58/100
Photo by Joan Marcus
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.
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 Wall Street Journal 90/100
(Terry Teachout) "it strikes me on first viewing as the best thing that Mr. Shanley has given us since “Doubt.” You can’t get much better than that."
The Guardian 80/100
(Terry Teachout) "it strikes me on first viewing as the best thing that Mr. Shanley has given us since “Doubt.” You can’t get much better than that."
The Guardian 80/100
(Alexis Soloski) “Has someone at Manhattan Theater Club killed a fatted calf? Prodigal Son may be a complacent and somewhat predictable work, but it is also a savvy and often moving one. Clearly a return to form for John Patrick Shanley.”
New York Daily News 80/100
(Joe Dziemianowicz) "Thoughtful and measured, the show takes its own sweet time to reveal itself. Over an hour-and-a-half, themes that have occupied Shanley as an adult are seen emerging here”
Time Out New York 80/100
(David Cote) "Prodigal Son is pure, splendid Shanley: shaggily idealistic and always scratching a philosophical itch underneath jokes and banter.”
am New York 75/100
(Matt Windman) "At times, it resembles a heavy-handed takeoff of ‘The Catcher in the Rye.' But on the whole, it is an engaging and candid coming-of-age piece”
NBC New York 65/100
(Robert Kahn) "All the performances are good. The writing is classic Shanley: mellifluous, easy on the ears. The story, though, doesn't break any new ground."
TheaterMania 45/100
(David Gordon) "On the whole, though, Prodigal Son, both on page and in production, never completely rises to the level of curiosity we feel about its protagonist. As a coming-of-age story, it doesn't offer particularly new insights into the genre or Shanley's body of work”
The New York Times 30/100
(Ben Brantley) "Jim is a character in search of an author to explain him to himself. Strangely enough, the man that Jim would become seemingly has yet to achieve the distance to make this struggling artist-in-the-making worthy of a play of his own.”
Talkin' Broadway 20/100
(Matthew Murray) "Prodigal Son is forever striving to be more and having to settle for less due to circumstances—and too-diminished expectations—beyond the sphere of its control.”
The Wrap 10/100
(Robert Hofler) "His new play, 'Prodigal Son,' opened Tuesday at MTC’s Center Stage 1, and while it doesn’t have much to offer as a play, it does tell us much about this writer’s high opinion of himself."
Very cool idea! Congrats!
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