What We Wanted NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (9)
See it if You want to see a somewhat decent stab at a show about polyamory, that'll lead to great conversations with friends afterwards.
Don't see it if You have low tolerance for pretentious bullshit about poetry and literature, or grow weary of ALL characters having sexual tension together
See it if You're into edgy theatre, which explores different topics. It's risqué!!! It starts of pretty good, but, 1 HR 40 min started to feel long...
Don't see it if You're not into polyamory, lesbianism, inter- generational encounters, small theatre, slow-dancing, literature references.
Critic Reviews (6)
"Truly one of the most intriguing plays I have ever seen performed...'What We Wanted' is just so raw and artistically realistic, but is so in the most unconventional of ways; it leaves the audience questioning how something like this can be real but also demonstrates that humans are fundamentally the same and yet so far apart...The actors who made this all possible...are all spectacular as they navigate their way from happiness through to despair, and all the chaos that happens in between."
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"Set in a small Midwestern college town, the play though well written does not seem real. Had this ménage-a-trois been located in NYC's Greenwich Village or Chelsea, one wouldn't find it so implausible. Additional items also damage credibility. Although it is not clear in the play, the script states that the three live in faculty housing at a small all women's college. More and more strange."
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"Still feels like a work in progress. The words have a playful rhythm and charm, but as we dive deeper into his world, the inexperience to create depth and realistic moments becomes evident...Harms is trying too hard to enrapture us, enthrall us, and impress us with phrasing and intellect, while simultaneously not trusting us to see the complexities...The actors do a magnificent job...but the impulses and motivations register as haphazard and not of this earth."
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"I’m afraid David Harms' initial effort has 'first play' written all over it like subway graffiti. It cries out for editing. Scenes drag on. There are at least three successive endings. Original poetry ranges from spot-on to obscure. Sally’s behavior towards Dale, made even less credible by stage direction, is too out of character to read true...Elizabeth Rich’s naturalistic performance as Agnes is the best thing on stage, sometimes necessarily acting as ballast."
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"The way Harms allows his story to unfold is melodramatic with a soapy undertone. The baffling plot is expected, many twists projected scenes ahead...Harms introduces a highfalutin language for the characters that detracts from the authenticity of the characters, often teetering on the border of caricature...'What We Wanted' is very much a play in progress that shot for the stars and missed in this big production. Harms has a lot of fleshing out to do before the next iteration."
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"Unfortunately, the intriguing premise didn’t live up to the expectations. Despite all the jokes and touching moments, the play feels flat and fails to engage the interest. Drew Foster directs the well-fitted ensemble of five in a rather restrained manner...Perhaps by placing the action in this allegoric environment, Drew Foster tries to elevate a living room drama to a metaphor of something bigger than just struggles of everyday people. Unfortunately the effort falls short."
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