Strange Country NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (51)
See it if You like linear straight plays, dealing with intense subject matter. Well acted, smart writing, interesting themes.
Don't see it if Not for children. If you don't like intense plays dealing with sexuality, addiction, and like subjects.
See it if This is a riveting drama of family and relationship drama. It's filled with troubled characters dynamically played by all three leads
Don't see it if Intensity and off balanced characters don't appeal to you or if shows like the Humans and August Osage County don't appeal to you.
See it if you want to see a really well done show about the issues and problems people face in life.
Don't see it if you can't handle the intense reality of life
See it if you enjoy drama about interpersonal relationships, or if you are close to someone with a substance abuse problem.
Don't see it if you dislike plays about damaged people with unhappy lives.
See it if You've ever had to deal with addiction on any level, in any way, yourself or with someone you love. If you haven't... OK, but, you're lying.
Don't see it if you don't like little dark stories that make you look at the scary parts inside.
See it if you enjoy-intense family dramas-intimate venues-one act plays that don't drag-great dramatic performances-plays with complex characters
Don't see it if you-want a lighthearted show-mind strong language-want to see a production with a large ensemble-don't like shows with one setting
See it if You liked "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". Realistic set and lighting..It appeared like the end would disappoint, but boy was I wrong.
Don't see it if You don't want to see a really nice dark drama. If you want to miss a fine performance by Sid Williams, watch the summer Olympics on TV.
See it if you want to see some fine theater in an intimate setting. "Do our problems relate to others?}
Don't see it if It is a 4 story walk up but if you do not wait for the last minute, .. phone the company and you can get the elevator sent down on White St.
Critic Reviews (8)
"Anne Adams’ emotionally raw, earthy and often very funny contemporary dysfunctional family drama. This entertaining piece of Americana has the humanity of Lanford Wilson, the quirkiness of Beth Henley and the unruliness of Sam Shepard…In 90 well–crafted minutes, Ms. Adams affectionately renders her trio of interconnected lost souls’ plights with biting humor, and intense revelations with a number of plot twists. Everything leads to a moving, realistic and satisfying conclusion."
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“Taut dialogue, more than a few one-line zingers, and unpredictable twists keep this from being a run-of-the-mill play about family dysfunction. What’s more, the chemistry between the three characters is pitch-perfect. Even more striking, Jay Stull’s direction takes full advantage of the actor’s physicality, and relies upon movement and body language to convey what words do not...It’s a terrific production. It’s a terrific production. Deeply moving, fast-paced, and evocative."
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"The play challenges every first impression that it gives us...The play doesn’t have a large amount of plot, preferring character development over plot development. The trio of actors take us through these transformations beautifully...The play itself creates slight issues when it comes to its characters’ motives...Where 'Strange Country' is most successful is in its refusal to offer black and white moral answers to any of the challenges that its characters face."
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"Well written, well directed and well acted, but seriously who wants to sit through this?...Adams has created three complex characters but we don’t really like any of them...Stull’s direction keeps us interested and he makes us believe this tale of woe...Adams' writing is natural, though who really is your audience and who wants to see this? In all honesty, I don’t. I feel as if my soul is being stolen."
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“Adams’ first play shows that she clearly knows her way around the territory’s dark alleys lined with addicts, enablers, broken families, and the mentally ill. Director Stull shapes an excellent cast into a realistic portrait quivering with Expressionistic intensity...One good definition of a successful drama is a story that acutely distills universal realities. ‘Strange Country’ gives us an uncommon triple portrait of common anguish, straight from the strange country of the human condition.”
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"Three wonderful actors directed by Jay Stull have an amazing chemistry and play off each other very well. Every pause is in its place and even when we are left alone, looking at the stage that everybody left, the anticipation is charged with possibilities…Much like in life, there is no black and white, there is a constant struggle for truth and happiness, and sometimes people disagree on what is right and whether their happiness hurts other people."
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"'Strange Country' does a good job of capturing the sadness that is brought on when a family member is suffering from a problem that is too difficult to fix. However, it also explores the complicated idea that what may be good for one person may not be good for another. Everyone has his own way of surviving, and the measures people use may not always be the right ones...It’s a philosophical conundrum."
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"A tough but tender ninety-minute drama…Adams, a first-time playwright, has a tendency to lapse into therapeutic cliché and implausible avowals…Those late missteps detract from the otherwise sensitive treatment of the trio by both Adams and the cast of Jay Stull's slow-burn staging…Geraghty's Jamie in particular conveys a quietly shattering sense of being shell-shocked by her self-inflicted pain."
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