Two Can Play

See it if you'd like a 1970 dramedy abt a blowhard husband/clever wife. 2 strg actors, gd set, gd sound design/lighting. Polished prodn. Jam'n accents

Don't see it if you can't laugh at wife being disrespected (Act 1). Still, she gets her day (Act 2). Civil unrest backdrop of 70s Jamaica. Could use cuts.

See it if You want to see a fifty year old show that is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Great staging; acting; lighting.

Don't see it if You can’t get past the accents or the fact that it’s a little uneven. Each act feels like it’s own play.

See it if You want to see a dramedy based on a couple from Jamaica that is working on a way to get to the United States by any means necessary.

Don't see it if Accents in a play bother you. It bothers you that a husband disrespects his wife. Unrest in Jamaica doesn't sit well with you.

See it if You want to see a Caribbean couple come up with a scheme to get to the US. Some very funny, as well as touching moments. Excellent acting!

Don't see it if You don’t like hearing Caribbean accents or not in a mood for comedy.

Also I totally enjoyed this comedy from beginning to end. Great direction coupled with hilarious comedic timing.... Read more Read less

See it if Two talented performers playing a Jamaican couple willing to do whatever it takes to get to the USA.

Don't see it if Jamaican accent of Mr.Rogers not always let you understand the conversation. Play itself need a little trim.

Also Deserves more viewers!
Has an intermission.
A little far from subway.
Very friendly and super helpful stuff-all of them are volunteers.
Can if soda costs only a dollar and it's a self-service buffet, so the theatre trusts its patrons (not happened too often our days)... Read more Read less

See it if for a chance of seeing work by the late Trevor Rhone, iconic Jamaican dramatist; to root for women empowerment plots; foolish men charm you

Don't see it if Jamaican accents & slang will irk; you prefer a play to be either farcical or serious--but not a mix of both; you prefer a large cast

Also Two wildly different acting styles are on display here. Yale Drama School-trained Michael Rogers brought to mind the over-the-top bug-eyed buffoonery of actor Tim Moore [1887–1958], who gained his greatest recognition as "The Kingfish" opposite TV's Amos and Andy.
Joyce Sylvester's committed performance has much in common with Kathleen Chalfant, who knows it’s her job to represent the inner life of her characters.

In the first scene, Rhone deftly positions JIM as idiotic. Every Jamaican knows that "when gunman a-come," the worst thing is turning on lights. JIM's over-the-top terror also demonstrates the soft belly of the bully, fearless when it comes to belittling his long-suffering wife Gloria. The economy of this paints JIM's failings within the first 2 minutes. Bravo.

Despite this, the play could use a trim & sharpen Gloria's poignant monologues--esp the speech that ends with her sad epiphany: there are 2 Americas, a black one & a white.

The last scene's resolution rings false.... Read more Read less

See it if Two-character play, over the top in places. Predictable but not-quite- believable resolution. See it for the acting.

Don't see it if Acts 1 & 2 seem like different plays, and he and she, although very fine, are stylistically very different. You'll cheer for her.

See it if You want an entertaining story of a couple’s struggles and evolution. Great staging.

Don't see it if You don’t like small venues or Jamaican accents

See it if Well-acted,well-directed&well-staged play on serious social issues such as women's inequality,violence,race& immigration w/use of grt humor

Don't see it if uninterested in Jamaican culture; can't value vernacular as intregal part of dramatic realism.

Also Trevor Rhone's play, set in 1970's
Jamaica, has been picked by quaint
Castillo Theater to celebrate both
Black History/Women's History Month.
Play also celebrates,even indirectly,
how freedom achieved by American
women inspires women from other
cultures.
Ah, and the music of Bob Marley
makes you dream you are dancing
on the beautiful Negril Beach !...... Read more Read less

See it if You like to laugh and delve into a marital relationship that needs a little work. A Caribbean story we all can relate to

Don't see it if If you are not interested in a story from years past. It’s an island “Jacky Gleason show” even with a “you're the greatest Alice”.

See it if You're a discriminating theatre goer expecting a well-written play, well acted on a beautifully set designed stage w/ great lighting+sound.

Don't see it if You have no interest in seeing a play about a woman's late blooming awakening and emancipation written and set in Jamaica in the 1970s.

Also I expected a much fluffier and funny play than what I saw and experienced. Not that I am complaining. I was very pleasantly surprised and even shocked that such a feminist equal-rights-within-marriage manifesto should have been written by a Jamaican male playwright in the 1970s.

The play could have been written now for how modern and relevant it still feels in terms of the divide of what women really want and what they actually get both within and outside of marriage.

I loved everything about this play. This is a must see for lovers of international theatre.

I did want to add that it was brave on the producers' part to want to re-stage this play during the current Trump administration, where 'immigrant' has become a dirty word, in spite of the fact that aside from American Indians and American Mexicans, most of us either came here or were born to immigrants who arrived from every other part of the world. The scheme at the center of the play is like typical fodder at a MAGA rally.... Read more Read less

See it if The story about the family wants to better themselves n their kids still resonates. Feel like in Jamaica w/security gated bedroom. Yay maan.

Don't see it if If the story about would-be immigrants, the power struggle of the couple and the different cultures do not interest you.

See it if you want to see a well acted, wonderful story about life.

Don't see it if accents bother you you want a musical

See it if You are a fan of plays that focus on two central characters and the evolution of their relationship as time progresses.

Don't see it if You think you will struggle with understanding the unrest happening in Jamaica in the 70s OR the heavy accents of the main characters.

See it if you'd like to see yet another iteration of "men dominating women is bad"

Don't see it if a dated situation and heavy accents would throw you

Also This is a two-character play, so there's a lot of talk; much of it is exposition. The actors are both very good and I had no trouble understanding the dialogue, but it's rapid-fire. The problem was more the play itself; in the Me Too era, a husband who is merely a selfish slob is the least of most women's worries. I read a review of the original production to get an idea of what the play was about; it was described as a "Feydeau-like farce." It is not. It's a dramedy, accent on the drama, not the comedy. It is 2 hours, not 1.5 hours, and could use some cuts. Thematically, it's not much different from "A Doll's House," but Ibsen has aged better, even though "A Doll's House" was written a century before "Two Can Play."... Read more Read less

See it if you're interested in stories about marriage and immigration.

Don't see it if you want a more modern take on the issues; you don't like accents. I found the play not that compelling but the actors are good.

See it if You enjoy jamaican plays

Don't see it if You can't understand Caribbean culture

See it if You enjoy plays about serious immigration concerns, with a lighthearted presentation.

Don't see it if You are judgmental about things people do to get long in life.

See it if An insight on the dreams and schemes of a couple seeking to escape the Jamaican war zone would interest you.

Don't see it if You are not into Caribbean accents

Also Two hours with intermission

See it if Forever relevant issues brought masterfully to a well thought out stage design. Perfect mix of meaningfulness delivered with humor.

Don't see it if You don't like happy endings.

See it if Lighthearted. Deals with immigration and empty nesters who realized that family has overtaken the relationship between them.

Don't see it if If you have a problem with dialects.

See it if If you are interested in how some immigrants resolve their difficulties in getting themselves and their families into the US

Don't see it if If you can't understand a Jamaican accent.