Two Class Acts NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Imbued with a giddy openness to change that seems to be as much a part of Mr. Gurney’s DNA as his anthropological dedication to a vanishing class of patricians...'Ajax' is best perceived as a happy fantasy, one that bubbles with the belief that borders of all sorts were meant to be leapt over. 'Squash,' also directed by Mr. Arima (and warmly designed by Jason Sherwood), emanates a similarly optimistic glow, but it is a more fully integrated play."
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"Perhaps because of their brief running times, they are less substantial than usual; for once, this most inventive of playwrights touches on his favorite themes without having much new to say about them...'Ajax': His editorializing doesn't always mesh well with the Meg-Adam romance, which has a breezy, screwball quality. Still, under Stafford Arima's direction, it all goes down easy...'Squash': Arima directed again, and he keeps the tone light and bright, eliciting totally solid performances."
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“Whether you see one or both of ‘Two Class Acts’, these are provocative plays of ideas on topics of the day. The playwright continues to demonstrate that he has a wise and discerning view of the human condition. Director Stafford Arima has done a beautiful job of obtaining all of the nuances and humor out of the two sharp and intelligent situations. The casting for both plays could not be improved as the actors make their roles their own. The Flea leaves White Street on a high note.”
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"Sometimes, all the right elements come together to make a production that’s just delightful...The artistic elements that come together here: visceral acting, transporting, detail-oriented design, Stafford Arima’s masterful staging, and A.R. Gurney’s buoyant yet dynamic new plays...Aside from a few telegraphic moments in the dialogue to keep the plot going in these two micro-plays, Gurney’s writing is delightful."
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"I found Gurney’s 'Ajax' offensive, not because it spread the same old lies about Jews but because it was artificial and jerky. I think it needs to be rethought and turned into a longer play with more depth and less superficial characters. I presume it’s a comedy, but the humor didn’t come through to me...'Squash:' I found very little feeling in this play as well. It was a clever idea but not quite clever enough. Laughter was sparse. The characters were too superficial to be funny."
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"'Ajax:' While the boy-meets-girl conceit is hardly original, Gurney's treatment of it is, though it does require you to suspend your disbelief about the typical professor-student relationship...As directed by Arima, 'Ajax' nicely straddles the ancient Greek and modern American world....'Squash:' Gurney really scores by investigating human sexuality through the dual lens of hetero and homosexual relationships...The play can certainly expand your consciousness on sexuality, love, and sports."
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“I recommend these plays more because they’re your last chance to see a Flea offering at this 20-year-old venue (in a 99-year-old building) than for either's intrinsic quality...While each is entertaining, neither is up to the standards of Gurney’s best work...All the creative contributions help bolster the plays, but Gurney's’ characters and situations, for all their potential, are too artificial to generate belief.”
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"'Squash:' The cast are all seasoned actors who do well, the problem is the material comes off saying everybody is a repressed homosexual and I don’t think that’s the case...'Ajax:' Here the acting was done by the Bats, but it came off as amateurish. Again, the piece is offensive and not well written with holes in it wider than the rift between the Palestinians and the Israelis...Stafford Arima's direction was interesting and moved these plays in unique ways."
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"Both plays starts promisingly, but end disappointingly. The acting runs from fair to good, with Amboyer standing out. The immersive sets by Jason Sherwood are excellent...Stafford Arrima’s fluid direction is admirable...Neither play is top-drawer Gurney, but, for me at least, even second-drawer Gurney is enjoyable."
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"Directed by Stafford Arima, 'Ajax' and 'Squash' explore the Greeks through the collegiate lens...'Ajax:' Gurney has crafted an intense relationship play. These two individuals are driven to success yet get blinded from within the whirlwind...'Squash' is short and sweet with a lot of bite...Gurney’s 'Two Class Acts' had some issues but as a pair, they complemented one another well. 'Ajax' and 'Squash' provide a great night at the theater."
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"'Ajax' and 'Squash' are a one-two punch of bigotry and disappointment. Each play is an hour long, and both hours dragged on as I sat cringing in my seat...'Ajax:' It’s trite, it’s predictable, it’s full of cliché. This is a terrible show, and it’s difficult to say if the hackneyed script or the anti-Semitism was more offensive...Though the staging and costumes for 'Squash' were fabulously 1970s fleek, the script was again fraught with stereotypes, misguided ideas, and stale dialogue."
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"Both plays are about the tensions between teachers and students, and the sexual currents that can sometimes overshadow the academic work in a classroom...'Squash' is the longer and more substantial of the two plays. Director Stafford Arima gives it an expansive, environmental staging...Gurney brings a lot of humor to the serious issues he raises in both plays and he gives the actors many juicy and surprising scenes to play."
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