BECKY SHAW Reviews- Page 2

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/7/26 at 4:13pm

Most of these performances are barely getting noticed tho, the amount of buzz and praise that Alden is having is hard to beat.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/7/26 at 7:16pm

Max in this staging is not featured. This is ostensibly the lead character, and the entire arc of the play is a journey toward the final stage image at last blackout. I can understand a desire to enhance his Tony chances but surely this is a leading man.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:03am

Just a vague question... do they check the ID for 30 under 30 tickets? lol

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:06am

MadsonMelo said: "Just a vague question... do they check the ID for 30 under 30 tickets? lol"

they do.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:08am

ok, so I'm gonna try to make my 28 year old friend to see the play so he can buy one for me lol

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 12:58am

i wasnt as enamored with this as the critics and many of you were, but it sure lands alot of laughs and serves up some truly impeccable performances.

if the play has a point/message, I missed it. I get, sorta, why its called Becky Shaw but her character (and the doting husband's) sorta fades into the background. primarily, those two wilt alongside the grating Susannah and cruel Max. Patten and Ehrenreich are the leads of this play, and it really is about their strange codependent relationship. I laughed the whole way through, but the first scene and the last scene were the moments the crackle, and many moments in between lagged.

Some of that is due to Linda Emond who I thought absolutely stole the show- her character is by far the best written, the most controlled/believable. Emond was tragic in Cabaret, and stalwart in Death of a Salesman, and Tony nominated for both-- i really hope this year is her win. Easily one of the best performances I have seen in a while.

Ehrenreich too is fantastic- its a one-note character, but he milks every line for laughs/rage, and is so comfortable and natural on the stage, I really hope this is the beginning of a long stage career in NY. Credit to Gina Gionfriddo for these characters so well written, though it was a bit uncomfortable sitting amongst so many people who seemed to be laughing WITH Ehrenreich, and not AT his antics. Good theater will do that, though, I guess. 

Kudos also to Madeline Brewer, who lends an intelligence and tragedy to the bimbos she keeps playing- Audrey in LSOH, that dreadful character in the dreadful The Disappear, not to mention the Handmaids Tale. Becky Shaw is one of the trickiest characters on stage, largely because I think Gionfriddo drafts her so opaquely, but I think Brewer made her dangerous and sympathetic at the same time. 

The staging is strange- some scenes end with the actors reacting to stagehands moving the pieces around, others use the actors to move the set. The first and especially last scene are well appointed set pieces, but the middle 2/3 of the play is done in black box style, with curtains hiding half stage like a high school auditorium. If this was a directorial choice, its purpose went right over my head.

Still while I dont get the Pulitzer-worthiness, its hard to argue with 2.5 hours of laughs.

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 1:16pm

Performances really are stellar in this. 

I’d nominate all 5 and give Edmond and Ehrenreich the Tony’s. Maybe even Edmond over Metcalf.

They’re hilarious and also nail the tone. 

I had seen the buzz going in so had decent expectations but this surpassed them by far. Hysterical play with both very un-likable in some ways but also very watchable characters. A few leaps in plot but the payoffs were worth it.
 

Theater was very into it. 

Updated On: 4/12/26 at 01:16 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 2:24pm

Maybe I was tired, but I think the play itself is extremely overrated. The performances are great, with Linda Emond getting about 75% of my laughs, but there were a lot of times when the audience was howling, while I sat stone-faced. I love mean-spirited, politically incorrect humor when it's witty and clever, but I didn't find the majority of Alden Ehrenreich's (Max's) put downs to be either; they were just mean and basic. Also, the play felt like 3 hours.

Updated On: 4/12/26 at 02:24 PM

[kevinr]

Posted: 4/13/26 at 5:25pm

Please describe your stage door experiences.....seeing the show in June and a big fan of Patrick Ball and Madeline Brewer.

