Kiss It, Make it Better NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (31)
See it if Was rooting for it, but after an 80 min first act, it lost me. Should be a one act. Acting was very good. So was staging.
Don't see it if You don't have patience. It's plodding. Needs a good edit and tighter direction.
See it if You want to see the early stage of play development. This is an extremely early phase of a play.
Don't see it if You want to see a play that's ready to be seen in front of an audience. You value good writing & acting.
See it if You're partial to shows about serious issues and their consequences.
Don't see it if You have a low tolerance for oblique, confusing and slow moving drama.
See it if Your air conditioner is broken and you need a cool place to sit You like a play with way too many ideas You don't mind bad dialogue
Don't see it if You want to care about the characters
See it if It's a stream of consciousness, cynical and rather hopeless look at coming of age. In the murk there are moments of revolutionary theater.
Don't see it if you're bothered by sexual violence, drug use, pathetic parenting, being lied to about the length, lack of closure and muddied message.
See it if You'd like a well-intentioned, overly ambitious but ultimately unfocused, unclear drama about potential abuse. Good dialogue, weak play.
Don't see it if The bleak results of boredom, abuse & nihilism facing American teens upsets. Tighter editing & direction would've helped play & good cast.
See it if It was a good try and original and I appreciate the effort, but....
Don't see it if Hard to sit through for 2.5 hours. Shorten it by an hour, please.
See it if You like something different, cleverly staged, a show that constantly has you trying to figure out the time frame in lives of the characters
Don't see it if you want an easy to follow plot, you're offended by language and sexual themes, you have difficulty without theater-aided hearing devices
Critic Reviews (4)
"A delightful and authentic coming-of-age story…Miskell was positively splendid as the ADHD suffering Ty...Nadia uses her newfound sexuality to conquer her long-time crush, their childhood babysitter, resulting in damaging perceptions of what relationships should look like. The play progresses to explore this theme in great depth with mostly entertaining results...The story does feel too repetitive and could probably be edited down. Still, Phoebus’ hard work and thoughtfulness is evident."
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"This coming-of-age story is accessible and universal. But by the second act, Phoebus explores a new style that does not even come close to being as successful as her poignant first act…Despite the drastic contrast of the script, 'Kiss It, Make It Better' featured visionary direction...'If Kiss It, Make It Better' ended after Act I, it would be triumphant. But Act II ruined the strong momentum. And it’s a shame because Theatre 4the People almost had a smash on their hands. So close yet so far."
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"Raw and poetic, the play falls upon you as a tsunami of engrossing pain, untamed passion, and tenderness that is confused with cruelty...The daring lighting design and projections complemented the play very well and managed to not take away from the actors, who delivered performances that gave me goosebumps at times. Sometimes the text loops for longer than needed but, ultimately, Erika Phoebus did a great job evoking the memory of the dirt and poetry of teenage years."
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"Like the awkward adolescents at its center, the script sometimes struggles when attempting to tackle large emotional beats. Thematic ideas fall like anvils, weighing down the action and stretching out the running time to two hours...The rapport between Phoebus and Miskell ultimately grounds the play. The actors have an easy, intimate chemistry...It’s hard not to be moved by the tragedy of these drowning teens clinging to each other, unable to keep from dragging themselves further down."
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