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.

The New York Times 90/100

(Charles Isherwood) "But “Dot” would earn a director of some stature on its own merits. While conventional in form, it’s uproariously funny, if naturally streaked with sadness (and at times, a pinch or two of sentimentality). Mr. Domingo draws a complex portrait of a family in crisis, as Dotty’s three children grapple with the rapid decline of their mother."

TheaterMania 87/100

(Zachary Stewart) "The stage is alternately set for an explosive family drama or an uproarious farce. Dot doesn't disappoint on either front."

Entertainment Weekly 75/100

(Melissa Rose Bernardo) "In his third and most ambitious play to date, Domingo tackles a frightening issue with a fearless mix of bone-dry humor and warp-speed emotional shifts."

Talkin' Broadway 65/100

(Matthew Murray) "If Domingo was worried that Dot wouldn't be taken seriously without that redirection, he shouldn't have been—the early scenes show that crazy and sincere can coexist, and even amplify each other. These are real people locked in a sitcom world that's about to lose its laugh track. That they can recover from. Losing their verve is harder, and by the end that, like Dotty's previous self, is slipping away far too quickly for comfort."

Time Out New York 60/100

(Adam Feldman) "here are likable characters and comedic bits worth savoring...but they don’t have room to breathe; the show’s affectionate embrace of black and gay stereotypes becomes too tight a grip, and the heart gets squeezed out."

New York Theatre Guide 60/100

(Stanford Friedman) "It’s a colorful bunch to be sure, but the play wanders, and often resorts to sit-com level interactions to move itself along. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it is rarely as well plotted."

The Hollywood Reporter 30/100

(Frank Scheck) "Playwright Domingo... sacrifices the play's emotional impact in favor of broad humor, much to its detriment. Even potentially powerful scenes — such as when Donnie, at his mother's insistence, goes through an elaborate exercise simulating the devastating effects of old age — are rendered kitschy."