Lonely Planet (Keen Company) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (101)
See it if You want to see excellent acting in a very touching, well written play
Don't see it if You want a light, fluffy show
See it if you want to see a moving story that is as much about friendship as it is about losing friends during the early days of AIDS.
Don't see it if you want to see something fast-paced; or prefer plays with more than two actors. Read more
See it if You want to see a couple of excellent actors in a clever touching play
Don't see it if You don't like 2 person shows
See it if You enjoy a small 2 person play that deals with the pain of the AIDS crisis in a unique way.Quirky characters & strong performances by both.
Don't see it if The subject matter might feel dated to you or prefer more realistic/linear storylines. Read more
See it if you enjoy small, intimate but well acted plays
Don't see it if you don't like works about the AIDS epidemic
See it if You want to see a story about a friendship during the aids crisis. You are willing to watch a show paced show.
Don't see it if You want a face passed show. You want humor.
See it if you are willing to take the time to lock into this heart-felt and poignant play.
Don't see it if you have no interest in seeing a (another) AIDS related play
See it if you want to see two wonderful actors, working together, creating, playing, grieving listening.
Don't see it if you have seen many plays about AIDS and can't bear seeing another sad story.
Critic Reviews (22)
“Keen Company’s trenchant and splendidly acted revival will eventually tug at your heartstrings...The script may well strike you as entertaining but unfocused...The interplay between Burton and McGrath and their deeply felt portrayals do more than justice to the wit and pathos in Dietz’s script. The sensitive, unforced direction of Silverstein further allows them to play the script’s most telling moments to their fullest...Despite its clever meanderings, it does make its point.”
Read more
“There is surprisingly little emotional resonance. One of the problems may be the lengthy monologues, most of which are expository and come across rather sterile and matter of fact. As a result, there isn’t much left to feel. Nonetheless, Burton and McGrath are marvelously paired. Each of their performances is well worth the price of a ticket...'Lonely Planet' is a show that could well be described as 'enjoyable enough.’"
Read more
"In some ways it is dated--many people are living long lives with HIV--and in some ways it is not--friendship, denial, and grief will never go out of style. 'Lonely Planet's' main strength is its elliptical approach to death and grieving, along with the ability to represent an epidemic through two characters...This production is mostly solid, but not totally...Despite its faults, its strengths ultimately outweigh its weaknesses."
Read more
“This revival seems a bit toothless and the flaws hit you harder than the pain...It’s an interesting meditation on the way fear paralyzes and the way grief activates. But the power is undercut by far too obvious references and inappropriate whimsy...Much is moving, and McGrath and especially Burton, in his isolating terror, leave an impression. But my overall response was to wish I could have seen it back in 1994, when the punch it packs might not have been so muffled."
Read more
This current production left me cold. While Dietz does aim for something meaningful, the two characters never feel like friends...Also, neither really is all that likable a character...Jody and Carl, while friends, never have any real connection throughout the play...You never feel any real real grief...Not every show needs to pack the centrifugal force of other plays dealing with AIDS like ‘As Is’ or ‘The Normal Heart,’ but real emotion is lost in this one which, sadly, becomes tedious.”
Read more
"The writing in the first act is cogent and judicious, or so it seems as played by Burton and McGrath, both of whom give the kind of detailed performances that can only come from extensive preparation and concentration...'Planet' could still use some cutting, but it is slightly better in some ways than its first reviews might indicate, and that’s what can happen to a play when it is given a superior production with deeply felt performances."
Read more