Quicksand NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (21)
See it if you love relevant historic drama that is beautifully staged and thought provoking.
Don't see it if you are looking for simple entertainment.
See it if You like epic dramas that span continents. You're interested in 1920s Harlem (or Copenhagen, etc.)
Don't see it if It's quite long, so if you don't like sitting through long plays, skip it. Also there are a lot of characters--could be confusing.
See it if you enjoy stories about bi-racial identity; you're a Harlem Renaissance fan; you like to see a strong female protagonist battle racism
Don't see it if you don't like indie theatre; you only go to Broadway shows; you prefer buddy stories; you look down on miscegenation; you like musicals Read more
See it if you enjoy a good story by a fine, large cast making the most of a small stage in non-stop action with good props and mostly acapella songs.
Don't see it if you are not ready to sit through the complete story - it runs long with a 10 minute intermission.Multiple roles by cast can be confusing.
See it if You want to know more of the Jazz Age and the social politics of the time here and abroad. There is some very interesting choreography.
Don't see it if You are looking for a happy musical.
See it if you like a good plot taken from a Harlem renaissance novel. See if if you like interesting staging on a small intimate stage
Don't see it if you dont like to venture away from the lights of Broadway. If you need fancy sets and effects, this is not the play for you.
See it if you are interested in the life of a bi-racial, intelligent, well-educated woman in the 1920s in the South, Chicago, Harlem and Copenhagen.
Don't see it if you don't care about racial issues, women or life in the 1920s. Read more
See it if You appreciate clever staging m, talented young actors, and a work in progress.
Don't see it if You want a polished piece. And if you get cold easily (theater and hallways can use some heat)
Critic Reviews (3)
"'Quicksand,' Nella Larsen's 1928 award-winning first novel, has been given an ambitious, epical stage adaptation by Everyday Inferno Theatre Company working out of the IRT Theater. While Regina Robbins' script for this Harlem Renaissance literary work basically is an assigning of the text of the novel to a company of 13 actors, it is the work of director Anaïs Koivisto who makes this swirling production feel adventurous in creating both a community and a specific world."
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"The ensemble cast was uneven, excelling in some roles and remaining flat in others...'Quicksand' is undoubtedly an interesting story, with many themes still incredibly relevant today...That being said, too much of the novel has been laid out on the stage, which has created an unnecessarily long piece that gives us the facts of the story, but in doing so, misses the struggle at the core of Ms. Crane’s travels and doesn’t contain the heart that it could."
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“’Quicksand’ is an apt name for the ambitious world premiere...It chronicles the story of Helga, a woman of both mixed ancestry and mixed race...Interesting though Helga’s story may be, Koivisto’s production is too long. It’s laden with layers of exposition...Weighed down by...historical, social, cultural, and literary references...There is enough material here for a trilogy...On the other hand, the show is lifted and well-supported by charming interludes...And a versatile 11-actor ensemble.”
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