Tell Hector I Miss Him NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (42)
See it if you enjoy comedy set in a San Juan grocery that follows the quirks and antics of 12+ odd but passionate people dealing with personal crises
Don't see it if you feel intimidated by a play with some Spanish in it tho it doesn't matter, unfamiliar with certain aspects of Puerto Rican culture
See it if you look for interesting characters and insights into cultures usually ignored.
Don't see it if you expect a tight story.
See it if you enjoy discovering a subculture, with great acting and don't need to "get" the whole story. (btw... I'm Puerto Rican)
Don't see it if don't like edgy and cursing. You need more pathos and resolution, following too many story lines confuses you & Good acting is not enough.
See it if you want an authentic feel for the people of Puerto Rico.
Don't see it if too much info and time spent on certain characters, and you feel it should have ended sooner.
See it if You like to get close to people who are very different from your life's experience. Hot they get through every day. Lots of wild characters.
Don't see it if You don't care to meet these Latin characters who share their life's experience with you.
See it if you're interested in the cast and the setting and can enjoy a play with lots of breadth and almost no depth.
Don't see it if you prefer complex and surprising characters to a meandering series of events.
See it if You like performances that rise above the lack of cohesion between vignettes
Don't see it if You like more plot cohesion.
See it if you like seeing plays given a full production before they're ready. This feels like a first draft of a really promising play.
Don't see it if REALLY uneven performances will negatively impact your enjoyment (there are 2 or 3 great performances and the rest are very mixed).
Critic Reviews (19)
"So overstuffed with plots and characters that they crowd each other out. Given the play's length of roughly two hours and ten minutes, none of the many situations get the time and attention needed to become emotionally engaging or suspenseful...Some of the attempts at humor are pretty dire...Under the direction of David Mendizábal, the actors go at their characters in hammer-and-tongs fashion, working themselves up into emotional lathers in ten seconds or less."
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"There's nothing compelling or addicting about Lázaro's play; she hasn't yet discovered how to assemble its myriad pieces into anything resembling coherent, let alone emotionally attuned, storytelling...The right director could help her focus, but David Mendizábal has delivered such a cluttered, poorly paced production, even what may be passable doesn't get the chance to shine...The acting...is worth neither further discussion nor naming and shaming the performers."
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"Lazaro's play is a mosaic of scenes, seemingly unrelated (at least at the outset)...Features a bilingual cast that, even in previews, had gelled as an impressive ensemble. The actors' performances have a seeming spontaneity that's unusual, even in a theater profoundly influenced by Method acting and its concerted naturalism...It's all interesting and touching. However, neither the writer nor the director manage to transform the disparate scenes into an integrated whole."
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"A raw and impassioned performance of life and longing in Puerto Rico…Playwright Paola Lázaro and director David Mendizábal expertly set the tone for their explosive world premiere...Lázaro and Mendizábal’s vision comes alive with a brilliantly cast ensemble…Although the ensemble can be hilariously unruly and flamboyant, there is no amount of braggadocio that can mask their unbearable longing for human connection in a country frustrated from being severed and left behind."
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“It’s teeming with colorful lower-class types and has a frenetic sort of energy, but its limited appeal is almost all on the surface. While its characters have moments of genuine emotion and unforced laughter, more often they’re grandstanding or posing for effect…Director David Mendizábal follows the author’s lead. Almost everything is painted with broad strokes. Actors yell almost as often as speak. Music blares."
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“Lazaro has drawn some wonderful characters, and her dialogue is extraordinary. She clearly knows this world intimately…However, there’s an embarrassment of riches in the character-heavy ‘Tell Hector I Miss Him’...There are so many characters and stories that the focus gets lost, story lines don’t get resolved, and we’re left feeling confused about what the takeaway is. We’ve spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the theater, but we’re not sure who and what it was about.”
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"Those looking for clear narrative arcs and thematic structures will find the impressionistic 'Tell Hector' difficult...The ambition of the work is not always fully realized in this production. Under Mendizibal's direction, the cast, though quite able, feels disconnected, and the ensemble's performances come across as scattered...Flaws aside, there is a lot to love in this work by the 28-year-old playwright. Go and see it and be able to say, 'I was there when her magic was discovered.'"
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"Paola Lázaro has a powerful voice…As directed by David Mendizábal, the overall effect is not as engaging as one would hope given the topics they cover....I just wanted the guide to slow down so we all have a chance to take in these vivid and eccentric characters…I wanted to dig deeper into some of these stories, and flesh them out…The play definitely feels like it’s coming from an authentic attachment to character, location, and style…I wanted more."
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