Familiar

68/100

Photo by Joan Marcus
Written by Danai Gurira. Directed by Rebecca Taichman. At Playwrights Horizons through March 27

What's it About? "It’s winter in Minnesota, and a Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter, a first-generation American. But when the bride insists on observing a traditional African custom, it opens a deep rift in the household. Rowdy and affectionate, Familiar pitches tradition against assimilation, drawing a loving portrait of a family: the customs they keep, and the secrets they bury."

Consensus: Mostly unanimous on the first act's comedic merits, but mixed on the second act's seriousness, critics seem to overall feel that this show is worth seeing. It doesn't change the game, but it's a solid piece of theatre. General praise is given to the cast, who handle the transition from comedy and drama more effectively than the play does sometimes.

Red Speedo

59/100

Photo by Joan Marcus
Written by Lucas Hnath. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. At New York Theatre Workshop through March 27

What's it About? "Hailed as "one of the brightest new voices of his generation" by The New York Times, Lucas Hnath (The Christians, ...Walt Disney) makes his NYTW debut with Red Speedo, a muscular new play directed by NYTW Usual Suspect Lileana Blain-Cruz. Set on the eve of the Olympic swim trials, pressure builds as front-runner Ray confronts the lure of endorsements, the perils of mixing the personal and professional, and the unforgiving weight of success. Through Hnath's signature dark wit and exacting language, Red Speedo is a captivating exploration of America's obsession with winning at all costs."

Consensus: There's a large schism in reviews for this play. Some critics found the play a taut and entertaining thriller with Mamet-eque dialogue, while others found the play to ineffectively explore its ideas. Nobody argues for its profundity, but everyone cites the impressive physical production (there's an onstage pool). At the very least, one character spends the entire evening wearing nothing but a speedo, so there's always that to look at if the play doesn't interest you.

Hughie

50/100

Photo by Marc Brenner
Written by Eugene O'Neill. Directed by Michael Grandage. At the Golden Theatre through June 12

What's it About?: Summer, 1928. New York City. Beyond the bright lights of the Great White Way, a small-time gambler and big-time drinker returns to the faded hotel he has made his home. He encounters a new night clerk at the front desk and as the early hours of the morning give way to another dawn, he continues to chase the American Dream in order to survive. HUGHIE is a rarely seen one-act theatrical masterpiece that beautifully offers a unique insight into the human condition.

Consensus: The only thing critics can agree on is Frank Wood, who they unanimously praise for his committed non-performance. Clocking in under an hour, many also have agreed that the play is decidedly not O'Neill's best work. Where they differ is on the merits of Forrest Whitaker, making his broadway debut. Some call him brilliantly introspective while others go so far as to call him "catatonic". Nonetheless, almost every critic agrees that a 55 minute monologue is not particularly worth Broadway prices.

Dot

67/100

Photo by Carol Rosegg

Written by Colman Domingo. Directed by Susan Stroman. At the Vineyard Theatre through March 20

What's It About?: "The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. But this year, Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory, her children must fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves. This twisted and hilarious new play grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises, and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood. Colman Domingo (WILD WITH HAPPY) returns to The Vineyard following his solo show A BOY AND HIS SOUL and Tony Award® nomination for THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, reuniting with Tony Award®-winning director Susan Stroman after her ground-breaking work on THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS."

Consensus: Alternating between sitcom-style comedy and abrasive tragedy, critics either take to the play's style or find it to be alienating to the material. Some critics also found the script to be lacking in originality, but most ended up giving positive notices, if somewhat begrudgingly. Praise has been ladled onto the cast for the most part, and critics seem evenly divided on the effectiveness of Susan Stroman's staging.

Her Requiem

51/100

Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Written by Greg Pierce. Directed by Kate Whoriskey. At the Claire Tow Theatre through March 20

What's it About? "When Caitlin takes her senior year off from high school to compose a full-scale requiem, her dedication inspires her father and concerns her mother. But as their home becomes a nexus for lost souls, her parents must deal with her project’s effect on the family."

Consensus: With one exception, critics are not particularly impressed with this Requiem. Taking issues with the production and the emotional impact of the play, several mention that the play feels unfinished. One critic did have very strong positive feelings for the show, so it seems to be pretty evenly dividing the critics.

Smokefall

56/100

Photo by Joan Marcus
Written by Noah Haidle; Directed by Anne Kauffman. At the Lucille Lortel Theatre through March 20.

