Small Craft Warnings

See it if you love TW. While not his best, SCW has gd moments. Ea damaged character gives a monologue...a clunky, theatrical device. Very little plot.

Don't see it if you get bored by bad behavior. Violet jerks off 2 men. Uneven acting: Leona seems sober. Monk's voice booms. Doc flounders. Bill's not beefy

Also I found the recent Lovely Sunday For Creve Coeur more satisfying...both the script and the production. SCW is presented on a small stage in a tiny theater. There is some poetic language. And some interesting characterizations. But the central char (Leona) seems to vacillate wildly from kind to violent. Everyone seems the worst of humanity: stunted, uncaring Bill; crazed, sex-starved Violet; incompetent, drunk Doc; etc. It gets exhausting watching all these ne'er-do-wells interact. Still, I enjoy even bad TW more than many contemporary playwrights.... Read more Read less

See it if You want a well directed play with a great story.

Don't see it if If your not a fan of Tennessee Williams or plays with sexual content.

See it if Tenn Williams,What more is there to say Intimate space.Nice set. Tidbit: Williams once played the role of the Doc.

Don't see it if Beware: many monologues Birth of the play was orig called "Confession" Avoid 1st row right aisle seats. Maybe dated a bit.

Also I should mention that for the 70's Williams presented views re: the Gay Community that were ahead of the times.... Read more Read less

See it if you’d like to see a very capable production of one of Tennessee Williams’ most engaging later plays.

Don't see it if you don't like plays staged in intimate relation to the audience, or plays with lots of words, or have trouble following lots of characters.

Also In the summer of 1972, having just received a BFA & about to embark on a Masters, I was taken by a professor of mine, who would then become a friend for the next 4 decades, to the original production of Tennessee Williams’ “SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS.” It still featured Warhol Superstar Candy Darling, & by then Williams himself had taken over the role of the play’s alcoholic doctor Doc. He was terrific fun, & very funny. Anyone who has seen contemporary clips of the man on talk shows knows the demeanor, wry, deeply human, imperturbable as only the perpetually pickled seem able to achieve. In this production Doc is much more remorseful, but that too is effective, as are all the leads. The stage is very small; the set represents a small bar on the Pacific coast of California just above the Mexican border, with a bar, tables, chairs, big ol’ jukebox &, at its most crowded, teeming with 8 flawed, brawling characters. It was a small thrill to see this piece again after all the intervening years.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see one of Williams less-produced plays wonderfully enacted by a good cast bringing to life a time of his own experience.

Don't see it if you don't like plays with tension throughout - every character here brings his/her problems to the fore, including monologues.

See it if Barflies gather and confess in this later and lesser Tennessee Williams. Eight character studies. Monologue heavy.

Don't see it if Disruptive monologue breaks by all, shortchanging the dramatic tension. For completists. Nice large set, but adds to tight quarters.

See it if TW’s lyrical poetic prose threaded into a story interspersed by monologs of lost souls who hang out in a beach bar in the low-rent district.

Don't see it if You dislike cramped seating in a musty theatre, or are bothered by troubled people propping each other up and seeking solace in alcohol.

See it if you love TW, this is a must--it doesn't come around often. It depicts a bunch of sad characters, all self-imprisoned, but aren't we all?

Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with gay/sexual themes and excessive alcohol consumption. If you are depressed, this is not for you.

Also This play is tragic, and although much of the audience laughed a lot, I did not. This is late Williams, who has proven once again that even in failing health and advancing age, he can deliver the goods. For me, hearing TW's words is like visiting scripture. If it doesn't resonate at the moment, it has in the past or will in the future, particularly for women. Here's an example: "Everyone needs one beautiful thing in a lifetime to save them from corruption". OR "You are better off alone than in the company of bad companions".

Who could imagine such a poignant piece could be found in a tiny, rundown theatre on West 13th Street (it actually looks like it could be part of the set).

Any astute theatregoer will come away from this piece with wisdom.... Read more Read less

See it if enjoy Williams' style (whether early-on or in later yrs). This one's slightly different, w/A LOT of scene-pauses for all the monologues.

Don't see it if want something lite & fluffy. This is an edgy, heavy-handed character-study of 8 flawed individuals looking for love & acceptance. Surprise.

Also Good job, well-done, leaves you hanging...

...pun intended.

(If you see it, you'll understand how "Violet" - very funny Jenne Vath - can do that to you).

It's different. It's enjoyable. But I'm torn. The stop & start & stop of the progression of scenes (to allow for all the monologues) is interesting @ first but soon gets distracting. You get to know each character a bit, what makes them tick, what brought them to this point in their life, but it often stops a scene dead in its tracks just as some good stuff's about to happen.

Everyone shines w/in their individual soliloguies, under a spotlight - like they're starring in their own play - while everyone else is frozen on-stage. It's jarring & makes the cast seem disconnected.

