See it if Frank Langella is magnificent. Beautifully written to viscerally experience the confusion of alzheimer's. Intense but entertaining.
Don't see it if you want to miss a great show
See it if you like dramatic structure that surprises and a tour-de-force performance (almost over-acted)
Don't see it if you do not like to see drama about dementia or any life-threatening illness
See it if Brilliant tony-winning performance by Langella.If you relate to parental care and dementia issues.Playwright develops fascinating structure.
Don't see it if Stories of loss, dementia, abuse will affect you negatively. If flashing bright lights may trigger a migraine.đ
See it if you are curious about dementia from the sufferer's perspective, must see Frank Langella's funny, poignant, and heartbreaking performance!
Don't see it if you find the subject matter difficult to watch, but go anyway!
See it if you like your theatre to make you think about the human condition: about yourself, your family, and those around you.
Don't see it if you're looking for something light-hearted
See it if You want to weep and think about aging.
Don't see it if You want to keep your mascara on your eyelashes.
See it if If you appreciate a great actor in his prime in a performance that runs the gamut of emotion. The play is brilliantly constructed.
Don't see it if If you do not like to become too emotionally involved in a play.
See it if you want an engrossing story of decline, Watch the sets. Rivals the Humans as a great play for the 2016 season
Don't see it if you don't want to see a man's decline, beautifully written and wrought
"Langellaâs mercurial performance surely will be relatable to any audience member who has spent time around a person with dementia...Much of 'The Father' is a delusion, and so we work to form our own conclusions about what's real or not, even as AndrĂ©âs shifting reality guides us toward a foreshadowed ending. This is an intricately constructed drama depicting a phenomenon few can identify withâwhat it must be like to be a capable person slowly losing his mind."
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"The device the author and director Doug Hughes have chosen to present this difficult material to us is elevated by the superb work of Frank Langella. The material itself is somewhat inconsistent in that the supporting characters are not nearly as interesting...As this play is conceived from the fatherâs point of view, it is in the end saved by the richness of Mr. Langellaâs work...The final moments are as moving and heartbreaking as the old gent."
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âThe play has a lot of short scenes punctuated by blinding flashes of light...I found that approach a tad irksome, and though the play is initially innovative and is touching throughout...it becomes a slow march...The best asset is Langella, whoâs commanding and moving (except for a couple of semi- whimsical moments that I felt could have been better directed). Heâs such a gem, you can definitely set your watch to him.â
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"Thereâs one towering reason to see 'The Father.' And thatâs Frank Langella...Without Langella's nuanced performance, âThe Fatherâ would be just another drama in the ever-growing field of Alzheimer stories...Zellerâs mixture of absurdity and reality is certainly a mainstay of French theater. But the suffering of individuals living with Alzheimerâs and those who love them does not seem to fit well with existential drama or its critical observations of society.â
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"Under Doug Hughesâs meticulous direction, we feel trapped together with AndrĂ© inside Scott Paskâs severe set, a frightening landscape that constantly changes before our eyes as the play draws to its inexorable conclusion. As one who has watched a close relative suffer the indignities of dementia, I found this powerful but merciless play devastating in its impact."
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"Manhattan Theatre Clubâs production is all about AndrĂ©, more specifically all about Frank Langella, who plays the title role, who, more specifically, overacts the title role...The play could use some simple adaptation to an American stage...Iâm familiar with aging and mental decline. I wanted to be moved, but wasnât. Even AndrĂ©âs pathetic, lonely lament 'I want my mommy' sounded trite, and played like cheap sentiment. Thatâs not credible drama."
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"There is brilliance in Mr. Langella's performance, but perhaps more importantly there is brilliance in Doug Hughes' direction of Mr. Zeller's work. The vignette blackouts, the shocking strobe light, the stark lights up on the next, often conflicting scene - all effects that heighten the impact of the material...Mr. Langella does most of the heavy lifting here, and his performance is transcendent. This is one play you won't soon forget."
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"It's a scary, fractured ride, and also one that, despite two first-rate performances, becomes somewhat wearisome...'The Father' initially intrigues, but as it moves forward, Zeller's strategy to disorient while also evincing André's mental decline becomes increasingly gimmicky...There's an indubitable pull to the material and the performances, but one can't help but wish that it had been offered up in a less distancing manner."
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