See it if Good acting amongst a so-so writing effort. Last 10 minutes or so was very good. Middle needs work.
Don't see it if If u want a consistent play writing effort. Lighting here needs work.
See it if you’d like to see a powerful evocation of a protracted terminal situation & the stress it puts both on the infirm & on a family caregiver.
Don't see it if graphic details about bodily infirmity might disturb you. Read more
See it if Mother and son intersecting dual "sections" with the characters crisscrossing personalities and also the caretaking roles. With projections.
Don't see it if Both universal and specific: Everyone must confront parental mortality, but these reenactments seem more descriptive personal diary entries. Read more
See it if you would enjoy the juxtaposition of monotone narration/pretentious asides by one character with a simplistic characterization of the other.
Don't see it if you don’t want to lose 70 minutes. Or 50 - the last 20 minutes had the makings of an affecting story, but the first 50 need a lot of work.
See it if You enjoy minimalist shows about heavy topics that are handled with grace.
Don't see it if You don't like shows that focus on the messier sides of illness and aging. Read more
See it if you like poetry - this show is as rare as a great poem.
Don't see it if you need a traditional play Read more
See it if you are content with one excellent performance in an otherwise banal play.
Don't see it if you bore easily and object to bright lights shining in your face.
See it if You like to see beautiful men on stage
Don't see it if If you don’t want nudity stay home
"A Son Mourns in ‘Notes on My Mother’s Decline’: Intimate but distant by design, Andy Bragen’s play takes us on a journey many are likely to face with an aging parent."
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"Echoes Grief at Fourth Street Theatre"
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"'Notes on My Mother's Decline' makes a persuasive argument that, ultimately, one's parents become one's children, and not very obedient ones at that."
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"Knud Adams directs this one-set show which at times has moments of humor, but overall is a slow-moving and usually depressing narrative. Ari Fliakos, who plays the son, gives a reserved performance. Too often I thought of the somber tones of 'The Twilight Zone's' Rod Serling."
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"A Theasy Best Bet…This is a play that slowly soaks you up with its sincerity, bringing you to a raw and vulnerable place ever so imperceptibly…The staging of the piece by the ingenious director Knud Adams is as precise and elegant as the language."
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