Amani NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (5)
See it if into scenes from the life of a joyful black girl, from childhood to maturity; great acting, a unique set, and a jazzy band.
Don't see it if well -- among the emotional, impactful, and beautiful scenes, there are the slow moments and ultimately, the weak focus. Read more
See it if see tough life assuaged by aspiration/pipe dream to escape in metaphorical rocket ship; creative set; live band plays Coltrane
Don't see it if little unique about girl's plight; disconnect btw tough beginning & aspirational ending, queer ending bolted on; meh music/dance
See it if You want to see a talented cast creative staging in a small space,a great coming of age story of a young girl,accompanied by great jazz band
Don't see it if If you don’t like turbulent coming of age stories that end with love.p
See it if You like beautiful Coming of Age stories about girls, especially young women of color.
Don't see it if Don't see it if you don't like a little magical realism with your theater!
See it if Excellent performance by Mars Rucker-ASL fans hey :)))/great overall actors-in need of seeing queer love. Lots of futuristic themes
Don't see it if You don’t enjoy metaphorical symbolic language and lots of silence. May be too heady for you. Love story a little thrown on at the end..
Critic Reviews (3)
“Once ‘Amani’ turns away from her father toward romance, the play loses its hypnotic tempo, and, crucially, its humor. But at least the gifted Manning—always a standout in Off Broadway work—remains onstage for all of it, drinking up the spotlight, a jewel under glass.”
Read more
“Davis's direction keeps the play lively throughout, but he can't disguise the fact that, by the halfway point, ‘Amani’ has become something of a sermon...Whether it makes for compelling theatre is another question. Payne is, I think, a gifted writer, but she might be better off as a poet or essayist.”
Read more
Denise Manning as Amani is totally believable as a 9-year-old who has had to grow up quickly without parents and her naiveté about love as she maneuvers through growing pains is touching. Her scenes with her father move from precocious to acutely heartfelt to ultimately switching roles when she has to lay down tough love right back at him. It is a performance layered with so many emotions all at once. Although the play is performed without an intermission, it is clearly broken up into three acts, with the second act culminating in a “I deserve to live” soliloquy for Amani that, as performed by Ms. Manning, is breathtaking in its scope.
Read more