Look Back In Anger

See it if Nice updated version of an epic play Still resonates. Osborne was ahead of his time. Nice acting by entire cast. Space at Gene Frankel great

Don't see it if No happy moments, Theater had rest room problems. Play ran 1/2 hour over projected length

See it if you want to sink into the anger of 1950's British youth with all its harsh, loud language and treatment of others in a bleak seen future.

Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with shouting, door slamming and mistreatment of others. This is not a joyful or happy ending play.

See it if You enjoy 1 dimensional overacting.And bloopers: almost knocking over ironing board. And picking up cup to smash since didn't smash 1st time

Don't see it if You want a professional well acted production. Lead guy kept garbling lines unintelligibly.

See it if You like this playwright. You want to support this theater.

Don't see it if You want symmetry among the players. You want to smile. You want a big production.

Also I think this play must require a very light touch. We have to see the seductiveness of Jimmy in order to tolerate his menace.
We also need to understand his attraction to these women. The playful inappropriateness of Cliff's relationship with Allison gives us respite only to again watch Jimmy tear into the benign Cliff.

This was a bit too one note for me. Jimmy is constantly looking for a trigger and takes off on yet another rant on education, wealth, and class.

There are fleeting moments where we see Jimmy's charm- then he falls back on the class divide. What is value? Who earns value? And in the end are we all interchangeable.

The second act fell into melodrama and much overwrought hand wringing by the
women. Ultimately I felt only relief when it was over.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy the playwright's work. Story is basically main guy's angry rambling on and on.

Don't see it if You want a story with a plot. All the rambling on and on leaves you wandering what's the point. Very dated.

See it if you're a fan of Osborne's writing and want to visit (or revisit) the world of the angry young men of British drama.

Don't see it if you have little tolerance for yelling and mild violence. The volatile relationships are intense and rapidly change from moment to moment.

Also I liked the first act more than the second, hence my lowered grade. The director mentions that she wanted to focus on the female characters. I imagine this had her make what I consider to be a misguided costume choice for Alison (in the second act), one that to me was completely alienating and not at all in tune with Osborne's vision. Of course, the director is free to create her vision, but it did not work for me.... Read more Read less

See it if you'd enjoy the revival of a play which was groundbreaking in its day & are familiar with the script;enjoy revivals;don't mind uneven acting

Don't see it if you have trouble understanding accents; expect to see the ending the playwright wrote rather than one that changes the play's meaning.

Also 1st: I had difficulty understanding the lead's accent.I also couldn't figure out what accent it was supposed to be.Later I learned the actor's Scottish.I suspect that was the accent he used.If so, it just didn't fit.In any event, I couldn't follow some of what he said.
2d: Alison's appearance in the 2d act.Yes, she was ill.That doesn't explain mascara streaked all over her face.If she had cried & mascara had smeared during the scene--ok.But arriving at the door looking like a raccoon in an outfit nobody would have worn during that time period...well, no. It was jarring.
3rd:...the ending. I'd never read or seen the play. Watching the ending,I thought WHAT??!! These actions are wholly inconsistent w/the characters I've been watching the last 2 hours. So, I went home & read up on the play, They changed the ending & the revised ending destroys what has become a period piece because it isn't consistent w/ the period. Still Osborne could write & I'm glad I got to see most of his play.... Read more Read less

See it if You're looking to do a comparison to the 2012 production or even the 1959 movie. This production pales in comparison to either.

Don't see it if You're looking for a polished production

See it if You don’t mind seeing mainly bad actors and a director who chat the ending when the original was better.

Don't see it if You would be better off doing something else.

See it if you want to see a bleak show about an angry and cruel man and those who tolerate, care about, argue with, and/or complain about him.

Don't see it if you want a light-hearted show and/or one driven by action. This show has some powerful moments, but it also drags in parts.

See it if Good opportunity to see a classic that is dated and rarely produced...acting is uneven and choppy.

Don't see it if you want a play that is exciting...this o ne is predictable.

See it if Like the J.Osborn and want to see revival of his novel from 1950. Support cast or live nearby.

Don't see it if You do not need all that drama! Good people who have to deal with one person's anxiety, selfishness and hate are too scary to stop him

Also Find something better to do, honestly. Actors are good but play is not

See it if you like "realistic" plays and characters who rage against the world around them including the people in the room.

Don't see it if you mind spending time with intensely dislikable characters who are treated as sympathetic. Mind bad men being portrayed as irresistible.

Also Haven't seen many kitchen sink realism plays or seen a different version of this, but it felt very indulgent with many of the same issues current social plays do. It thinks of a protagonist flaws as societal indictments, so willing to really go far on the broken character but aims the lash at other points. The feminist take is basically an unearned victory (using stage direction not changing dialogue) ending given all the dialogue that ends the play. You can dislike the ending of the play, but it makes dramatic sense given everything that leads up to it. The new ending doesn't because its bringing a different set of themes to the play that haven't been explored in the writing.... Read more Read less

See it if Game cast needs stage combat training after delivering the most silent slap in stage history. Otherwise, a commendable job in a lil space.

