Lonely Planet (Keen Company) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (101)
See it if You like relationship stories and don’t require a large cast to enjoy a show. You’re interested in issues that are relevant and fact-based
Don't see it if Discomfort with homosexual characters or the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis from the standpoint of a group initially affected the most Read more
See it if You want to see thoughtful, well acted theater that gives you something to think about and chew on.
Don't see it if You're looking for something light and fluffy. This one requires some thought and caring.
See it if You can sit through an okay first act to get to an amazing second.
Don't see it if The set up nearly lost me. But when I locked into the characters I didn't want the play to end.
See it if You want to see a compelling play about the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
Don't see it if Prefer more direct writing or don't care to see work about LGBT history.
See it if While of it's time w/o seeming dated, Keen Co revival is heartfelt & poignant Superbly acted and carefully staged, Dietz's elegy shines
Don't see it if Slowly paced for effect, it can seem a bit lethargic Knowlege of the era & devastation enhances effect but not needed Quietly haunting
See it if You love Arnie Burton and Matt McGrath - both are terrific. Or if you aren't familiar with them, go and fall in love.
Don't see it if You aren't interested in a play about AIDS, aging, loneliness and friendship. But you would be missing out.
See it if You want to see 2 amazing actors that are better than the material
Don't see it if You expect something ground breaking
See it if you like really good acting and writing
Don't see it if you think plays about aids are dated and unimportant
Critic Reviews (22)
“An intimate portrait of two friends at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic...The lights come up on a single chair onstage, and the quiet, reserved Jody appears. Played by Burton...he is instantly likable...The character of Carl, played by McGrath, captures hearts...The final scene is the most heartfelt of all...The contrast in the men's characters is still there, but it has done a complete 180...Leaving questions hanging and not a dry eye in the house.”
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“This play felt like a period piece and a play set in the near future. There is a timelessness in how we deal with grief, loss, and fear...This absurdist and tragic farce is heavy with metaphors, stacked up as high as the chairs in the store, so high that it’s hard at moments to see the tragedy and sadness that lies within this story...The beauty of ‘Lonely Planet’ is that the more one ponders the events, dreams, lies, and numerous metaphors, the deeper and more hopeful the play feels.”
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"At times maddeningly elliptical, it uses symbolism, irony, and a sprinkling of absurdism to communicate the anguish felt by its protagonists...Jonathan Silverstein’s compact production builds in tension...It reflects a world overtaken by something strange yet familiar, terrifying but unavoidable...For Dietz’s play to achieve maximum power, the turn of events should sneak up on the audience; here, it’s largely telegraphed.”
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"Despite the outstanding performances of Burton and McGrath, the revival fails to deliver...That failure appears to be in the script itself and in choices made by the director...The plot is too predictable to support a two-act play...There are too many tropes in the script for any one of them to have the impact it should and to allow the bones of the play an opportunity to be properly enfleshed by the competent cast...One wishes they had a more compelling play to exercise their craft.”
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“The potency of its theatrical topicality has faded somewhat amid over three decades of AIDS-related plays…If Dietz's combination of gentle sentiment and whimsical humor is to reach us deeply, it needs a far more compelling production than this one…; here, it comes off as a mildly dated, minor handling of a subject treated with far greater serio-comic power by other playwrights…Dietz's plotting, like this production's pace, creeps along, with very few moments of stinging dramatic substance.“
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“The revival reminds us of how deep the loss still is from those who have died...Arnie Burton and Matt McGrath will have you falling in love with these men...They are touching and heartwarming, leaving an audience full of sniffling humans, who still remember how many were lost...The play is so simple, yet so profound...This powerful play with these marvelous actors has a one, two, punch reminding us that this is a lonely planet and it is only by connection that we live on.”
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“Dietz’s play unfolds on a modest scale, offering an intimate look at how men grappled with the everydayness of suddenly living at death’s door and the fear that they might be next...As directed by Silverstein, Dietz’s play remains quietly captivating in its simplicity, and the easy intimacy between Burton and McGrath is remarkably moving...The play’s conceit can feel a bit overdetermined. But its portraits of individual response to trauma could hardly be more relevant."
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“An emotionally resonant play about two men’s changing perceptions of the messy, all-too-real world they’re navigating...Burton and McGrath take advantage of all the humor and heart in Dietz’s script...Their impeccably credible performances, thoroughly in tune with each other, outshine everything else about the otherwise fair-to-middling Keen Company production. 'Lonely Planet,' in their hands, is the kind of compelling evening that invites a second visit.”
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