Alternating Currents
Closed 1h 30m
Alternating Currents
75

Alternating Currents NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%
(29 Ratings)
Positive
79%
Mixed
14%
Negative
7%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Entertaining, Relevant, Slow

About the Show

Working Theater's new drama is both a love letter to the community spirit of Electchester and a cautionary tale about the difficulties of creating community in the face of increased diversity.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (29)

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215 Reviews | 34 Followers
75
Great writing, Relevant, A very pleasant surprise

See it if Union housing in Queens welcomes interracial couple, but proves to be rife with prejudice. Electchester & Pomonok are real communities.

Don't see it if See it if you can. A poignant portrait of insidious prejudice in NYC

165 Reviews | 22 Followers
74
Delightful, Funny, Entertaining

See it if THE PLAY WAS A DELIGHT.IT FOCUSED AROUND TWO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.THEN THINGS START TO HAPPE

Don't see it if IF YOU DON'T ENJOY A PLAY ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR STRUGGES. Read more

124 Reviews | 23 Followers
60
Corny, Outdated, Good actors, Quirky

See it if You want to see a play about housing in the nyc area and if you want to see select few good actors make bad writing so much more bareable

Don't see it if You don’t have an hour and a half to kill, you find annoying actor/narrators obnoxious like me, can’t ignore weak writing Read more

254 Reviews | 138 Followers
49
Banal, Cliched, Disappointing, Insipid, Dated

See it if You're interested in the lives of residents of a housing complex

Don't see it if You want some originality. Read more

35 Reviews | 9 Followers
75
Cliched, Great acting, Funny, Relevant

See it if You enjoy plays about communities.

Don't see it if You want an elaborate production: this is simple.

5 Reviews | 0 Followers
84
Funny, Entertaining, Enchanting, Delightful, Clever

See it if different personalities and inc readable cast

Don't see it if songs are a bit long

56 Reviews | 10 Followers
During previews
93
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Refreshing, Intelligent

See it if Very original, see if you like smaller theaters with terrific scripts and sets, plays about something you may now nothing about

Don't see it if You only like big shows, or musicals. Read more

445 Reviews | 146 Followers
During previews
92
Absorbing, Entertaining, Intelligent, Resonant, Great writing

See it if you have opinions on the NYC real estate mkt & the socioeconomic factors of building a secure future, don’t mind think-pieces, know Queens

Don't see it if Not to deter anyone, but if you're unaware of why labor unions rose & fell in influence, key parts of this will seem remote Read more

Critic Reviews (6)

Lighting & Sound America
May 9th, 2018

“Seems more interested in providing tidbits about Electchester than working up anything like drama...Elena and Luke are the blandest of ingenues, doomed to play second fiddle to a lively cast of supporting characters. Indeed, their troubles are barely dramatized; the playwright has opted for a jigsaw puzzle structure, needlessly jumping back and forth in time, with scads of unnecessary narration caulking up the empty spaces between scenes.”
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TheaterScene.net
May 15th, 2018

“Despite the complexity of the interactions of the people of Electchester and the poor folk at Pomonok, Kraar manages to end on a promising note. ‘Alternating Currents,’ produced under the auspices of the Working Theater, is a diverting look what happens to an idyllic place after decades of reality intrude.”
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Theater Pizzazz
May 8th, 2018

“Written by Kraar, ‘Alternating Currents’ is rooted in community...researched...by creating theater for and about working people...The take away is both a positive and a negative...living in this utopian based grouping certainly creates a feeling of belonging, common goals and friendship. However, it has its inherent problems of divisiveness based on race and bias and the pressures of group expectations...The competent acting team furthers the contradictions raised in this environment.”
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Off Off Online
May 11th, 2018

“Part romantic drama, part social commentary, and a dash of historical pageant play...Kraar’s play evolved from interviews with residents of Queens...As interesting as the history is, it doesn’t really catch fire dramatically, with its overall ‘there’s good and bad everywhere’ take on things...Kraar’s scenes jump in time so the momentum is broken...The characters, though embodied by fine actors, take a back seat to a place and an idea.”
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C
May 8th, 2018

"Takes an admirably complex view of the communities that it examines...Vaynberg and Bowen exhibit great chemistry together in addition to communicating their characters' conflicted personal journeys. Arcaro perfectly embodies the type of assertive, experienced working man that one could picture falling into conversation with...’Alternating Currents’ perceptively explores the messy realities of living and laboring in NYC, and, by extension, the United States today."
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M
May 14th, 2018

"'Alternating Currents' hones in on the concept of community, and what it means to be a part of something bigger than yourself. In a city of 8 million people, it’s easy to be swept up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life without ever laying down roots, supporting the theory that people in New York never get to know their neighbors. 'Alternating Currents' flips that theory on its head through its exceptional cast."
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