Becky Nurse of Salem
Closed 2h 0m
Becky Nurse of Salem
71

Becky Nurse of Salem NYC Reviews and Tickets

71%
(92 Ratings)
Positive
64%
Mixed
26%
Negative
10%
Members say
Great acting, Entertaining, Quirky, Clever, Disappointing
Sarah Ruhl's new comedy about a descendant of an accused witch living in present-day Salem. Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (92)

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70 Reviews | 6 Followers
100
Great writing, Great acting, Entertaining, Delightful, Clever

See it if You want to watch actors who look like real people play characters in a very believable story.

Don't see it if You only like Disney adaptations.

193 Reviews | 29 Followers
97
Great writing, Relevant, Refreshing, Great acting

See it if I loved Diedra O'Connell's performance. She truly inhabited Becky Nurse especially as the ancestor. I'm not a fan of playwrite but liked it

Don't see it if If you need a linear plot line don't go. It jumps back and forth to the Salem witch trials.

264 Reviews | 62 Followers
89
Relevant, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Intelligent

See it if You enjoy great writing & performance, If you relate to being punished for honesty and directness. Or if Arthur Miller always creeped u out

Don't see it if You prefer obiedent "well behaved" women Read more

300 Reviews | 64 Followers
89
Intelligent, Quirky, Great acting, Ambitious, Absorbing

See it if you are interested in the Salem witch trials, or the type of crystal loving, patchouli wearing 'healers' you'll find in Asheville

Don't see it if you are triggered by opioid abuse, or if you can't follow what is supposedly real and what is taking place in Becky's mind

570 Reviews | 87 Followers
88
Deirdre o'connell is brilliant, Great acting, Clever

See it if you want a pretty good show that is elevated to terrific by the amazing Deirdre O'Connell.She is worth seeing in anything.This show is good.

Don't see it if Play was a bit dull.It sort of dragged.But O'Connell is so good that I didn't care about the material!

197 Reviews | 75 Followers
85
Thought-provoking, Quirky, Great acting, Funny, Clever

See it if Looking for something completely different and a tad bizarre.

Don't see it if You want a conventional or predictable theater experience.

502 Reviews | 67 Followers
85
Entertaining, Intelligent, Funny, Great acting, Clever

See it if You want a fresh take on the Crucible and witch trials. Creative, spiced with intellectual humor. Very entertaining.

Don't see it if You are not open to new concepts in theater. Show was bit weird but then again it’s a show about witches.

51 Reviews | 6 Followers
83
Magical, Refreshing, Great acting, Funny, Entertaining

See it if You like shows about dealing with history and exploring the hardships of life in the modern day.

Don't see it if You don’t like shows centered around women.

Critic Reviews (14)

The New York Times
December 4th, 2022

"The play spends two hours dancing around a vaguely defined feminist message...It hasn’t figured out the spell that will bring real magic to the stage."
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Time Out New York
December 5th, 2022

"3/5 Stars. Sarah Ruhl seems to be interested in the ways in which historical hysteria gets echoed in today's highly polarized America, but some of her parallels...are more convincing than others...Although director Rebecca Taichman elicits solid performances from most of the actors, she doesn’t manage to smooth over the tonal shifts...Even so, Deirdre O'Connell works wonders."
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New York Theatre Guide
December 5th, 2022

"This [point] serves as a reminder that neither historical nor current witch hunts were ever about the supernatural, but about the very natural experience of being a woman with power."
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Theatermania
December 4th, 2022

"I couldn't help thinking about the art of meme creation as I watched Sarah Ruhl's 'Becky Nurse of Salem'...It's clear that Becky Nurse isn't driven by the objectives of its characters, but the motives of its author."
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Lighting & Sound America
December 15th, 2022

Becky's problems are many and varied, including some notably poor personal choices, and her story is an uneasy mélange of comic, dramatic, and magical elements spiked with textual exegesis and feminist commentary. Its plot is less than persuasive, its comedy surprisingly mild, and its ideas often too obviously imposed on the action. It's a witches' brew that probably could have stood a little more time bubbling in the cauldron.
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Talkin' Broadway
December 4th, 2022

"The off-the-wall plot twists notwithstanding, the adventures of Becky Nurse provide us with a delightfully offbeat evening of theater in the company of some first-rate actors. And that's witchcraft of the finest sort."
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New York Stage Review
December 4th, 2022

"Too bad the author hasn’t used more of her own first-rate playwrighting witchery for this Arthur Miller-like political indictment."
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New York Stage Review
December 4th, 2022

"O’Connell effortlessly navigates Becky’s highs and lows, not to mention forays into basic witchcraft. She is, in a word, spellbinding."
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