Pressing Matters NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (64)
See it if You like low-budget high-school quality plays.
Don't see it if You are expecting anything more than a couple of low-budget skits that don't lead to anything.
See it if You are open to many forms of love and relationship. Enjoy the variety of 6 plays.
Don't see it if You expect to love all 6 plays. You expect the same style.
See it if You enjoy catching talented actors honing their craft.
Don't see it if You seek a well-paced, cohesive production.
See it if You'd like 6 edgy/funny vignettes - loved the one about the airline and several others
Don't see it if The vignette right after intermission really dragged & was quite boring, but all the others were fun!
See it if You enjoy short plays focused around women, that make you think a lot about the deeper meanings behind them, and some great performances
Don't see it if You don't like short plays with no connecting storyline, don't like simplistic sets, and don't like stories with deeper meanings
See it if you like shorts that are very varied in quality.
Don't see it if if you need a strong consistency of good writing.
See it if you get a steep discount and want to see young actors building their skills, but with limited material to work with
Don't see it if you are expecting anything above a actors exercise experience.
See it if You like the idea of 6 unique, short plays, focusing on women, & don't need intricate sets or epic stories to enjoy a trip to the theater.
Don't see it if you judge shows on their sets, costumes, etc. This isn't for people that seek a flashy musical, or memorable drama. It's good, but neither.
Critic Reviews (5)
"Every one of these plays is good or interesting in its own right, even if Jasper never quite brings them together to form any sort of grand thesis. The stories are all fairly distinct, and while they are mostly in the same thematic ballpark, they lack a certain specificity and focus that would make 'Pressing Matters' really cohesive...Everyone has at least one standout performance...On the whole, 'Pressing Matters' is an interesting evening, with six stories that are each uniquely compelling."
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“Like almost all the other short play programs I've seen over the past five years, Jasper's has moments of interest but, on the whole, is seriously flawed…Whatever hidden virtues might be dormant in Jasper's plays, director Adrienne Campbell-Holt hasn't revealed them in her plodding, low-energy, borderline amateurish staging. The performances only rarely rise above the mundane, and, with not much to praise about the production values, it's best not to say anything about them at all.”
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"This kind of production has a way of having a ratio of hit and misses that ends up hurting the overall product, but the work here is more hit than miss...Jasper’s writing is fun without losing its poignancy and Campbell-Holt knows exactly what to do with it...A dream team of thespians on stage, this is all wrapped together with a nice bow by the excellent designers. An evening curated for our delight, it gives us more than we bargained for, and we should be all the more happy for it."
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"The actors portray such real emotion while on stage; it will leave the audience entranced in joy, in sadness, and in awe...Nothing has ever been more in tune with real life and its many struggles. Yet nothing has portrayed the joy and laughter that is so indicative of living and its unceasing displays of irony. 'Pressing Matters' is a play that will leave its audience feeling as though they are watching the many colorful and wondrous moments of their own lives."
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"The stories cover a range of heavy subject matter, from mental illness to incest to other—baggage. Contrary to what you might expect, however, Jasper covers each of these topics in a manner that is witty and—well, funny—more than anything else. Not in a way that makes light of anything though—just in a way that is incredibly smart...But I should step back from the brilliant writing for a second and also acknowledge the acting, because it too was amazing."
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