The Skin of Our Teeth

See it if The human condition, over the entire course of history... sublime, suffering, and ridiculous. Unique material, creatively staged.

Don't see it if The person sitting behind me said to her friend at intermission, "What the hell was that?"

See it if You like a non traditional story that is clever and quirky and requires a bit of thought on your part. And if you enjoy Thornton Wilder work

Don't see it if You don't like non-linear/circular stories, the breaking of the fourth wall, and are undeniably odd and at times confusing.

See it if an unusual depiction of human survival over the millennia from Ice Age (set in a suburban NJ house) thru Great Flood in Atlantic City & War

Don't see it if a nonlinear 1942 (avant-garde then) play where the actors get out of character to address the audience; surreal & often loud

Also I especially enjoyed the first act with refugees (including dinosaur, woolly mammoth, Moses) coming to the Antrobus suburban house to escape the Ice Age - relevant to today.
In the Second Act with its very bright costumes and high activity level & emphasis on Mr. Antrobus affair - any interesting & relevant dialogue is overshadowed. Surprisingly I found it the most tiring despite its bright look.
Third Act (after the War) was dark but touching.
All speak to human resilience. We get by by 'The Skin of Our Teeth'... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a play that was way ahead of its time back in 1942. It predicted the future...TODAY.

Don't see it if absurdity combined with intellect is not your thing. It makes you think.

See it if highfalutin explorations of archetypes, the exonerating and ineffable power of the human imagination, and cyclical Ages of Man is your cuppa

Don't see it if histrionic overacting, ponderous first halfs, fourth-wall breaking, or jumbled surrealist action (but not thoughts) are not your cuppa.

Also In one sense, I'm surprised this won a Pulitzer. In another, it's the sort of grand, genre-defying, eternally-relevant spectacle that should, which makes me think maybe I caught a bum performance. For being written in 1942, it felt fairly fresh. Sure, some of that was the talking dinosaur playing bass guitar, but there is also an entire act set in an eerily prescient would-be nuclear apocalypse, if nukes had been invented yet.

The set is gorgeous. I'm pretty sure The Bigness and the hysterical gesticulation and diction of the actors was intentional, but they could theoretically just all be really bad in the same exact way.

I liked the shattering of the fourth wall, though sometimes (rehearsal) worked better than others (attempted murder).

I'm glad I saw this play, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.... Read more Read less

See it if You are up to the challenge of a difficult old notable play. From an earlier challenged time, it speaks to us. You will enjoy Mary Wiseman.

Don't see it if You want easy, this isn't that. Art does not exist independent of it's audience. You bring your history & must engage & do your part.

See it if you want to be able to say that you saw a production of this play--it's not produced all that often and it is considered a classic.

Don't see it if you want an emotionally involving show. I found it boring despite the sometimes frenetic pace, the fancy set and the hard-working actors.

See it if you are curious about staging a play unwieldy at best and a missed opportunity to be truly relevant. The concept is awesome; execution not

Don't see it if Loud is not youe idea of relevant and reason is your way of communicating. the characters never truly evolve and it is more performance

See it if you know and like this odd, disjointed, allegorical play; or just to see Mary Wiseman - as funny and beautiful as the young Lucille Ball

Don't see it if you want your plays linear, fast-paced and fully understandable; this one is not! Yet somehow entertaining and, in the end, hopeful

See it if You're open to deeply unusual works that blend absurdism with philosophy, and tragedy with comedy. It's surprising how fresh the play feels

Don't see it if You're not willing to run with anything that could be thrown at you--a mammoth playing drums, a timeline that spans eons, 4000 year old kids

Also The play continuously felt fresh and new and daring despite being 75 years old. But it also felt unevenly performed and some scenes overstay their welcome. I was fascinated and ultimately moved, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to occasionally also being frustrated or bored. It's a wild ride.... Read more Read less

See it if you like plays with lots of social commentary; you are ok with the breaking of the 4th wall; you like non-traditional storytelling

Don't see it if you need a play to follow a straightforward plot; you aren't interested in reflecting on the nature of humanity & family in a surreal way

Also I thought this was brilliant. The cast was uniformly terrific, with Mary Wiseman an extreme standout. What a great performance - would be worth seeing again just to watch her. So funny and perfect.

