is one-upped by his/her victimâŠThe most original play is LaButeâs...The repartee between miscreant father and resentful daughter is hilarious...Kind and Crovatin execute their gamesmanship with depth and perfect comic timing."
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"Neil LaBute has teamed up with Marco Calvani and Marta Buchaca to present three plays that are 'surprising takes on the idea of power dynamics'...How relevant and thought-provoking these plays are in that climate is somewhat problematic. In all three short playsâtwo in translationâthe conflicts and motivations of the characters are clear. What is not clear is why these believable conflicts drive such muddled and often less-than-fun plots."
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âThe acting is for the most part stellar. Itâs a brisk and engrossing evening of theaterâŠâI donât know what I can save you fromâ is the most complex and subtle of the playsâthe one Iâd see again in case I missed somethingâŠThe three 'power' plays leave you with the good feeling of having been well exercised. Itâs perhaps surprising that none of these one-on-ones relies on traditional romance. Theyâre about other things, and theyâre refreshing!â
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"The realism of LaBute, Calvani and Buchacaâs plays tugs at the heart and mind. On one hand, to offer some solutions or hope of change regarding sexism, ageism, and male authority would have been a confirmation that the hard work of the past has had some effect...The playwrights demonstrate how male and female power is still highly unbalanced in our society, and that male power is still able to flip the tables, often in brutal ways."
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"LaBute, Marco Calvani, and Buchaca explore power struggles of varying natures in three one-act plays, and in doing so have created a phenomenally thought-provoking evening...The disconnect between different age groups and time frames is intelligently brought to life in 'Author Directing Author,' while the most 'powerful' aspect of the show is in its ability to explore the many facets of the human desire to be dominant, and what that entails once it has been achieved."
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