Today Is My Birthday NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (18)
See it if you are interested in seeing a play in which sound design takes center stage. Glorious performances by the entire ensemble.
Don't see it if you are not interested in theatre that stretches boundaries. Read more
See it if You enjoy excellent acting in a somewhat novel format. The sound engineer is one of the stars of the show. Topic is very relevant.
Don't see it if you don't like small, intimate plays. The audience is basically on the set! There are only three rows of seats which encircle the stage. Read more
See it if You enjoy contemporary light drama with great acting and compelling characters.
Don't see it if You are not interested in personal stories on contemporary themes.
See it if you're up for something completely different. The story unfolds mostly through phone conversations and its unfolding held my interest.
Don't see it if you prefer more standard and then this happened structure. Read more
See it if you're a fan of innovative ways of telling stories that are still deeply satisfying narratively.
Don't see it if you refuse to accept that 1hr40min of people talking on the phone can be compelling theater (which it totally is in this case).
See it if you’re up for a fast-paced, light, and amusing 90-minute play featuring a couple of standout performances.
Don't see it if you believe that “30 is the new 20.” The playwright does not.
See it if for a creative, lighthearted look at a woman trying to figure out her life
Don't see it if your preference is for a more serious approach
See it if You like light contemporary drama about communication and the nature of relationships
Don't see it if You prefer big stage productions that will leave you whistling a happy tune
Critic Reviews (4)
"The problems that Emily has encountered are problems of communication...Stanton dramatizes this cleverly...The plot, though certainly contrived, gives Ms. Stanton room for genuine comedy. The supporting cast, under Kip Fagan’s swift but refreshingly unfevered direction, also delivers the laughs...If 'Today Is My Birthday' sometimes feels too narrowly driven to justify its own premises, it is also capable of great humor and poetry."
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"A hilarious, intricate new comedy...'Today Is My Birthday' is a gift. Most playwrights today get our phone-obsessed, zero-contact reality wrong, but Stanton nails it...Director Kip Fagan turns the New Ohio into a recording studio; Emily often is standing in front of us while the others are walled off in booths behind glass. It’s a rollicking show—you’ll laugh and laugh—but it’s bitter underneath."
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“Telling a story this way can quickly lose its novelty, and when Stanton's story meanders midway, our attention does too. But Fagan guides this unconventional work with enough energy and humor to keep us curious about its soul-searching main character...With the dominance of texting nowadays, however, the play already feels dated...Still, the play's continuous stream of voices adds to the alienating hurly-burly of sound that gives 'Today Is My Birthday' its resonance.”
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“The theatrical equivalent of light comic fiction...None of this is unpleasant, and some of it is honestly amusing, but Stanton juggles so many subplots that the script boils down to a series of comic premises sorely in need of development...These problems are alleviated in part by the charming leading lady and a supporting cast skilled at delivering characterizations with the ease of quick-sketch artists...Results in a play that amuses and irritates in equal measure.”
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