What's it About? "Magical realism collides with manic vaudeville in a family drama unlike any you've ever seen. The Twins swap philosophy while awaiting their birth, Beauty eats dirt and doesn't speak, Father is about to drive away and never return, and a man named Footnote acts as our guide. Whipping from astonishing tenderness to profound humor and back again, this wholly original play uncovers the extraordinary family connections we all stretch and warp across the years but can never quite break."

Consensus: Baffling or brilliant? The main thing that critics disagree with in this production is whether everything glues together or falls apart completely. Every critic, however, was quick to mention a sequence in which two unborn fetuses perform a sort of miniature postmodern Waiting for Godot as told by way of vaudeville number as a highlight. If that sounds like something that might be in your wheelhouse, then there is a possibility that the show might connect with you. And those that connected with it seem to recommend it unequivocally, so it's all a matter of personal taste. Reactions to performances and the physical production seem to correlate directly with a critic's assessment of the play, but most are fairly respectful of Zachary Quinto. Divisive is certainly what this is, and if it still seems interesting to you, it's possible you may love it. 

Nice Fish

67/100

Photo by Teddy Wolf
Written by Louis Jenkins and Mark Rylance. Directed by Claire Van Kampen. At St. Ann's Warehouse Through March 27

What's it About? "On a frozen Minnesota lake, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It’s the end of the fishing season, and two men are out on the ice angling for answers to life’s larger questions. One of these men is hilariously wrought by TONY Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee Mark Rylance, who co-wrote the play — his first — with the American poet Louis Jenkins. Rylance and Jenkins have adapted Nice Fish with the same wry, surreal quality of Jenkins’ prose poems. Minnesota Monthly called an original version of the play “inexplicable and utterly beautiful.” This newly produced version of Nice Fish comes to St. Ann’s directly from Cambridge’s A.R.T."

Consensus: Unsurprisingly, critics cannot get enough of Mark Rylance, with virtually every critic citing his performance as being the strongest element of the show (along with the expansive set). Critics are more mixed on the show, which is centered around verbal recitations of poetry, with some saying that it lacks the necessary profundity to make the poetry worthwhile while others say that for sheer fun the show is completely worth it. Very few made the case for the show being anything other than cute, however, and it seems like the primary draw for this is the ability to see Rylance on stage.

The Humans

91/100

Photo by Joan Marcus
By Stephen Karam. Directed by Joe Mantello. At the Helen Hayes Theatre.

What's it About? "After a sleepless night, Erik Blake has brought his family from Pennsylvania to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s new apartment. As darkness falls outside the crumbling pre-war duplex, mysterious things start to go bump in the night and family tensions reach a boiling point."

Consensus: Yeah, they like it. Citing basically every single possible element as outstanding, critics are absolutely over the moon for this play, which has just opened on Broadway after a successful run off-Broadway last year. Particular praise is given to the cast, who most critics agree mesh absolutely perfectly to create a devastatingly funny and truly horrifying theatrical event. Several critics have cited this as the best thing on Broadway (yes, Hamilton, better than even you). The singular true criticism of any critic (Matt Windman of am New York) was that the plays oppressively dark tone was difficult to stomach, though that was offset by another critic (Alexis Soloski of The Guardian) who was careful to point out the positive thematic elements of the work. Regardless, this seems to be a can't-miss play for fans of high quality drama.

Edit: Terry Teachout weighed in and, big surprise, didn't care for it (he's rather notorious for striking down new works), saying that, while acceptable, it doesn't break the mold enough to be worth seeing, though he loves the cast.

Buried Child

53/100

Photo by Monique Carboni
Written by Sam Shepard; Directed by Scott Elliott. At The New Group through March 27.


With large praise for Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, but mixed reception for the rest of the production, the consensus here appears to be that Sam Shepherd's once revolutionary Buried Child seems to have aged poorly. The living room drama turn on its head appears to no longer shock and awe like it once did, instead feeling rather heavy-handed. Critics seem evenly divided on the style of the production, which aims for a kind of dramatic naturalism. Some find this style to help bring the play into reality while others say that it merely becalms what should be an evening of nonstop intensity. The supporting members of the cast are roundly criticized for their uncertain performances and while some critics remain staunchly positive, this production definitely seems to not be the must-see production many were hoping for.

