The Becky Shaw reviews are in and it seems we have yet another hit this Season. It's great that so many people have engaged with our work this year!
Here's a sample of what the critics are saying:
"A comedy so sharp you don’t even notice the blade slipping until it’s pierced you to the bone. A comedy of manners for moderns. It’s clear why Becky Shaw was up for the Pulitzer. It’s smart and really, really funny." The Boston Herald
"I loved the way Gionfriddo brings the play to the edge! So rich and real it may leave you rethinking your beliefs about relationships and love". The Patriot Ledger
"Irresistible! Laugh, and often! Director Peter DuBois brings a polished production that shows off the play’s pointed humor". - The Boston Globe
"Outrageously and brilliantly funny! A tour de force masterfully handled by a killer cast. We leapt to our feet at curtain, me with the thought of when, and how soon I could see it again!" Joyce Kulhawik
"Entertainment as it should be: original, intelligent, and humorously disconcerting. DuBois’ direction is masterful and humorously elegant." Berkshire Fine Arts
"You know upon meeting Becky Shaw that you're in the presence of a smart, snappy writer. A polished Boston premiere" Boston Phoenix
"Hugely enjoyable! Engrossing and ceaselessly funny! Hail Becky Shaw’s wit and enormous insight by a playwright with a most welcome voice". EDGE Boston
I called Literary Associate Charles Haugland, who hosts many of our post show conversations, and asked what our audiences have been talking about. Here's his reply:
At the post-show conversations for BECKY SHAW, audiences have been having discussions as sharp as the play about what makes us laugh and why.
When people talk to each other about the play, they quickly discover that Gina Gionfriddo has written a comedy that reflects things we didn't know back to ourselves. In the play, the reactions of the other characters listening to Suzanna’s “Bubbla” story tells us a lot about who they are - Max thinks it's hilarious, Andrew thinks it's callous. The same is true for us watching BECKY SHAW; what we laugh at says a lot about who we are. Who do we empathize with? Whose feelings can we shut out?
Gina and director Peter DuBois don’t take sides. They have carefully calibrated a world where all the characters - Suzanna, Max, Becky, Andrew, and Susan - have valid perspectives on the situation. But, odds are that we think someone's right and someone's wrong - it's human nature, and in just the first few conversations, I've heard from lots of people about what Max did, what Becky didn't do, etc. - and when we laugh, we subtly reveal whose side we are taking at any one moment.
So, what made you laugh the most? If you haven't seen the show yet, stick around when you do and tell us about it." - Charles
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The Huntington Theatre Company's production of Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo directed by the Huntington's Artistic Director Peter DuBois is playing at the Huntington's mainstage The Boston University Theatre at 264 Huntington Ave Boston MA 02115 now thru April 4th. Tickets available online 24/7 and by visiting or calling our box office locations.
3 comments:
I’ll never understand critics. Becky Shaw was one of the most memorably enjoyable theatre experiences I’ve ever had. This show is a stinging but somehow kind hearted indictment of the type of manufactured drama the theatre critic in all of us wallows in in our weakest moments. Anyone with the least bit of self awareness will recognize something of himself in these five extremely memorable souls. It takes the character with the only adversity that isn’t entirely self inflicted, the mother with MS, to finally cry BS as the performance nears its end, bringing the entire show to a magnificent, hilarious, logical, and satisfying conclusion.
This was a play of delicious satire that I just didn’t want to end. It was brilliantly written and directed. The actors are supremely likeable and believable. The sets are beautiful and effectively lit. The music that takes the audience from scene to scene is worth the price of admission alone…a perfect metronome for the foot-tapping pace this masterpiece of a show maintains.
I LOVED THIS PLAY!!!! Well done!!!! Thanks for a great ride!!!
I thought this play was a toxic, nasty little play about self absorbed and in some cases manipulative people. In the middle of the second act I wanted to shout at Becky "Go into therapy."
I did not care about any of the characters, and did not stay for the talk back because I couldn't wait to get out of the theater. Happily i enjoyed a couple of other productions (Fences and Stick Fly).Otherwise I would be dubious about coming back to the Huntington.
Sadly, the the best part of Becky Shaw was the intermission and exiting the theatre...we couldn't wait to get out of there. Our evening which had started out with a lovely dinner ended with this tedious production.
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