BECKY SHAW Reviews

Adam Feldman gives it 5/5: "highly entertaining: a laugh-a-minute"

Variety is very positive - "Alden Ehrenreich Steals the Show in Ferociously Funny Blind-Date Comedy"

Updated On: 4/6/26 at 10:11 PM

Seems like this one got unanimously positive reviews, or did I skim too quickly?

I am SO thrilled this production is getting the raves I expected it too, "BECKY SHAW dark horse for Best Revival" has entered the chat!

Updated On: 4/6/26 at 10:35 PM

I was saving this line for CATS tomorrow but…10s. ACROSS. THE. BOARD!!!!

Three stars from the Guardian

Becky Shaw review – Alden Ehrenreich shines in dysfunctional dating comedy

Hayes Theater, New York
Ehrenreich is electric alongside The Pitt’s Patrick Ball in this very 2008 send-up of fallout from one disastrous blind date

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/apr/06/becky-shaw-broadway-review

"That the show can’t sustain this charge through its erratic second act is more a book issue than performance. The aftermath of Becky and Max’s (unseen) date are downstream conversations between characters that reveal the lopsidedness of their constitutions. Ironically, the play’s namesake, played by Brewer with shades of wild desperation, feels the least grounded: a plot device dressed up as a confection whose big reveal – let’s say a complicated history with Black men – feels both dated and contrived, the bite of Halloween teeth where there could be fangs. Max, the most transparently slimy one of the group, is also the most convincing. Ehrenreich is so good at playing this type of obviously overcompensating, moneyed cad (please see Chloe Domont’s 2023 film Fair Play), so good at contemptuously delivering the line “that woman” in a way that sends chills down your spine, that I missed anytime he was offstage.'

DTLI Consensus: A blind date spirals off the rails in this entertaining and exhilarating Broadway premiere of the Pulitzer Prize finalist.

12 positive (including the NYT), 2 mixed.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/becky-shaw/

Updated On: 4/6/26 at 11:07 PM

Or even more so, Alden - who has upcoming movies, per usual.

Broadway Scorecard: 83 (Critical Gold)

”Critics praise this dark comedy's scabrously funny dialogue and excellent cast, particularly Ehrenreich's Broadway debut. Gionfriddo's sharp, provocative writing about toxic relationships and family dysfunction earns acclaim for its refusal to soften its edges.”

https://broadwayscorecard.com/show/becky-shaw

I think Patten does a really good job playing a very unlikable person. I think it’s very interesting hearing some of the criticism of her performance on this board in relation to Alden’s. He plays a very unlikable, smarmy person and is universally praised for it. Patten plays a leech, incredibly self-centered drag. And she does so perfectly, but is criticized. I’ll defend her work in this to the death. The bravery in her performance is she’s okay with being an open wound the entire show no matter how desperate and difficult she’s being perceived. What a perfect ensemble.

if you can get yourself to this, go go go.

Updated On: 4/7/26 at 08:45 AM

AC126748 said: "Seems like Ehrenreich is the one to beat for Featured Actor at this point. Universal ecstatic acclaim for your stage debut (not just Broadway) doesn't happen everyday."

Is he definitely categorized as Featured? I can see them categorizing him as Lead and Ball as Featured. They are both listed below the title, but the Tonys are notoriously inconsistent regarding their "rules."

TheOtherOne2 said: "AC126748 said: "Seems like Ehrenreich is the one to beat for Featured Actor at this point. Universal ecstatic acclaim for your stage debut (not just Broadway) doesn't happen everyday."

Is he definitely categorized as Featured? I can see them categorizing him as Lead and Ball as Featured. They are both listed below the title, but the Tonys are notoriously inconsistent regardingtheir "rules.""

He will almost certainly be considered in the Featured category. To use the show that immediately preceded BECKY SHAW at the Hayes as an example: the entire cast of MARJORIE PRIME were considered featured performers -- even June Squibb, who had the title role and basically never left the stage. The late David Wilson Barnes was nominated in featured categories for the original production.

The committee couldn't care less about what a production might want in terms of maximizing nominations. But Ehrenreich seems a shoo-in to win Featured Actor at this point, whereas he'd face stiffer competition in the Leading category (Lithgow, Lane, Brody, Strong Radcliffe, etc).

Updated On: 4/7/26 at 01:08 PM

quizking101 said: "In Featured, his likeliest competition is going to be Burstein and Levy, with Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Christopher Abbott as the likeliest to fill out"



Assuming you mean Elliot Levey (not Levy) who won the Olivier? Besides him there are quite a few other names who will likely be in the mix, including Ben Ahlers (DOAS), Christopher Fitzgerald (Fallen Angel), Joshua Boon (JTCAG), Don Cheadle and Jin Ha (if they keep Cheadle's role in Featured as the original production did), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (if they put him in Featured), Michael Patrick Thornton (GODOT), maybe someone from The Balusters (Richard Thomas?) It's going to be a very competitive category.