Two Class Acts NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (43)
See it if have liked Gurney's work in the past, if you like one-act plays and enjoy innovative staging.
Don't see it if you don't care for Gurney, don't like short plays or are offended by male nudity. Read more
See it if you like one-act plays and AR Gurney. Crossing borders in relationships. Set in the 60s-70s seems dated. Not his best work. Great acting.
Don't see it if you don't like one-act plays or Gurney.
See it if You like college settings, related one acts, classical references, contrast of 70's ¤t classroom with inappropriate student : teacher
Don't see it if you don't like one sided pro Palestinian character unchallenged in Ajax, contrasted with characters with fluid points of view in squash
See it if Enjoy fast-moving stories of contemporary issues
Don't see it if Fast moving plots and scene changes will confuse you.
See it if Strong acting in clever plays.
Don't see it if Not Gurney's finest writing (the women, for example, seem a bit underwritten), though entertaining.
See it if You enjoy cleverly staged, small cast, intense, immersive theater pieces. And be sure to see both plays.
Don't see it if You have a problem with brief nudity.
See it if You enjoy charming characters and gentle humor
Don't see it if You are uncomfortable with a slightly homoerotic theme
See it if See both shows, but in particular Ajax if you love great acting!
Don't see it if You have issues with nudity on stage.
Critic Reviews (12)
"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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