If I Forget NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (407)
See it if If someone claims there's not much action here, they're mistaken. This is the true action of the theater, where characters fight..(see more)
Don't see it if Beautiful performances all round and provocative argument doesn't appeal to you. But if that's the case WHY would you be reading this? Read more
See it if Powerful, intelligent play that stays with you long after you leave the theater. Terrific acting with very believable family interactions.
Don't see it if This play is deep. If you want entertainment without having to think or feel, this is not the right play. My heart hurt when it was over.
See it if you are interested in a new play written by one of our best young writers. The cast is uniformly excellent. The set is wonderful.
Don't see it if you do not like intelligent theatre. Read more
See it if you have siblings!
Don't see it if you are afraid of feelings.
See it if Jewish family struggles with tradition vs. moving on. Individuals, family and community intertwine. Witty dialog and hilarious moments.
Don't see it if You don't want to think about values and the choices we must make. What is important to our identity? How free are we to decide? Read more
See it if I LOVED this show and I HIGHLY recommend it. Steven Levenson's writing is incredible and all the actors are so moving and impactful.
Don't see it if You don't like long plays. It's about 2 hrs and 40 minutes. I thought it went by quickly though because it's so absorbing.
See it if you want a thought-provoking family drama. Superb cast, especially Jeremy Shamos, and great writing.
Don't see it if you do not want a play about 9/11, the holocaust, mental illness, and aging.
See it if you want to see a very well done play that covers a range of topics - personal and otherwise- with a beautifully careful touch.
Don't see it if you cannot appreciate a good play about family dynamics and drama, with prickly social issues and politics thrown in. Read more
Critic Reviews (37)
"Rare is the opportunity to quietly take in all sides of so many emotionally fraught subjects through such witty, articulate, and impassioned voices as Levenson has created...With more room for his words and thoughts to breathe, this small story explodes into a cloud of provocative questions, none of which are answered, but all of which are mined with impressive depth and efficiency."
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"The playwright, Steven Levenson forges powerful arguments about the decline of Jewish liberalism across the twentieth century...There are no easy answers in Levenson's elegantly constructed, wide-ranging, often scaldingly articulate drama, which features seamless ensemble work under the supremely assured direction of Daniel Sullivan. Seizing the opportunity, Jeremy Shamos gives what is arguably his finest performance to date."
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"The setting has an arbitrary nature that seems to function only as a way to let Levenson examine our own time from a glib remove, or to let him work in cheap jokes that are a decade or more out of date. Worse still, a handful of major plot points are mechanically articulated and executed, more for maximum surface-level effect than to hit you in the gut. With the exception of Michael, these are not people you feel strongly for one way or another."
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"Steven Levenson's 'If I Forget' is the kind of family drama that doesn't get written much anymore: one that has something to say other than just depicting a dysfunctional situation. Not only are we pulled into the family wrangling, the issues under debate are major ones and their outcome is serious business. Director Daniel Sullivan and a splendid cast of seven make this one of the most compelling plays of the season. This is a play you won't soon forget."
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"The play is rather too filled-to-the-brim with provocative ideas, some of which are hard to believe. But these credibility stretches aren't sufficient to spoil the many a pluses on offer. Setting the heartbeat that brings everything to rich theatrical life is Levenson's dialogue...Much credit for keeping us engaged belongs to the actors...Under the direction of Daniel Sullivan the scenes and conversations flow smoothly into each other. All that talk is never allowed to get too talky."
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"Levenson’s ambitious play raises broader questions pertaining to family, loyalty, and generations–issues with which we all can identify, Jewish or not...All these questions and conflicts make for thought-provoking, moving theatre. As masterfully directed by Dan Sullivan on Derek Lane’s terrific rotating set, the dialogue crackles at a breakneck speed, and we’re caught up in a taut family drama that’s (blessedly) laced with humor and heart. The ensemble is uniformly excellent."
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“The play flies by on the wings of lightning and thunder due to the smart, fast, clever, hilarious dialogue of Steven Levenson, the carefully choreographed staging of Daniel Sullivan and the amazing performances of this ensemble. Everyone is perfect…I left the theatre with so many thoughts and images and questions in my head. I left the theatre changed. The show closes April 30th. You have some time but not much. Go.”
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"A well-acted, often funny and always engaging Jewish family drama...The concerns of Levenson’s play feel both up-to-the-minute and age-old, as Michael (Jeremy Shamos) and his two sisters Holly (Kate Walsh) and Sharon (Maria Dizzia) argue politics and religion and identity...All of this unfolds expertly, each character maintaining their appeal and our interest, even those on the periphery...But this conventional drama also ties into the larger issues the playwright skillfully weaves in."
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