The Pelican & Isle of the Dead NYC Reviews and Tickets

89%

(14 Ratings)

Positive

100%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Ambitious, Absorbing

About the Show

August Strindberg Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere staging of the two works together, as they were written and intended by their Strindberg.

From the show:

In "Isle of the Dead," a middle-school teacher who has died in his sleep wakes up to find an enlightened spirit sitting next to him. This spirit tries without success to explain to the teacher that he no longer need concern himself with such mundane matters as grading papers before class. Finally, the spirit instructs the benighted teacher to watch a play with him. The play is " The Pelican."

In "The Pelican," a vivacious young widow has eyes for her newly-married son-in-law. The moral turpitude of it is driving her son to drink. Throughout her children's lives, the widow denied them food and firewood, unwilling to "squander" money that she is actually stealing for herself. The son finds a letter from his late father recounting her cruelty -- how will he avenge her betrayal? The play's title comes from an erroneous myth of nature: the mother pelican feeds her chicks ground-up fish from her beak, but in earlier times, this was thought to be her own blood, making the bird a mistaken example of charity and sacrifice. In a wicked note of irony, the mother was honored with verses about the pelican's sacrifice at her daughter's wedding.

Show-Score Member Reviews (14)

Pelican in full flight

See it if Love the playwright and company.

Don't see it if Hate out of the way venues with pushy, obnoxious hosts begging/fundraising.

Philosophical, Intelligent, Great acting, Great writing, Great staging

See it if A spirit takes inventory, then views play in which an incriminating letter is left behind. Great impulse to sandwich both plays in 95 min

Don't see it if "I want to avoid the suffering/If only I could do the evil I want to do/The day of death is better than the day of birth/Victim of Camorra" Read more

Great writing, Great staging, Ambitious

See it if an ok but not especially remarkable production of a great play.

Don't see it if you've never seen or read this particular play and would like to get acquainted with it. Read more

Ambitious, Thought-provoking, Good acting, Entertaining, Philosophical

See it if U like thought provoking plays in an intimate setting. The Pelican was very thought provoking but the rest felt long, tedious and why?

Don't see it if U don’t like small theater or prefer musicals. Want the 2 plays to be more cogent with more of a moral to the story.

100

Great staging, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if Great production of this rarely seen Strindberg play. Cast has great chemistry. All performances are excellent and nuanced.

Don't see it if You don't like to think.

100

Riveting, Entertaining, Great acting, Exquisite, Absorbing

See it if See it if you love shows that make you think about life, love, death and everything in-between. Great acting and a riveting plot!

Don't see it if You're looking for a musical or a farce.

100

Great acting, Clever, Edgy, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if You want to see a great delivery of an ambitious world premiere!

Don't see it if You only enjoy musicals!

Great writing, Great staging, Great acting

See it if World premiere of The Pelican's prolog, Isle of the Dead, which makes the play comprehensible. Natalie Menna is marvelous!

Don't see it if You can't stand thinking.

Trailer

Creative team

August Strindberg Rep