Some of the characters are very intriguing. Not as moving as TW's most famous & beloved ones, but nonetheless fascinating. "Quentin" (TW's doppelganger Jason Pintar, whom has an amazing booming voice that hits you right in the chest) & "Violet" are among them.... Read more Read less

See it if You love everything TW wrote. You want to enjoy being depressed for a couple hours, but in the best kind of way.

Don't see it if You can't stand yelling. There's a lot of it.

See it if you're a fan of T. Williams & want to see 1 of his rarely performed plays. The dialogue is well-written and believable.

Don't see it if you dislike plays about marginalized people;will have difficulty w/ sex scenes & graphic language; prefer action to character-driven plays

See it if you've not seen this Tennessee Williams on its feet.

Don't see it if you're expecting a terrific play or dynamic direction. Or if you like musicals

See it if This kept me fascinated the entire time, partly because there are so many characters (all colorful) but mainly because of the writing

Don't see it if You can't take a play where every line is at least meant to be profound & characters spill their psyches as easily as they knock back beer.

Also The women in this play didn't quite ring true to me. Especially the assumption that all women are obsessed with "size"... Read more Read less

See it if you like Williams, it is very indicative of his style

Don't see it if you need likable characters or are disturbed by onstage drinking

See it if You are a fan of TW,intimate theatre,great acting representing misfit,dysfunctional characters who have not troubled past but unknown future

Don't see it if You have trouble with homophobia, referral of sexual acts, foul language, seeing bar patrons as flawed characters fighting their own demons

Also This is a very heavy piece by TW, even though there were few funny moments, the plays deciphers the past of lost souls in a Californian bar. Few scenes where each actor has a monologues. Some scenes were extremely loud where a bar fight emerge after one had too many drinks. This is a long play with intermission.... Read more Read less

See it if you wish to see a rarely revived play by Tennessee Williams, who felt freer in 1972 to tackle gay themes & the lives of feckless alcoholics

Don't see it if you expect a linear narrative; you're prudish; you'd hate the ramblings of angry alcoholics; if you prefer uplifting themes or happy endings

Also Not written as a linear drama, "Small Craft Warnings" is a barroom dirge, an uneven pastiche of monologues delivered by 8 directionless souls, some just scraping by, drinking the night away in a waterfront dive bar in Southern California.

In the cast of eight, Williams has given more heft to the 2 females roles.
As LEONA, a bitter, sarcastic, but self-supporting hairdresser who owns her own trailer (with an 8-inch color TV), Nicole Greevy is mesmerizing.
As VIOLET, a needy soul with mental problems who is quick to latch onto the nearest male for a hot dog, drink, or warm bed, Jenne Vath is quite poignant in a difficult role that requires a Niagara of weeping.

The audience was mature enough to understand the old joke about a $3 bill.
--
According to his biographer John Lahr: Nothing could keep Williams from his typewriter. His 1972 play, "Small Craft Warnings," though it only played off-Broadway, showed some signs of a revival.... Read more Read less

See it if I saw the original production of this play and this revival is much more entertaining. Two performances especially stood out as incredibly

Don't see it if Very small theatre. One of Williams very truthful but more pedestrian plays. Some herbal cigarette smoking involved.

Also human and moving. One of those performances is an actor who reminded me of a young Kevin Bacon as the no-good hustler boyfriend. The other is the bartender in the waterfront bar a group of walking wounded wash up in. Every actor knows who their characters are, what they want, and how to fight to get it. Only an overly-passionate leading lady kept me from a higher score. Again, sustained yelling is not the best choice. Wanting to scream and trying to control that scream is much more effective.... Read more Read less

See it if It's a clever character study of 8 people fighting their own demons. It has smart writing, confessional moments, and a good set.

Don't see it if It's very of its times; the attitudes about LGBT people haven't aged well and those about women only slightly better. Uneven acting, as well

See it if you want to see dysfunctional characters very well acted.

Don't see it if you do not enjoy a play with characters that are neurotic and suffer depression.

See it if you want to see a lesser known play by one of the greatest American playwrights.

Don't see it if you do not want to see a play that deals with lost souls.

See it if you're not above laughing at Williams' absurdities then getting choked up by an emotionally raw monologue. This play's a carnival of drunks.

Don't see it if you're unfamiliar with "The Glass Menagerie," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" or "A Streetcar Named Desire." This is a deeper track, so to speak.

Also Memorable Line: "I wish my heart could vomit."

See it if you like good writing and want to see one of Tennessee Williams’s later works

Don't see it if you don’t like monologues, because every character has one.

See it if You are a TW fan. Fine acting. Nice set and theater. Some monologues took too long.

Don't see it if You want a happy ending.

See it if for one of the playwright's later, lesser seen works, about a cast of misfits who bare their souls in a small dingy California bar

Don't see it if you don't like the same old cocktail of misery ,loneliness, yearning and sadness , mixed with alcohol

Also If you love T. Williams this is must see. Cast is great. Intimate small venue out of a long lost era. A night out to escape your own troubles in these crazy modern times. Go see it.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Tennessee Williams' plays where flawed characters interact in unexpected ways showing fragility, resilience and empathy.

Don't see it if you dislike plays about outcasts and losers.