"While it returns to themes and situations Howe has movingly explored in other works, this sometimes absurdist play about a family in crisis splashes and thrashes under Kreith’s direction. It goes under almost from the get-go...Some of the performances feel tentative, almost apologetic, while others feel overly emphatic, suggesting that the actors may not believe in these worlds either. Part of that blame lies with Howe’s script...These characters don’t make much sense."
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"There are worse things than a play going wrong—of course there are. But that perspective may be hard to remember during 'Singing Beach'...The often great Tina Howe has written a heartbroken work about aging...But heartbroken isn’t the same as heartbreaking. Awkward icebergs of exposition slam through the dialogue...Ari Laura Kreith’s fumbling production offers no help. Let the summer tide rise and fall, and may it take this 'Beach' out with it."
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"If there's much of value in Howe’s new drama of weathered people on a weathered planet, ‘Singing Beach,’ it's overwhelmed by director Ari Laura Kreith's sluggish production…While ‘Singing Beach’s’ message is an urgent one, the slow-moving production rarely displays an emotional backbone, and requiring a child actor to carry the weight of the drama is a risk that, through no fault of Morss, doesn't pay off.”
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"It's admirable and timely that Howe addresses several extremely relevant issues of modern life, including her own. However, the timeliness is also the most dominant flaw of both the script and the director's staging. The plot's realistic pivotal points and the fairy tale detours somehow don't mesh, nor are they easy to follow. It's hard to put the blame squarely on the script or the dedicated but uneven performances...It's more disappointing than exhilarating."
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"Director Ari Laura Kreith, artistic director of Theater 167 which has produced the play's world premiere, has not been able to help the actors with their thinly written roles and many of them come across as simply labels. At 75 minutes, the play is probably too short to deliver its messages on the dangers of climate change, dealing with the elderly, and the power of the imagination."
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“Milligan, Beirnard and Weiss are all standouts in their roles. Morss is just too inexperienced to carry a lead, and lacks the emotional depth to make us care for this child’s plight. Our hearts should break for this little girl’s separation from her beloved grandfather and they don’t. Kreith’s direction is a little too frantic and doesn’t really build to a climax…Howe just never lets us know how high the stakes are, and they are high…‘Singing Beach’ just leaves me high and dry.”
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“Howe has not lost her knack for the fascinating detail, poetic yet realistic dialogue, and captivating, eloquent characters…But at a scant 75 minutes, the play feels underdeveloped. The theme of catastrophic climate change mirroring the family’s inner turmoil is touched upon but not fully explored. In addition, Kreith’s staging feels limp and slow…The actors...are tentative and hesitant in their characterizations. This ‘Beach’ could benefit from some further shaping by the playwright.”
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"Directed by Ari Laura Kreith, the acting is capable but the play's lack of cohesion is apparent and the book is flimsy, even with plenty of references to poetry, religion and culture. The family problems lack depth as does the dramatic impact of what our culture has neglected."
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