Smart People

52/100

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Written by Lydia R. Diamond. Directed by Kenny Leon. At Second Stage Theatre through March 6

In the vein of recent Pulitzer prize-winning plays, Smart People is a play that announces itself as one about "ideas" from the beginning. And while these postmodern ideas on racism appear to be mostly well realized, Diamond appears to have forgotten the fact that the baseline for every good play is good dramaturgy. Ideas in search of a play is the general consensus amongst New York critics, who feel that the play seems to do nothing other than talk endlessly without any consideration as to what makes a play good at the root. Many also feel that the physical production is intensely problematic, citing problems with the scenic design, costumes, and the detached direction from Kenny Leon that prevents the play from ever taking fire like it should. Critics have nothing but praise, however, for Mahershala Ali, considering his performance to be the indisputable highlight of the play, but Joshua Jackson has come under some scrutiny for his performance, which is described as being decidedly the weakest amongst the cast. One critic (Marilyn Stasio of Variety) did find the discussions of modern racism to be interesting enough to recommend the play, but almost everyone else found that the theatre is not really the place where one would like to be lectured and suggested skipping out on this one entirely.

Update: Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal has weighted in (his column is only once a week) and he really loves it, saying that Diamond is a fantastic new theatrical voice and the play effectively tackles every issue that it tries to, though he finds the cast less than spectacular.

Cabin in the Sky

61/100

Photo by Joan Marcus

Music by Vernon Duke. Lyrics by John LaTouche. Book by Lynn Root. Choreography by Camille A. Brown. Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Charles Isherwood of the New York Times probably put it best when he described Encores' production of Cabin in the Sky as "musically vibrant, dramatically a dud". Perhaps that shouldn't be too surprising, given that Encores' mission is specifically to present works of theatre that could not receive commercial productions, but critics seem to have really taken against the book to this show. It was written in 1940 and while it is about a group of African-Americans, it was written entirely by white men. One can imagine the kind of well-meaning racial prejudice that might end up in show's book, but critics also found that the show lacked any real stakes or proper dramatic arch. Many critics, too, found that Ruben Santiago-Hudson's direction was a cluttered mess that did not do much to help matters once people stopped singing and started talking. The critics were not, however, restrained in their praise of the score by Vernon Duke. Lead by a powerhouse cast of singers and given new orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, even the most measured critics seemed to recommend the production just to hear the score performed live. In fact, that's what Encores originally set out to do, so this one seems to be a fun night out if you're just looking to hear some great songs performed by a great cast.

Prodigal Son

58/100

Photo by Joan Marcus

Written and Directed by John Patrick Shanley. At MTC Stage I at City Center through March 27

Critics are all over the map for this Prodigal Son. While almost all agree that its general structure is formulaic to say the least, some consider it to be a riveting execution of a well-made play while others consider it to be a thoroughly unexciting evening. Some even go so far as to say that the play is obnoxiously self-aggrandizing (the play is semi-biographical) and an almost painful night at the theatre. Shanley's direction, too, has received a mixed reaction. Is it refreshingly simple or amateurishly simplistic? The one thing that everyone seems to be able to agree upon, though, is that the lead performance by Timothée Chalamet is very good, with the only dissenter being Matthew Murray of Talkin' Broadway who considers the performance to be too one-note for its own good. Even the level of praise for that, though, seems to be wildly varied. Some consider it to be one of the most impressive stage-debuts they've ever seen while others merely say that he appropriately fills out the juicy role he has been given. There are no raves, however, for this play, with even the most positive of reviews admitting that it's primary virtue is its entertainment value, which makes us here at TCD believe that this might be one worth skipping.

Edit: Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal, who always files his reviews weekly, has been added to the score, and he seemed to love it, praising its truthfulness and the strength of the cast.

The Woodsman

79/100

Photo by Matthew Murphy

By James Ortiz and Jen Loring. Directed by James Ortiz and Claire Karpen. At New World Stages Through May 29

Critics are, for the most part, in love with The Woodsman, quick to make favorable comments about its reversal of Wicked's approach to a story about Oz before Dorothy, especially how it omits the spectacle and in its stead focuses on the storytelling. Citing its visual genius, inventive use of puppetry, thoughtful performances, and earnest heart at the center of the story, critics can't seem to stop finding things to praise. Almost every critic, however, pointed out that its usage of sounds, music, and a limited amount of words creates problems for the work as a whole. While some (Variety's Marian Stasio) found the music rather tiresome and the nonverbal cacophony of sounds to be grating, others (Talkin' Broadway's Matthew Murray) found the speeches at the beginning and end of the play to be overly self-important and detrimental to the work as a whole. Either way, critics found this to be a throughly impressive night at the theatre, though many have decidedly said that it is not so enjoyable for very young children.