Ugly Lies The Bone NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%

(34 Ratings)

Positive

88%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Absorbing, Great acting, Relevant, Intense, Thought-provoking

About the Show

Roundabout Underground, dedicated to producing new works by emerging playwrights, presents a drama about a traumatized US veteran home from Afghanistan who uses video game therapy to heal.

Newly discharged soldier Jess has finally returned to her Florida hometown. She brings with her not only vivid memories of her three tours in Afghanistan, but painful burns that have left her physically and emotionally scarred. Jess soon realizes that things at home have changed even more than she has. Through the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she builds a breathtaking new world where she can escape her pain. As Jess advances farther in the game, she begins to restore her relationships, her life and, slowly, herself. 'Ugly Lies the Bone' explores the idea that no matter how much life may ask us to endure, what truly matters is finding the strength to survive—and to heal.

Show-Score Member Reviews (34)

100

Absorbing, Great acting, Profound, Relevant, Riveting

See it if You are touched by veterans with disabilities, human compassion in times of crises and the family dynamic. Love brilliant acting.

Don't see it if You are squeamish about disfigurement, or you are subject to post traumatic stress disorder.

100

Absorbing, Superb, Brilliant, Captivating, Emotional

See it if you like intense, brilliant shows with a great twist on modern technology and modern issues

Don't see it if you want to see classic theatre

100

Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Must see

See it if you like nuanced characters

Don't see it if you only like musicals

Great acting, Intelligent, Moving, Riveting

See it if you enjoy dramas about interpersonal relationships.

Don't see it if you prefer theater with lighter themes.

Absorbing, Intelligent, Must see, Riveting, Thought-provoking

See it if you enjoy seeing the works of up-and-coming writers.

Don't see it if you do not like being emotionally involved in a play.

Great acting, Must see, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Excellent

See it if You enjoy powerful performances with a great story that moves at a great pace.

Don't see it if You don't like small theaters

Absorbing, Great writing, Relevant, Intelligent, Funny

See it if a play about harrowing injury, but keenly tuned in to gentle irony and human comedy as it examines how we heal together

Don't see it if you think war plays must be grim

Intense, Riveting, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Moving

See it if you love theatre and want to see an intense and emotional performance from Mamie Gummer and the cast.

Don't see it if you'd rather not think or be moved and would rather see a "la la" piece.

Critic Reviews (17)

"The play confirms that Lindsey Ferrentino is a writer of dauntless conviction. This bracing drama, starring a superb Mamie Gummer, confronts an achingly topical issue with hardheaded honesty and admirable compassion...Despite the forthright depictions of Jess’s suffering and frustration, 'Ugly Lies the Bone,' directed by Patricia McGregor with careful attention to subtle changes in texture, retains a certain buoyancy."
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"'Ugly Lies the Bone' is worthy but schematic...Patricia McGregor directs the strong ensemble with honesty and attention to detail...While 'Ugly Lies the Bone' addresses genuine contemporary issues, its reality is too streamlined and foursquare, too virtual."
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"Everything that happens in the social scenes is banal compared to the therapy...The play drops so many levels it can hardly recover. That it keeps recovering anyway is mostly the result of the extraordinary performance of Mamie Gummer as Jess."
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"'Ugly Lies The Bone' is clearly the work of a young talent with plenty ahead of her. It’s timely, compelling and as current as you could want. It’s also self-consciously bleak and overwrought. Jess’ return from the war doesn’t need the underlining it sometimes gets in Patricia McGregor’s alternately brisk and heavy-handed production."
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"Ferrentino's writing is deeply felt and often touching. But the play, running a brief 75 minutes, feels underdeveloped and strangely thin...The drama also suffers from the skimpy production values of the developmental theater...But the work does have truly affecting moments."
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"Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino has given us a unique heroine, a female war veteran, and a fascinating real-life-based premise. Virtual reality? Show us more! Yet just as we start to fully visualize Jess’ simulated world, Ferrentino pulls back the curtain. And that’s it. "
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"Ferrentino is economical with her dialogue, packing both humor and sincere emotion — but Gummer offers an energetically charged and emotionally raw performance that brings the text to even greater heights...Ferrentino is at her best when writing through the tip of a laser: the insular world of pain, the claustrophobic routine of Middle America — this is the durable skeleton of 'Ugly Lies the Bone.'"
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"If 'Ugly Lies the Bone' sounds like the most depressing drama of 2015, I hasten to add that it isn't, partly because of Gummer's almost brutally unsentimental performance and because of the glints of spiky humor buried in Lindsey Ferrentino's script...The author is much better at suggesting the agony of Jess' life than in providing any hope...In the brief running time of 'Ugly Lies the Bone,' a bright young talent becomes a major force to be reckoned with."
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Trailer

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