King of the Jews NYC Reviews and Tickets

85%

(75 Ratings)

Positive

91%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Ambitious, Great acting, Great staging

About the Show

In a WWII ghetto, a group of Jewish citizens face moral dilemmas and unimaginable choices.

During an evening past curfew at the Astoria Café, a cluster of staff and performers, accompanied by a few rabbis, is compelled by the German occupiers to establish a Judenrat—a self-governing group of Jews tasked with governing and determining the fates of their fellow Jews within the surrounding ghetto. In the first act, they endure a harrowing process to select their Elder, inspired by Chaim Rumkowski, the leader of the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. Later, in the second act, they grapple with a profound moral quandary: deciding who lives and dies in their community. It's a choice no human should make, especially in a world still tethered to moral sanity. Yet, they must. Amidst the chaos, deceit, and even moments of levity, we accompany these ordinary individuals as they confront the unfathomable depths thrust upon them by history.

Show-Score Member Reviews (28)

94%

Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if Profound insights into complicated morality when impossible decisions are demanded. Great acting and environmental set.

Don't see it if Holocaust plays disturb you despite this being an unusual production.

62%

Absorbing, Dark, Heavy, Slow

See it if you like semi-immersive shows in unique, intimate settings; you're in the mood to engage with challenging subject matter

Don't see it if you want light entertainment; you're bothered by characters that sometimes fall into stereotypes; you don't like being close to the actors

92%

Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if If you want to see a riveting play with an amazing cast, set and script. The director used the space beautifully.

Don't see it if If you want something light and fluffy because this anything but….

92%

Absorbing, Great Staging, Intense, Profound, Thought-Provoking

See it if You want a powerful, serious play examining moral questions in the face of human cruelty

Don't see it if You don’t like holocaust or historical shows that are on the depressing side

100%

Absorbing, Great Acting, Great Staging, Great Writing, Intelligent

See it if You want an evening of theater to think and talk about after the show

Don't see it if You’d prefer an evening of light-hearted escapism Read more

79%

Absorbing, Edgy, Resonant, Thought-Provoking

See it if You want food for thought about a dark period of history, the Holocaust and Sophie's choice.

Don't see it if You have difficulty with stories that deal with the Holocaust.

88%

Absorbing, Ambitious, Great Acting, Relevant, Thought-Provoking

See it if You are interested in great ensemble acting and a powerful, totally relevent play about ghettoized Jews during the Holocaust.

Don't see it if Unfortunately is closing tmrw (Saturday)

100%

Absorbing, Ambitious, Clever, Entertaining, Powerful

See it if Incredible moving show, not go be missed, best show I have seen in years and I see everything.

Don't see it if Just go , so powerful.

Critic Reviews (7)

"It's a rule of thumb that accomplished novelists rarely make successful playwrights -- the dishonor roll includes Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Bellow, Heller, and William F. Buckley -- which makes it all the more remarkable that Epstein has distilled his book, with its crowded cast and large-scale sequences, into a taut two-act drama. If the stage version of King of the Jews isn't as rich an experience, it is tense and suspenseful, moving ruthlessly toward its dismaying finale while vigorously wrestling with an unresolvable dilemma forced on the characters by history."
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"As an ensemble piece, carefully directed by Alexandra Aron to highlight the nuances, King of the Jews works extremely well in examining the moral ambiguity of those caught in a trap from which there can be no escape. "
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How does a Holocaust-themed play land with such emotional impact as Leslie Epstein’s "King of the Jews" at the HERE Theatre? Based on his novel of the same name, "King of the Jews" is a searing, eye-opening glimpse of a dark period in world history. Set in the formerly elegant Astoria Café in 1939 and 1941 Poland, "King of the Jews" turns the employees and customers into a microcosm of Jewish society, a community being crushed under the boots of the invading Nazis. These trapped Jews emerge as real people. As the eleven p.m. curfew, enforced by Gestapo goons, approaches, they each react in their own way.
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a Holocaust-set play at HERE that is inventively staged and well-acted, but both intentionally and unintentionally disturbing… When its characters explore their moral dilemma, “King of the Jews” is at its most nuanced and most engaging… [but the debate is] overshadowed by some superficial character portraits.
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Leslie Epstein’s 1979 novel was adapted by him in 2007 for the stage. His compelling scenario is based on historical facts; with their vaunted preoccupation with efficiency, the Germans instigated Jewish self-governing ghetto councils. This searing production dramatizes European Jewish collaboration with the Germans during the Holocaust, this immersive presentation is set in a bustling Polish café with the audience seated at cabaret-style tables and chairs.
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Director Alexandra Aron’s immersive staging is powerful and hard-hitting, but, alas, the narrative, despite a strong start, can’t quite live up to its promise.
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“ ‘King of the Jews’ focuses on people trapped into making impossible decisions and the difficulty in ordinary people judging those living through extraordinary experiences. Aron, the technicians, and the cast have so artfully embodied Epstein’s treatment of complex issues that it’s clear that such judgments are both infeasible and unfair.”
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Trailer

Creative team