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/13/26 at 5:34pm

kevinr said: "Please describe your stage door experiences.....seeing the show in June and a big fan of Patrick Ball and Madeline Brewer."

Lot of The Pitt fans, but not overly crowded. Everyone signed except Linda. Madeline prefers not to take pictures. 

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience at that stage door because the audience is never that big nor does it often attract  ridiculously high budget names. (Even when Common was there, it was a bit buster but still pretty good)

[decotodd]

Posted: 4/14/26 at 5:27pm

Looking forward to seeing this next month on my visit to NYC. I give Ehrenreich big props for turning the former Huron station-house here in LA into a theater. It probably holds 99-seats at most but they're doing some interesting work. Chatted with him at a reception after one of the staged readings last fall and he's a sweet guy who loves the theater. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 4/15/26 at 9:58am

All the performers are terrific and I wished that Emond had more air time but I was disappointed that I rarely laughed during this play.  Must be me. I found the second act way better than the first but cannot see me wanting to revisit or to ponder any of these characters in the days ahead.

Also I picked the wrong side and sat in Orch Right G12 which really should be marked partial view because you miss a lot. Like the entire first scene which is played stage left. If you’re buying orchestra sides seats go with the left.

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 4/19/26 at 4:16am

Madeline Brewer has no chance of winning but it's one of those cases where the nom is the win.

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/19/26 at 8:36am

MemorableUserName said: "NY Daily News

BROADWAY REVIEW: ‘Becky Shaw’ eviscerates needy people and the people who need them

https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/04/06/becky-shaw-broadway-review/

"It’s a measure of the quality of Ehrenreich’s superb performance in what is generally an admirably straightforward production that he never tries to make his character more likable than Gionfriddo writes him, yet he lays all these bon mots with a palpable vulnerability. He understands that Max is operating on two tracks at once, spitting out the tough lessons partly as his philosophy of life but also as a way of avoiding the intensity of his own feelings. Gionfriddo intends him to grow on the audience as the play progresses, and so he does.""

I'm afaid people are centering in on the "meanness" of this play. But Becky Shaw has so much heart without ever being "warm" or "sentimental" The above critic so gets Max's character!

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/19/26 at 7:06pm

So I saw Becky Shaw this afternoon. Full disclosure: I mostly saw it because I love Patrick Ball on The Pitt.

I had heard great things about the play. Wow, I was disappointed. I thought the play had some very funny lines, and Alden Ehrenreich as Max and Ball as Andrew were fine. Max really stole every scene he was in. Really liked Linda Emond too.

But it's one of those plays where by the middle of the second act you're like "why is this an actual problem?" When you don't believe the conflict, then no amount of acting or funny lines is going to help. I especially didn't believe this could be a problem that would cause these characters to drive hours towards each other.

By the time the play ended I not only didn't believe the conflict, I also did not believe the solution/denouement either. Did anything get resolved?

I agree that Lauren Patten was the weak link. I just didn't feel anything for Suzie and she seemed to think yelling = acting. I liked Madeline Brewer a lot, but the writing for Becky herself is surprisingly thin.

I know this play has a lot of support on this sub, but I was super disappointed.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 4/21/26 at 6:42pm

For seating... how partial view are those partial views in the front far sides of the orchestra? I was looking at those Row C seats on the sides (the first row of two seats), which are not technically marked as partial, but the pic of that on A View From My Seat looks almost absurdly angled. 

Better off sitting really close but on the side like that, or much further back but more centered for a similar price? I know the Hayes isn't huge, but it's hard to tell for this one. Appreciate any advice! 

[TheOtherOne2]

Posted: 4/21/26 at 7:21pm

Our TDF seats were far house right in the middle of the orchestra.  I only remember it being an issue in the last scene, when others reacted to Becky's final entrance before we knew what they were reacting to.  This lasted at most three seconds.

