Theatre for a New Audience stages Thorton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning, tragicomic paean to human perseverance and indestructibility. More…
Written during the darkest period of World War II, this timeless play has not had a major New York production since 1998. Wilder’s quintessential Antrobus family copes with chaos, and the frustrations of parents and children set against the crises threatening humanity’s survival.
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, ... 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 ... 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 y... 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 Ma... 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 p... 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... 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 d... 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.