See it if You like provocative theater. Great for a first date, or the twenty-first date!
Don't see it if you only like conventional theater
See it if Fun, sultry music and an ambitious range of performances from small number of actors (all in a suave atmosphere) suits you.
Don't see it if You like clearly defined plots or get squeamish with actors breaking the 4th wall.
See it if you enjoy solid actors playing multiple roles, watching various plot lines weave together, cabaret-style theater, and a jazzy lead singer
Don't see it if you want a coherent plot or script, you feel uncomfortable with sitting in the stage, or you want a fresh perspective on NYC free of tropes
See it if You like the music of Burt Bacharach
Don't see it if You don't like the cast appearing among you
See it if You like New York
Don't see it if You don't like music
See it if you want to experience great performances by a strong cast.
Don't see it if following one actor as multiple characters is difficult or cliched character tropes of 90's New Yorkers hurts your soul
See it if you're interested in the intersection of music and theater; a new type of show where music is part of the acting, and vice versa.
Don't see it if You're not interested in original work on the frontier of a new kind of theater. This is an original show; if you want traditional, don't go
See it if you enjoy intimate theatre settings and actors who portray multiple characters within a single show.
Don't see it if you don't like to fourth wall to be broken (actors will talk to you, put things on your table, etc).
"Although an intriguing attempt, this production was not able to achieve the level of cohesiveness needed to make converging stories transform into one mosaic...There simply is not enough time to dive into the depth of twenty one characters in two hours, some of which is devoted to the inspiring musical numbers...For the present, it might be enough to observe these artists creating, developing, and performing a new work and, ironically, achieving a complex theatrical connection."
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"A lot of Mr. Sater’s characters and situations feel a little too familiar. And while some are better rendered than others, nothing in the play is especially surprising or revelatory. Yet for all its shortcoming this organism has potential. The show is still developing and there is reason to be optimistic. Even as is, on the whole, 'New York Animals' is entertaining, especially for fans of Bedlam."
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"It can be a fine line between archetype and stereotype, but Sater's characterizations tend to the latter while clearly intending the former...It's admirable that they avoided yoking everything to a contrived plot — but they also avoided drama more or less altogether...Sater and Bacharach paint a very monochromatic picture of a many-hued city...You'll probably see a more exotic sampling of Gotham on your walk back to the subway."
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