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Theatermania

Review: Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne Are a Great Slapstick Duo in Fallen Angels

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-kelli-ohara-and-rose-byrne-are-a-great-slapstick-duo-in-fallen-angels_1833432/

"But Byrne and O’Hara are the main reasons to see this excellent revival. In O’Hara’s case, one could even call this production revelatory, given not only how unexpected it is to see her tap into her inner farceur but how stellar she turns out to be at it."

WSJ:

‘Fallen Angels’ Review: Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara in a Bubbly Broadway Revival

The two actresses make for a smashing comic duo in this production of the Noël Coward play about two women eager to rekindle a romance with the same French lothario.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fallen-angels-review-rose-byrne-and-kelli-ohara-in-a-bubbly-broadway-revival-2321558a

"Yet even when their characters are at their cattiest, Ms. Byrne and Ms. O’Hara are clearly having a grand time depicting these genteel women dropping their grandeur under the influence of heightened emotion and high alcohol consumption. And they see to it that, even without the benefit of a flute or 12 of champagne, the audience has a grand time too."

 

The Wrap: Hofler is mostly negative

‘Fallen Angels’ Broadway Review: Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara Do Their Lucy & Ethel Best to Dust Off an Antique

Noel Coward would not recognize his 1925 flop about two married women who consider revisiting past affairs with the same lover

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/theater/fallen-angels-broadway-review-rose-byrne-kelli-ohara/

"Even at the very un-Coward-like length of 90 minutes, this production of “Fallen Angels” under the direction of Scott Ellis takes about half an hour to light any real comic fire in what was once the play’s first act. When it finally does ignite, Rose Byrne’s Jane and Kelli O’Hara’s Julia don’t delight by what they say. Instead, they have to get sh*t-faced drunk."

Variety

‘Fallen Angels’ Broadway Review: Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara Sparkle in Lackluster Noël Coward Revival

"the two stars, who at first seem to be playing in different registers with O’Hara launching her punchlines towards the balcony and Byrne aiming for the second row, harmonize to deliver a master class in physical comedy. It’s demented, hilarious fun to see Byrne kick off her heels and rappel down her chair or witness O’Hara dipping her after-dinner strawberries into her Cordial Medoc as though dunking shrimp into cocktail sauce. The two are so silly, so loopily in synch, that the scene, which occurs halfway through the second act, lifts the entire show, giving it a buoyancy that has been lacking during its exposition-heavy beginning."

NY Stage Review

Fallen Angels: Here’s to Women Behaving Badly

By Melissa Rose Bernardo

★★★★☆ Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara are riotously funny in Noël Coward’s 101-year-old buddy comedy

https://nystagereview.com/2026/04/19/fallen-angels-heres-to-women-behaving-badly/

 

Fallen Angels: Merely Amusing

By Michael Sommers

★★★☆☆ Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara take summer stock of Noel Coward’s vintage comedy at Roundabout

https://nystagereview.com/2026/04/19/fallen-angels-merely-amusing/

The Guardian: five stars

Fallen Angels review – Rose Byrne is utterly delightful in Noël Coward comedy revival

Rose Byrne and Kelli O'Hara are comic gems in a pitch-perfect revival that sparkles like champagne.

"99 years later the play remains hilariously horny and startlingly modern, and Scott Ellis’s champagne cocktail of a revival has the exact right ingredients: complete faith in the material, drop-dead deluxe design, and the sugar-and-bubbles combination of Oscar-nominated actor Rose Byrne and stage veteran Kelli O’Hara."

AMNY

Review | ‘Fallen Angels’ with Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne sparkles briefly, then fizzles

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/review-fallen-angels-kelli-ohara-rose-byrne/

"Director Scott Ellis, however, compresses the action into a brisk, intermission-less 90 minutes, pushing the material at such speed that its rhythms collapse entirely. Lines that should land with epigrammatic precision, such as Julia’s distinction between loving one’s husband and being “in love” with him, are rushed past or swallowed. Instead of savoring Coward’s wit, the production hurries to the punchlines, often leaving them blurred or inaudible."

