Stet NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (82)
See it if you think you already know all about campus rape--you don't
Don't see it if you can't stand having your preconceived notions shaken up.
See it if you like intense, touching drama, investigation into controversial issues, subjects which reflect issues in your past. Women's issues
Don't see it if you don't like intense drama,topics which might delve into unpleasant experiences from your college life.
See it if You want to learn more about the issues of campus rape and journalistic ethics. You like seeing the perspectives from well acted characters
Don't see it if The subject material doesn't interest you.
See it if you like a play that brings awareness to campus rape while raising ethical questions about journalists.Jocelyn Kuritsky is outstanding!
Don't see it if you are not ready for a complex, emotional,and ambiguous play.
See it if You want to look behind the headlines of campus rape stories and think about how the stories get reported, why, and even how rape is defined
Don't see it if You are looking for an evening of light entertainment and laughs. The emotions here are strong on all sides and often disquieting.
See it if you were fascinated/disgusted/shocked by the Rolling Stone's infamous retraction of a story on college rape culture -this brilliantly probes
Don't see it if you want something fun and light and cheery
See it if You like to see plays that are informative on current topics.
Don't see it if You prefer light entertainment or are offended by the subject of rape.
See it if You care to think about how difficult humans make life.
Don't see it if You are bothered by rape and frank language of suffering women.
Critic Reviews (17)
"An absorbing if somewhat unfocused drama...At its best and most sophisticated when it examines the attraction that extreme and graphic reports of sexual assault hold, as opposed to blurrier, more commonplace narratives...The play is less adept in clarifying its own story...The ways that it entwines facts and fiction aren’t always productive...Some of the performances are keen and nuanced...others are more caricatured."
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"Writing about real tragedy has its dangers...The savvy playwright Kim Davies comes to 'Stet' fully aware of the pitfalls ahead. She points to them, skirts them, but her caution has its costs...'Stet' is an Ibsenite problem-drama, and Davies's world seems correspondingly, even appropriately, thin...'Stet' may simply be a case of too many cooks turning the recipe mild...Here what remains of the original truth is interesting, but it hasn't yet been turned into a good enough lie."
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"While there are enough ethical dilemmas in 'Stet' to chew on for several lifetimes, there is nothing innately theatrical about the play that requires it live on a stage...We may pride ourselves on our depth of empathy as individuals who would choose to attend a play that deals with the difficult subject of rape. But for at least a moment, there's not much that differentiates us from the eavesdropping rubberneckers who will soon be reading Erika's tell-all for their fleeting entertainment."
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“'Stet' is a slippery piece of work, so narrowly conceived that much of the time one hardly knows what to think--or, for that matter, where the play is headed...In any case, Speciale's production has a lot going for it, beginning with Kuritsky...In the end, ‘Stet’ suffers from comparisons to its source material...The situation it presents is too sketchy, too inconclusive to be satisfying. I keep thinking that what happens to Erika next is more interesting than what Davies has chosen to show us.”
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"It's Kuritsky's fiery tenacity and the pulse-stopping intensity with which she pairs it that fuels the evening...The problem with ‘Stet’ isn't what it contains - it's what it lacks...The result is a lifeless tribute to a person who already has all our sympathy and thus has nothing to teach us or any additional way to get us to emotionally engage...In ‘Stet’, there are no people other than Erika: just objects to be pushed around to make all-too-familiar points.”
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"An earnest, well-acted but relatively inert drama...The dialogue is informative but it is periodically didactic. Revelatory details about each character’s personal conflicts and past behavior that bears upon the plot come across at times as mechanical...Tony Speciale has expertly staged the scenes with precision as well as proficiently integrated the design elements…Though fitfully interesting chiefly due to the performances, 'STET' plods straightforwardly rather than crackles."
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"'Stet' succeeds in tackling an emotional and controversial issue in a nuanced manner. Kim Davies’ script turns the case into an enthralling story that held my attention from start to finish...Each cast member gives believability to their character’s emotional turns...This production successfully tackles a difficult social issue of grave importance without becoming overly preachy and didactic or creating maudlin characters.”
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"'Stet' is a carefully crafted, beautifully executed play that deals with campus rape and its aftermath...Bruce Mackenzie is nigh on perfect as Phil, the editor, bringing just the right balance of hard-nosed newsman, understanding employer, and sensitive father-figure. He brings a rare verisimilitude to the stage...The spare production is most effective...The less-than satisfying ending is just what it should be, proving the validity of the victims’ fears."
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