I always prefer center aisle, but I am happy with the seats we had.  Well, except for how uncomfortable they were, but in that theatre there's not much anyone can do about that. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/21/26 at 8:26pm

I saw it in the house right on TDF as well, and had no complaints. You really only miss a couple of entrances in the very last scene (and the window in the house up left). 

I'm surprised the show isn't 100% capacity. It dropped to 88% The reviews, the hot TV stars, the small house. I can't figure out why it isn't SRO. Plays seem a harder sell, in general since the shutdown, but in particular this season. I suppose another young star as Susie would've been helpful. But I'm not sure that's the answer. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 4/21/26 at 11:40pm

JudyDenmark: For seating... how partial view are those partial views in the front far sides of the orchestra? I was looking at those Row C seats on the sides (the first row of two seats), which are not technically marked as partial, but the pic of that on A View From My Seat looks almost absurdly angled. 

Better off sitting really close but on the side like that, or much further back but more centered for a similar price? I know the Hayes isn't huge, but it's hard to tell for this one. Appreciate any advice! 
 

I always prefer to be closer but picked the wrong side. I was in Orch Right G12 next to the wall. Much of the first scene was obstructed. I would go with the left side. And SHAWMANIA2ST still works for a decent discount.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 4/23/26 at 3:15pm

Just jumping back in to say I sat in C1 (house left, front row on the aisle) last night and thought it was a fantastic seat! The stage is high so I couldn’t exactly tell you what shoes any of them were wearing, but overall could see everything very clearly and it’s a great show to sit close for. I really appreciated that heads up on left vs right - left is for sure the way to go. 
 

And I really enjoyed the play overall! I did expect it to go a lot further off the rails than it did plot-wise, but overall five elite acting performances, some genuinely hilarious (and often thought-provoking) writing, and I’m very glad I saw it. 
 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Unless I missed it (did I??) I was so surprised that we didn’t get Susan finding out that Max and Susanna hooked up - presumably from Becky spilling it. I absolutely thought that’s where it all was heading, and I was bracing myself for that unhinged fallout! 

 

[getatme]

Posted: 4/26/26 at 12:08pm

Saw this last night and thought it was pretty excellent and some of Cullman's best work in recent years.

The company is really all on the same page, which is a testament to Cullman. And a number of the performances really stand out.

The play is a touch dated, feels very of its time, but the issues it tackles of masculinity and relationships are relevant. It's not a perfect play, but I found it fascinating to see something from 2008 through today's lens. The writing is sharp and biting.

The performances are really where the production shines. Much has been said about Alden Ehrenreich, and I echo all of it. He commands the stage, finding humor in the rage which is a very challenging thing for an actor to pull off. Surprisingly found myself feeling empathy for him at the end seeing how Max became the person he did.

Lauren Patten has been hot and cold for me, but I found this to be her best work since Jagged Little Pill. A bit "schmacty" at times. But delivered when needed.

Madeline Brewer is really making herself a home on the NY stage and I welcome it. I thought she was wonderful in Little Shop of Horrors late last year, and I was ready to hand her a Tony nomination by intermission. She was able to find laughs in the silences during her brief act 1 scene, and in act 2 she expanded it into this dangerous, cutting, and deeply sympathetic woman. She has this aura where you really do not know what she is going to say or do next, she had me doubting if the hold up even happened. Really hope she continues to do theatre.

Patrick Ball is in the least showy role, but he, too, finds humor in unexpected places. Wielding his charm and charisma like a weapon, he uncovers the darker parts of Andrew's personality and his connection with the other actors onstage was a delight to see. 

Linda Emond proves again why she is THE Linda Emond. She bookends the play looking like a million bucks, and wringing laughter from the most unexpected places. 

Overall, a very enjoyable evening.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/30/26 at 10:51am

Patrick Ball, Alden Ehrenreich on Playing Dicks, Student Loans

https://variety.com/2026/scene/features/alden-ehrenreich-patrick-ball-broadway-becky-shaw-playing-dicks-student-loans-1236728696