City of No Illusions NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (21)
See it if you want to experience an engaging, topical play brought to you by several legends of downtown theater & several much younger colleagues.
Don't see it if you are looking for high budget entertainment. Read more
See it if you enjoyed the vibrant anti-war theater of the 1970's. Politics and social values with humor and imagination. Good music too.
Don't see it if you expect a traditional well made play. The characters and situation are all farcical embodiments of the message.
See it if You are down for a complex investigation of people on both sides of immigration issues with music and a great diverse cast.
Don't see it if You demand preaching from the left at this downtown institution, or if you seek your light entertainment without a core of serious issues.
See it if you like plays with alot of humor and live music
Don't see it if you need a clear well laid out plot
See it if You enjoy plays about current issues stitched together with elements of magic realism.
Don't see it if You are bothered by somewhat uneven acting and music that distracts rather than adds, & minimal character development. Enjoyable but weird.
See it if Experimental undocumented worker satire with live music. Make-up favouring funeral parlour attendant brings heart to hot-button issue.
Don't see it if No escaping terms/images/situations ripped from daily news cycle. Real casket. Dead body on a gurney switcheroo and other sit-com elements. Read more
See it if If you want to see a show about illegal immigrants. Good music. A story told that is different
Don't see it if A show that needs work. Story that overshadows the characters. Bit slow at times.
See it if You want a work in progress that is all over the place.
Don't see it if You are looking for depth in developed themes. The acting leaves a lot to be desired.
Critic Reviews (3)
“’City of No Illusions’ provides the right bit of magical realism...It has a glimmer of humor, wrapped within the larger, blunt recognitions about death that could surround us, at any time...What makes ‘City of No Illusions’ unique is that it is a bit gruesome, while simultaneously being joyous. The most memorable thing about this play is the script that cuts into the psyche, asking the audience to take a careful and deep look at the journey that some might take to the afterlife.”
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“Against a backdrop of lovely live music, a rather predictable kitchen-sink-style realist plot unfolds...It feels as though the issues supersede character development...The need for human connection and seeing beyond differences is a driving force of this play, and the moments that achieve it play out beautifully. There is ample charm and well-mined humor...But ultimately the execution falls a bit flat...Intent and energy are wonderful things, but they can only take one so far."
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“A political comedy...A jumbled and absurd fusion of character and plot...As enchanting as the shadow band’s music is, what purpose they serve on the stage, their cryptic lyrics confounding an already wonky plot, is unclear...And Zimet’s presentational staging, basic and uninspiring, contrasts badly with the mythical goings on at this mortuary. But the impulse to set a meditation on the refugee crisis inside a funeral home is a creative one, however obvious the metaphor.”
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