Mozart, Salieri & the Bear

See it if You’re interested two small plays from great treasury of Russian writers. What can you say about Pushkin?

Don't see it if If you’re looking for a comedy or musical.

See it if enjoy little known foreign plays that inspired famous English ones. Canned music, but still loved the sound of Mozart piped thru a church.

Don't see it if Hard to like The Bear which felt slow and, at times, too soft spoken.

Also Pushkin's monologues are not as rhapsodic as Shaffer's, but I liked watching Tapia and Ben-Dov play off one another as Salieri and Mozart. Great costumes.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to enjoy 75 mins of very enjoyable + very good acting, gorgeous costumes and in general a feel-good environment. I loved it!

Don't see it if you are not interested in these 2 plays or don't want to travel to 86th St. But you would miss very good actors in 2 enjoyable plays.

See it if If you are curious about Russian theatre. The acting is great. Music is divine. The theatre is small but the stories are big.

Don't see it if You don’t like theatres in a church on second floor. Not interested in classics.

See it if What a delight to see the dedicated actors in this double productions. Very enjoyable 75 minutes. Good acting, dialogue n the costumes.

Don't see it if You can’t sit still for 75 minutes and Off-Off west of B’way small production is not your cup of tea.

See it if you like small, intimate productions of intimate plays, or you like costume drama, or Russian drama interests you.

Don't see it if you have trouble understanding actors with foreign accents in English, or you are easily bewildered by Chekovian absurdity.

Also I'm a newcomer to both Chekov and Pushkin. It was interesting to see these two short plays paired. "Mozart..." predates "Amadeus" by 150 years but explores the possibility that Salieri poisoned Mozart out of equal parts jealousy and hero-worship. The dialogue is at times overwrought, but, well, 1830. Israeli actor Shai Ben-Dov plays Mozart beautifully, with a touch of Tom Hulce (from the Amadeus film).

"The Bear" is more problematic. A melodramatically weepy widow of several months fends off a creditor with problems of his own, while her manservant bumbles about. Somehow their arguing becomes almost a game, then a dance (specifically a tango here), and ultimately a passionate affair. Sorry if that's a spoiler. The actors give it their all, and yet at times it's a bit bewildering.

It would be unfair not to mention the exquisite costumes, which went a long way towards evoking the time and place. Recorded incidental music was interesting but occasionally a bit too "on the nose."... Read more Read less

See it if Minimal staging but terrific costumes. The actors were very good, and the play was thought provoking,

Don't see it if More talk than action, so don't see it if you want something very fast moving.

See it if if you are not familiar with russian plays and want to see them brought to life. mozart and salieri really good acting especially salieri

Don't see it if you like slightly faster paced comedy;both plays well done but pacing in the BEAR play could have been a tad sharper/ acting was great

See it if you like short, funny stories. Small staging, beautiful music, and characters breaking into random dancing.

Don't see it if you are looking for an actual comedy or musical. It incorporates both but it is really neither. If you don't like two unrelated stories.

See it if Timeless one-act small productions

Don't see it if Classical authors

See it if You like interesting concepts...Both plays were well written and well acted. It is a nice theater and was well staged.

Don't see it if You want to be blown away. And/or You want lots of action/fast-moving drama. I was looking forward to these plays but was disappointed.