BECKY SHAW Reviews — Page 2

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

they do.

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.

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 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)

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.

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!

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 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.

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.

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

BwayStarlette said: "I was so excited to see this. Wow, did I hate this play. I didn't believe a moment in it."



Cool story.