Pressing Matters NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (64)
See it if you like to see plays that make you think. They have stayed in my mind & I keep thinking about them.Very touching & funny.Acting is 1st rate
Don't see it if you need shows that spell out every little detail.These shift in time & place.I had no trouble following it,but you do have to pay attention
See it if You want to see some short plays that sort of sneak up on you with their relevance. They seem rather light and trite at first glance.Not so.
Don't see it if You're unwilling to give these little thinkers a chance.
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'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 like shows about relationshipd
Don't see it if You are looking for intense drama
See it if my 75 partners 85 6 shorts skits. some very clever. one or two obtuse.. some good acting. thought provoking
Don't see it if no need for the intermission Use of vaudeville signage not needeed as unable to view from many seats
See it if You like short plays that make you think. The acting was well done and the plays were quirky and entertaining.
Don't see it if You like a grand production or you can’t sit still when there are moderately long pauses between plays.
See it if You like short plays on different topics from different, less-heard-from points of view. You can tolerate some unevenness in pacing.
Don't see it if You are looking for one, long, cohesive piece with a beginning, middle and end.
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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