Up the Rabbit Hole NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (40)
See it if you enjoy plays with gay protagonists about issues relevant to the LGBT community, plays about mothers & sons & absent dads, sweet endings
Don't see it if gay subjects bother you, tidy endings don't seem realistic, dragged & repetitive scenes don't seem necessary, too basic of a set feels cheap Read more
See it if you like kitchen-sink gay melodrama dealing with adoption, drug addiction, questioning sexuality, daddy issues, mommy issues, rape, et al.
Don't see it if you can't abide nearly every gay stereotype crammed into 90 maudlin minutes, leading to an all-too-convenient anticlimax. Read more
See it if You want to see a show that deals with gay themes.
Don't see it if You are looking for a well polished play Read more
See it if touching drama of gay twenty-something adoptee connecting with his birth family. Poignant scenes of addiction. Tyler Jones is excellent
Don't see it if this is not an Andy Halliday campfest. It's a serious drama, well written, directed and acted. Gay love, sex &addiction portrayed with punch
See it if You are intrigued by the storyline and want to see the actors perform the material decently.
Don't see it if You want to see a focused script. This script felt like it tried to tackle too many topics and therefore tackled none of them effectively. Read more
See it if you have never seen any gay themed play and are just coming out.
Don't see it if you have seen any gay themed play about being young and broke.
See it if This is a ten (out of a hundred). The lead is a gay, young coke head and surprisingly the play still isn't interesting and/or entertaining.
Don't see it if If this is autobiographical, then the writer must have never seen the inside of a junior high school or above.
See it if You want to see a dramatic piece with great acting that takes on the issues of drug addiction, adoption, and family and gay relationships.
Don't see it if You'd prefer something lighter, or the above does not interest you. Or if you might feel uncomfortable watching a simulated rape scene.
Critic Reviews (7)
“The play's most frustrating line is its last one, ‘And more shall be revealed!’ Halliday is reaching for poignant ambiguity here, but it just feels like ‘Up the Rabbit Hole’ ran out of script before it ran out of story. Up to this point, we have learned all about Jack's problems, but we don't know Jack. It's a shame, because there appears to be a lot more to know.”
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"A touching play about a young man seeking acceptance. It’s neither a 'coming of age' nor a 'coming out' piece, but rather a psychological odyssey...This play, by Andy Halliday, is well-constructed, has an arc, and believable characters. Having both mothers played by the same actress was a bit of casting genius...Smith defines both women exquisitely...Given that the work is largely autobiographical we can relax knowing our protagonist really has climbed out of the hole."
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"A tale sweetly told, autobiographical in nature and well cast...We’ve seen this story before and we’ve seen these characters too...Halliday’s work is witty at times, but the plot really revolves around Jack and his endless desire for the advances of a pseudo-heterosexual...Perhaps, my discomfort is that this play is entirely too plausible in 2017...Smith, a lovely actress who gives us a pair of dignified performances as two characters, offers us a quick note of humor too."
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"Halliday apparently believes he can present a series of recalled scenes from his life and assume they’ll rise from reported incidents to full-fledged drama...As he goes along, Halliday takes patrons to and through various meetings between and among the characters...The actors, under G. R. Johnson’s sure direction, are all more than proficient in their roles...Halliday puts forth a specific slice of life as precariously lived today—and in not small numbers—but he needs to do more with it."
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"Andy Halliday’s newest and deeply personal play seems at first a cliché, however as the play moves forward it is clear that this narrative isn’t part of the mainstream...The primary weakness of the show is the pace...Tyler Jones carries the piece with his excellent physicality and effusive charm...While some edits and some tightening up would benefit the production, 'Up the Rabbit Hole' is powerful and moving."
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"Raw, honest and brave. It also, in places, suffers from the lack of objectivity that affects many writers as they attempt to mold their life experiences into dramatic narratives. There is plenty to like, including a strong cast, but both directorially and script-wise, it’s in need of further development...Despite its unevenness, though, 'Up the Rabbit Hole' manages, at times to be deeply moving and tenderly funny."
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"Several scenes in the play drag with a maudlin safety...The conversation is idyllic and natural but lacks significance...When the drama heats up it is a joy to watch the patience pay off with strong choices from actors and characters alike... Johnson’s directing puts Jones front and center for naturalistic transitions, and the pair works beautifully...There is a real satisfaction in the structure of the final scene that inspires tangible gratitude."
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