The Baroness - Isak Dinesen's Final Affair NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%

(71 Ratings)

Positive

76%

Mixed

20%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Absorbing, Intelligent, Slow, Thought-provoking

About the Show

Scandinavian American Theater Company presents the U.S. premiere of this drama inspired by the true story of author Isak Dinesen's relationship with a much younger poet.

Karen Blixen, better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, wrote such epic tales as 'Out of Africa' and 'Babette's Feast.' At the pinnacle of her fame in 1948, the 62 year-old Blixen was introduced to 29-year-old Danish poet Thorkild Bjørnvig by his publisher’s wife, Benedicte. Blixen took Thorkild under her wing and the two shared a powerful, dangerous, and intimate friendship. This is a tale of passion, courage, art, love, and lust between a young ambitious poet, a grand dame of literature, and the charming wife of their patron.

Show-Score Member Reviews (71)

Ponderous, Arch, Blixen a la cadaverous glenn close sunset blvd, Precious, Self important

See it if You like mannered, larger than life exaggerated central characters. Lovely staging. Slow but I liked the timing. 130 minutes.

Don't see it if the invocation of magic and demons with an omnipotent, omnipresent lead fails to appeal. Very stylized, not much actually happens. Read more

Absorbing, Imaginitive, Charming, Great staging, Quirky

See it if you're game to be lulled into an intriguing mentor-mentee relationship story; if you like inventive use of music (original & Chopin mix).

Don't see it if you're uncomfie with dynamic (not always believable) of forceful older woman & naive, younger man; you loathe those herbal cigarettes. Read more

Absorbing, Great acting, Profound, Thought-provoking, Intense

See it if You enjoy fictional accounts of real people; you enjoy plays that are conducive to discussion and analysis.

Don't see it if You prefer light comedy or musicals. Read more

Great acting, Intelligent, Slow, Thought-provoking, Disappointing

See it if you are curious about writers' process, relationship of writer and his muse, and what happened to Karen Blixen after Kenya (Out of Africa).

Don't see it if you crave more action or music than talk, or are not interested in poetry, writing poetry or fiction for publication, or historical drama

Slow, Great acting, Indulgent, Disappointing, Clunky writing

See it if You like plays about historical figures. You enjoy plays about art & its process. You have some familiarity w/Isak Dinesen's work.

Don't see it if You want natural dialogue & characters: the text is Very Important & the characters never felt like real people. Read more

Intelligent, Ambitious, Cliched, Disappointing, Quirky

See it if Slow historical drama of Svengali type relationship between Karen Blixen and much younger male writer; odd confusing set and very slow

Don't see it if You don't know about Blixen and can't sit through long and slow moving historical drama ; set did not blend well with historical setting