This is a Pulitzer Prize winner from many years ago, but is exceptionally relevant in our current political climate. (Check out the New York Times article displayed in the lobby of the theater talking about that.)

The set is simple but works perfectly. The ensemble includes people playing music created for this revival and it adds a lot to the show.

It helped me enjoy it to have a familiarity with the bible, as there are multiple references throughout, but I don't think that's a requirement.

It really was both funny and thought-provoking. And completely surreal, despite being all about very real things.

I loved the breaking of the 4th wall repeatedly. A really fascinating piece of classic writing and this seems like an exceptional version of it. Highly recommended.... Read more Read less

See it if You're looking for a fresh take on an older play, revived for the right period. You want to be engaged.

Don't see it if You don't like long plays. You're not willing to go on a journey with them.

See it if you enjoy Wilder's writing, particularly Our Town.

Don't see it if you don't like absurdist work.

See it if you appreciate a terrific production of one of the most difficult and important plays in American theater. So relevant to today's times.

Don't see it if you don't like experimental theater or long plays.

See it if you like plays that still resonate many decades after they were written. The acting is good too!

Don't see it if You are not into long, kind of surrealist plays.

See it if You enjoy contemporary interpretations of classic theater.

Don't see it if You are looking for a straightforward narrative.

See it if you want to see something different and adjusted to the contemporary

Don't see it if you have a hard time following events and confuse easily

See it if you want to see a thought-provoking, quirky show about the human experience, and be amazed how relevant it is right now.

Don't see it if you can't handle allegories, you can't handle the 4th wall being broken, chaos on stage bothers you.

Also I typically don't like theater that breaks the 4th wall but Wilder's play is worth it. I'm conflicted about the production itself - it was chaotic and manic at times and sometimes felt amateurish. However, some of what bothered me may have been a stylistic choice given the nature of the play and its message.I'd still recommend seeing it, especially since productions of this play are so rare!... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy a classic American play that broke all the rules wonderfully acted, directed and designed.

Don't see it if You only enjoy linear, non-experimental work.

Also Unlike a certain other classic play currently revived on Broadway, this production demonstrates how a director can add their own touches to a show without perverting the intentions of the playwright.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to be reacquainted with anAmerican classic or love Thorton Wilder. It resonates today and is a clever and timely as when written.

Don't see it if You hate absurdist drama, want believable, simple narrative, don't appreciate new takes on the classics

See it if you like busy meta theater that is fairly well executed.

Don't see it if you don't like being bombarded with lots of ideas at once without much subtlety.

See it if You're interested in seeing an ambitious, unconventional play that takes on heavy themes and has some genuinely funny moments.

Don't see it if You find plays with non-linear plots annoying; you're not interested in thinking about the state of the modern world.

Also This classic Thornton Wilder play is undeniably weird in a lot of ways, yet I found TFANA's production both compelling and entertaining. It includes strong performances by the leads (with one exception) and inventive staging and set design. Full of symbolism and Biblical allusions, this show will make you think about how far humanity can fall and why we bother to keep building despite it all. The third act didn't hold up as well as the first two, but on the whole, the show was a pleasure to watch. The one weak link was the original music: though pleasing to the ear, three of the four original songs didn't really work in context, and felt like intrusions in the action. Overall, I recommend seeing this production for a unique evening that will give you something to talk about.... Read more Read less

See it if u like great acting ,direction sets/ are ready to enjoy absurdist theater that makes u think, shudder/cry/ laugh/ have a wonderful time

Don't see it if u expect a dated piece/ this surreal play is very current &real.

See it if You love creative design and, especially, if you want to see a brilliant take on a difficult script.

Don't see it if If you have no patience for heightened language, or a circular plot.

Also MVPs: Cesar Alvarez, theatrical composer extraordinaire, and whoever designed the puppets.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Thorton Wilder, no matter how his plays are directed

Don't see it if you remember Robert Woodruff's production and believe that this could be much grittier, relevant, biting.