The Gravedigger's Lullaby NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (58)
See it if You'd like to see a well-written premier about hard working people just barely ekeing out a living.
Don't see it if You can't understand someone who gets so angry at the boss and his situation that he lashes out at a co-worker.
See it if You want a smart drama about the have and have nots. A family drama of trying to make it in life. Like gut wrenching peformances.
Don't see it if You don't want to acknowledge the real poverty that exists. That real people work the best they can & still don't have enough to live on.
See it if Talbott's blue collar drama wears its heart on its dirty sleeve but Koch's excellent Baylen has us in grip from his first sigh of exhaustion
Don't see it if Drama takes too long to reach its points about economic injustice & strives for a questionable mythic quality; good direction helps focus
See it if you are open to all kinds of story telling & like seeing the world from another's point of view.
Don't see it if you're looking for a happy, upbeat, warm & fuzzy kind of show- although there are some very tender moments.
See it if You like emotional plays showing the have and have nots.
Don't see it if You don!t want to see simulated sex, and some physical fighting.
See it if interested in watching a tough, hard piece
Don't see it if you don't like plays that are depressing
See it if you like good acting about the subject of the haves and the have nots in this world. Great thesis on poverty and what it does to the people
Don't see it if You don't like depressive story lines about the wealth gap in this country.
See it if You are looking for serious acting and a serious play
Don't see it if Masterfully done, but serious plays exploring human psyche and emotions aren't too your liking
Critic Reviews (12)
"Playwright Jeff Talbot’s character portraits are terrific...'The Gravedigger’s Lullaby' features pain, sacrifice, determination and commitment under grim, untenable circumstances, yet its overriding message is one of the persistence of human spirit...Anguish, resolution, and a single moment of joy, all seem authentic. We empathize rather than sympathize...Director Jenn Thompson does a marvelous job of defining her characters, right down to the way they carry themselves."
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"A thoughtful and articulate depiction of those subsisting on the bottom rungs of society. Brought to life in an appreciative production...Director Jenn Thompson has staged Talbott’s work with both theatrical savvy and an open heart, guiding her four actors into beautifully drawn portrayals...The plotting may seem at times to rely too heavily on happenstance. However...his play vibrates with an up-to-the-minute resonance that overcomes any dramaturgical nitpicking."
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“The Gravedigger’s Lullaby’ will assure Talbott’s place in the current list of important writers for our theatre…Talbott builds it slowly from a simmer to a boil, finishing with a coda that is honest and satisfying, and gives resonance to the play’s title. A remarkable cast of four brings it all vividly to life...Ted Koch is playing the title role, and his performance is so grounded that from his opening moments alone onstage, he commands our attention…It’s a winner.”
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"Despite good intentions and passages of real lyrical humanism, the play ends up making the same mistakes as the Left...Jenn Thompson’s direction is energetic and precise, and the acting is strong almost across the board, but in the end the play reinforces the very cultural narratives it purports to dismantle...'The Gravedigger’s Lullaby' deserves praise for trying to shine a light from Theatre Row into the homes of the dispossessed, but it’s ultimately too patronizing and solipsistic."
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