Deadline

‘Fallen Angels’ Broadway Review: Rose Byrne & Kelli O’Hara Are Absolutely Fabulous In Sparkling Noël Coward Comedy

https://deadline.com/2026/04/fallen-angels-broadway-review-rose-byrne-kelli-ohara-mark-consuelos-1236864235/

"Under the sure direction of Scott Ellis and given a lush, gorgeous staging by Roundabout and some of Broadway’s best designers – David Rockwell, sets, sumptuous; Jeff Mahshie, costumes, deep oppulance; Kenneth Posner, ever-so-flattering lighting – Fallen Angels is a most welcome springtime treat, a smart, breezy entry in Broadway’s chaotically busy pre-Tony season."

 

 

NYT Critic's Pick

Review: They May Be ‘Fallen Angels,’ but This Comic Duo Is Heavenly

Lust is the comic engine driving the action of a riotous revival of one of Noël Coward’s early plays, with Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, at Todd Haimes Theater.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/theater/fallen-angels-review-byrne-kelli-ohara-broadway.html

"“Fallen Angels,” which hasn’t been on Broadway for 70 years, has long been considered one of Coward’s second-tier efforts, a better vehicle for stars than the actual play. Scott Ellis’s assured production makes a persuasive case for it, but make no mistake: The dynamite performances of Byrne and O’Hara are the main event."

 

Vulture: Holdren is positive. Praise for the stars.

Fallen Angels Makes a Great Case for Irrelevance

Two hours off from the world as Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne get sloshed on Champagne and trade Noël Coward barbs.

"Fallen Angels itself — about a pair of witty, worldly besties who get blitzed on champagne while considering cheating on their husbands with a mutual old flame — landed its author in trouble with the censors in London. We’ve still got puritanism and fascism, so thank goodness we have farce, too. And if — to borrow from Oscar Wilde — the measure of a farce isn’t whether it’s good or bad, but whether it’s charming or tedious, then Fallen Angels is still more than capable of seducing us out of seriousness."

Holdren's Vulture review was evidently posted last night but I didn't find it when looking earlier today and only just came across it on the NYMag home page. Eloquently stated and a good read as always.

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-proof-auburn-cheadle-edebiri.html

"If Proof can still sparkle and snap, Kail isn’t proving it. And despite their eminent likability, Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle — in the central roles of Catherine and her father, Robert — may even be the wrong actors.

I say “despite,” but the truth is that Edebiri and Cheadle both face a challenge here, one that Kail isn’t helping them to meet with full ferocity: As performers who naturally channel decency, they are not playing nice characters."

...

"Catherine is all defensive spikes, while Robert, both dead and alive, can be withering in his judgment. “Claire’s done well for herself,” he says, in a moment of flashback, about Catherine’s older sister (played by the national treasure Kara Young), a currency analyst in New York who keeps trying to lure Catherine back toward social normality. “I’m satisfied with her. I’m proud of you.” It’s a line that should be intimate and devastating at the same time, but in the overall warmth of Cheadle’s performance, you’d be forgiven for missing it. Surely he could adjust the temperature and focus of the role — and so could Edebiri, who defaults to the kind of outward, slightly floppy self-effacement and internal “I’m taken for granted” chagrin that worked so well for her as Sydney on The Bear. It’s a mode she’s very good at, but it’s not quite enough to juice up a whole play’s engine in the way that it has to here, and Kail isn’t pushing for more oomph. He’s letting both of Proof’s prickly protagonists get too cuddly, and so the tension slackens, air leaks from the seams, and the whole vessel starts to wobble and sink."

2 1/2 starts from NYP

‘Proof’ review: Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle star in underpowered Broadway revival

https://nypost.com/2026/04/16/entertainment/proof-review-ayo-edebiri-and-don-cheadle-star-in-underpowered-broadway-revival

"Admirably, hers is a very different portrayal of Catherine than any I’ve seen before. At times, it’s a very moving one. And, while Edebiri’s interpretation won’t please everybody or even gel with all the beats of the play — particularly older sister Claire and new friend Hal’s sexist insistence that Catherine couldn’t possibly be a math wiz — the actress’ sheer modernity helps prevent “Proof” from feeling too retro.

Phew. Because director Thomas Kail certainly isn’t helping her on that front. 

On a bright University of Chicago backyard set by Teresa L. Williams that could be used on dark nights for “Home Improvement Live!,” the man who staged “Hamilton” sheepishly delivers an uninspired checklist of basic entrances and exits while batting away the many artistic possibilities Auburn’s script provides."