Don't see it if Don't see if you're a feminist & despise women living with a anti-equality guy. Also if the title leads U to imagining violence onstage, not

See it if You enjoy going to remakes of famous works to see updates

Don't see it if You like musicals and comedies

See it if U enjoy intense family dramas with very good actors.

Don't see it if U feel uncomfortable with men being belittling to others in a angry voice or prefer musicals. I’m not sure why this play con’ts to be redone

See it if It's a classic for a reason. The cast are uniformly good, the writing is top-notch, and the staging is decent.

Don't see it if There's some cursing and infidelity, and it's not exactly a HAPPY play, but it's worth the seeing.

See it if You want to see an iconic play about a cynical, depressing, relatively short-lived period of English social history of the 70s and 80s.

Don't see it if Coulda been even more depressing if it were intelligible. Some good performances in Act 1, but everything fell apart in Act 2. Everything.

See it if into a resonant production of a rarely-seen classic; want to understand how old interpretations were more about their time than the play

Don't see it if uninterested in the context in which this play resonates

Also Being a child of the '60s, I remember "Look Back in Anger" as a cultural phenomenon, one that really overplayed the anger, the justification, and the symbolism of a new generation. So much so that I viewed the play as more manipulative than relatable.

On that level, this production is a revelation. This is a relationship play, centered around a narcissist. His justifications are just an excuse. What was new in this play in the '50s was the presentation of such character as multi-dimensional, and lacking context. this was perceived with way too much symbolism. But now we can see this as a pre-cursor to our current era of shamelessness.

The acting has some false notes, but all inhabit their characters to make the journey absorbing.... Read more Read less

See it if A masterpiece of English theater as"the first totally original play of a new generation"(TheGlobe) Theatrical explorations on loneliness,*

Don't see it if A typical"Kitchen Sink drama" is not really your cup of tea.If u don't like Osborne's play,then you should not go,but u will miss a classic.

Also *alianation,anger,apathy & class struggle
in UK in the 50s, made famous by Burton.
Well-acted on a humble yeteffective set.
Jimmy, symbol of the "Angry Young Men", is nasty &a real bore to his wife BUT
don't slaughter him ! Not so fast. In reality he 's trying to force Alison2 have
a genuine response,something coming from her heart and not from her bourgeois upbringing. He says she isnt
real because she hasnt suffered real pain & degradation. True, but Alison
eventually changes to the woman he wants her to be, yet in a shocking different manner from the original play.
Jimmy definitely persuaded us entirely that he really spoke for a lost generation, the one actor Ryan Welsh represents so well. The new ending??Unfortunately,
it seems to have only one focus:to please
PART of modern audiences,those unable to appreciate
the original play within
its own socio-cultural context.
If you liked the movie w/ Richard Burton
or Williams"A Streetcar Named Desire",
then you'l like this play as well... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a rare revival of an important play. But there is a reason it isnt done often - future writers improved upon it.

Don't see it if you dont like soapy, angsty drama. This is also a scrappy, bare bones production.

Also This play was the first of its kind. Its success spawned a ton of imitators, many of whom got it better. A young, talented company have done an admirable job staging this somewhat creaky old play.... Read more Read less

See it if Revival of a play which was groundbreaking in its day but now seems dated. The original angry young man that may still be relevant.

Don't see it if you don't want to spend time with very unlikable people.

Also uneven acting and poor direction doom the play

See it if you want a well-done production of a dense, intense play that may leave you a bit confused as to its overall purpose.

Don't see it if you need to be able to make out all the lines; you want perfect timing (lines were a little bit rapid fire at times, need more silence)

Also This production made me want to read the play as it was hard to really get the overall picture here. Nevertheless, it was absorbing and pretty well done. I thought most of the acting was sincere except for one character.... Read more Read less

See it if If you are interested in a rough around the edges revival of JOsborne play in small theater.

Don't see it if You don’t like intense character driven dramas. Uneven acting, dragged at times. Some overacting. Ending made no sense.

See it if you like plays about unhealthy relationships, male angst and inability to cope with trauma and grief in a time of high general anxiety.

Don't see it if you don't care for plays about toxic relationships between men and women as well as female relationships that covet the dysfunction you have

Also This play spoke to me of male anger, unresolved childhood grief at a father's death and the subsequent stand-in whipping post his wife & roommate both become. There is no fixing broken people whose traumas are too deeply buried. The abuse this man's wife puts up with isn't exactly misogyny, but a sociopathic cry for help, when at every turn he demands to be heard, obeyed and his anger and outrage at the world around him be validated and stroked. When your wife just told you she lost the baby and you in return just complain that she didn't even send flowers at your mother's funeral, there's definitely a severe emotional disconnect there.

Thinking about the parallels between the 1950s cold-war anxiety brought on by the existence of the hydrogen bomb, & today's 21st century age of the global return to totalitarianism and nationalism, I saw a strong connecting thread that modernizes this play almost 7 decades after it was first written.

Anxiety is a silent killer of good relationships.... Read more Read less