The Life of Galileo NYC Reviews and Tickets

76%

(23 Ratings)

Positive

78%

Mixed

18%

Negative

Members say

Ambitious, Clever, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Great acting

About the Show

Irondale Ensemble presents a new staging of Bertolt Brecht's drama about the legendary astronomer and physicist and his battle between his scientific principles and the Catholic Church.

"Galileo" follows Galileo as he worked to prove the Copernican theory that the sun, not the earth, is the center of the universe. Galileo’s findings and claims challenged the Catholic Church’s omnipotent religious rule. Accused of heresy and brought to trial, Galileo forcefully recanted his findings and was confined to house arrest for the rest of his life, forbidden to continue to write further about a moving earth or a stationary sun. The adaptation also showcases a new political system coming into power and the extreme intellectual conflict experienced by technology and information.

Show-Score Member Reviews (23)

100

Great acting, Funny, Clever, Absorbing

See it if You're interested in what was going on during the time the great astronomer lived

Don't see it if You cannot sit longer than 2hrs.

Berthold brecht. also awesome staging.

See it if You like Berthold Brecht, and appreciate great contemporary staging.

Don't see it if You want to see a lavish Broadway musical.

Absorbing, Great acting, Quirky, Relevant

See it if You are interested in plays about people speaking truth to power

Don't see it if You dislike plays that sometimes veer into political polemics Read more

Question everything, prevent suicide by mob

See it if Brecht's messages ring your bells, as do historical and thought-provoking theater. Four actors creditably carry at least 16 parts.

Don't see it if you can't plumb the messages of both Brecht and Galileo: is your thesis or hypothesis completely worthless? Question, read, teach & learn. Read more

Thoughtful, Probative, Contemporary, Enjoyable, Faithful in its fashion

See it if you are a Brechtian who understands that fidelity to Brecht means probing his work for what it has to say to a contemporary audience.

Don't see it if you either don't like Brecht or only like Brecht as he was written. Read more

Ambitious, Resonant, Thought-provoking, Profound, Intense

See it if You are interested in the intersection of politics and science.

Don't see it if You can't handle a long play that is sometimes odd.

Clever, Ambitious, Disappointing

See it if An ambitious and mostly successful staging of an ultimately disappointing script. Impressively natural use of many anachronisms on stage.

Don't see it if Brecht's plays are often a tad too straightforward and on message for my taste, and this one is one of those. There is a lot to enjoy here Read more

1st act slog sets up 2nd act fireworks, Recant olympics, 17th century inquisition storyline, Truth vs power vs science, Undermining recantation

See it if Interested in progression of thought, science and truth telling via actual 1600s historical persona finally vindicated in the 20th century

Don't see it if Have no tolerance for many words and/or listening to them, expect not to have to participate/think not necessarily be entertained at theatre

Critic Reviews (1)

"Irondale’s innovative and triumphant 'Galileo' is Bertolt Brecht at his most excellent, cradled by an ensemble of dynamic and invested performers and pitched inevitably toward its audience with a playful, conscious eye toward its own didactic mission...As much a top-notch production of the play as it is a contemplation on the playwright himself, staged like a troupe of actors trading spirited performances, mulling over Brecht’s text."
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Trailer

Creative team