Theatermania

Review: Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle Try to Solve a Precise but Passionless Proof

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-ayo-edebiri-and-don-cheadle-try-to-solve-a-precise-but-passionless-proof_1832726/

"Proof is so structurally sound that any production can have an impact, which is both a gift in theory and a potential liability in practice. Both sides of that equation are why Thomas Kail’s current Broadway revival at the Booth Theatre is generally effective, but rarely as emotionally charged as it should be. It is rock-solid in its competence, which is ideal for the newcomers in attendance to see stars Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle up close. But those who know how thrilling this play could be will find themselves wishing for Kail to have done anything to test the play’s mathematical precision."

B from Entertainment Weekly

Proof review: Ayo Edebiri plus Don Cheadle equals an intriguing Broadway revival of Tony-winning play

The Tony-winning play returns to Broadway in a star-studded revival directed by Thomas Kail.

https://ew.com/proof-review-ayo-edebiri-don-cheadle-broadway-11949024

"Edebiri, in her Broadway debut, brings forth a winning performance as Catherine. It's clear that she sees the character's many contradictions and embraces them wholeheartedly, often taking casual conversations and turning them on their head with a perfectly-timed cutting remark that makes the entire theater hold their breaths. Still, she remains playful in her portrayal of the flawed young woman too, managing to bring a real youthfulness and vulnerability to her too — especially when paired opposite Young and Cheadle. For all of her tough exterior, Edebiri succeeds in making Catherine a character that you're aware is far from perfect, and yet you can't help rooting for regardless."

Deadline

‘Proof’ Review: ‘The Bear’ Star Ayo Edebiri Serves Up Transfixing Broadway Debut In Mathematical Mystery Play

https://deadline.com/2026/04/proof-broadway-review-ayo-edebiri-don-cheadle-kara-young-1236861306/

"With a rapport that conveys the deep love and prickly exasperation of the father and daughter they portray, Edebiri and Cheadle immediately stake a claim to the stage of Broadway’s Booth Theatre – where the play opens tonight – a claim they’ll share soon enough with two equally fine actors (Jin Ha and the always astonishing Kara Young), all to bring life to Auburn’s extraordinary work that originally debuted on Broadway in 2000 and went on to win both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize."

The Wrap makes it about the Obamas for some reason

‘Proof’ Broadway Review: The Obamas Deliver Mixed Results With Their First Theatrical Venture

The former president and first lady’s Higher Ground stage an uneven revival of David Auburn’s play starring Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/proof-broadway-review-obama-ayo-edebiri-don-cheadle/

The Guardian

3 stars

Proof review – Ayo Edebiri struggles but Kara Young soars in Broadway revival

The Bear star and Don Cheadle are lost in a new take on David Auburn's family drama but a standout performance from the two-time Tony winner does some heavy lifting

 

"when the more dramatic, plot-advancing mechanics of the play churn into motion, Edebiri quickly loses her grasp on the performance, devolving into a jumble of stammers and tics that increasingly isolate us from Catherine’s humanity. It is as if she is becoming the living embodiment of Catherine’s most hyperbolic fears about her mental health, a cliche of addled behavior that stands in harsh contrast to the relative plainness and naturalism of Auburn’s writing."

...

"Thank goodness, then, for Young, a late-in-rehearsals replacement who brings a much-needed clarity to this fraught domestic scene. The two-time Tony winner (in back-to-back years, no less) is crisp and legible as the frustrated, guilty Claire, who has subsidized the lives of her father and sister but regrets her absence from the house in the most difficult years. It’s a dialed-in, no-frills performance, which is what the role, and the play, require. She keeps the thing afloat"

Variety

‘Proof’ Broadway Review: Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle Lead a Gripping but Oddly Paced Revival

https://variety.com/2026/legit/reviews/proof-broadway-review-ayo-edebiri-don-cheadle-1236723836/

NY Stage Review

Proof: Calculated Brilliance

By Roma Torre

★★★★★ David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning play reemerges as a beautifully calibrated study of genius, love and doubt.

https://nystagereview.com/2026/04/16/proof-calculated-brilliance/

 

Proof: 25-year-old Pulitzer Winner Proves to Be Even Better Than Before

By Steven Suskin

★★★★★ Ayo Edebiri heads the cast in Thomas Kail’s production of the David Auburn play

https://nystagereview.com/2026/04/16/proof-25-year-old-pulitzer-winner-proves-to-be-even-better-than-before/