DISGRACED Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 10:03am

And so, my friends, another opening night performance is upon us. This time, for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, DISGRACED. Sending best wishes and blessings to all involved, as I still haven't ventured over to the Lyceum yet.

Post 'em here!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 6:40pm

Talkin' Broadway is negative

"Despite the inherent blistering energy of this scene, it lands with a soggy thud in Kimberly Senior’s production — which puts it on par with the rest of Disgraced."

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/Disgraced2014.html

[Matt Windman]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 6:49pm

amNewYork is very positive -

"Some plays have a soft and gentle feel. Others build to a climax but remain mellow for the most part. And then there’s Ayad Akhtar’s explosive race relations drama “Disgraced,” which makes its audience feel like it was just uncomfortably blindsided and hit with a ton of bricks."

http://www.amny.com/entertainment/disgraced-an-explosive-race-relations-drama-1.9539403

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 8:16pm

Do people ever heed the opinion of Matthew Murray? The man is a complete idiot with extremely questionable taste in theatre.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 8:29pm

NBC - Rave
review

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 8:33pm

South Fl Marc, I totally agree about Matthew Murray. It doesn't even seem that he has specific tastes in musical theatre, it's like he randomly chooses what kind of review he wants to write for a show before he goes to see it, his opinions are always really random.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 8:38pm

AP - another rave
review

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 10:19pm

Did we 'Diss' it, or did we find 'Grace' DISGRACED?
Click for review of DISGRACED

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 12:34am

A rave from the New York Times, congrats to all involved!

Although “Disgraced” runs under 90 minutes, with no intermission, Mr. Akhtar packs an impressive amount of smart, heated talk — as well as a few surprising twists, including a shocking burst of violence — into the play’s taut duration. Ms. Senior, who directed the play’s New York premiere, for Lincoln Center Theater, as well as its world premiere in Chicago, continues to find fresh currents of dramatic electricity.

As Emily, whose love for Amir will be harshly tested as the play proceeds, Ms. Mol makes us feel both the depth of that affection and the inquisitive intelligence that has led her to explore the history of Islam. Ms. Pittman’s Jory is magnetic and funny, and a cool referee when the tension between Isaac and Amir explodes into animosity. Mr. Ashok makes young Abe’s own evolving attitude toward his heritage persuasive. Most important, Mr. Dillon, who played Amir in a London production, brings a coiled intensity to his performance that makes Amir’s increasing antagonism all the more unsettling. Flickering underneath his cool, crisp exterior is a pilot light of resentment that holds the key to the play’s eventually devastating denouement.
Charles Isherwood's Review

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 12:39am

Hm. Sometimes I just wonder what people see. It wasn't a terrible show or anything, but when I saw it (I was in the front row) the lead kept looking off stage and not connecting with anyone onstage. It was very apparent that his acting as all surface, but maybe from a distance it didn't matter.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 12:43am

"Sometimes I just wonder what people see."

Can't there just be things you connect to, or don't, as opposed to everyone who enjoyed the show not being wrong because they didn't see what you did?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 1:14am

Isn't the beauty of theatre that sometimes an actor makes a particular choice and then she or he doesn't do that in the next performance? Saying things like "it was very apparent his acting was all surface" have little credibility when framed as absolute truth. Clearly, a lot of other people whom I assume saw a different performance from yours, thought his acting was far from superficial.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 5:52am

Thrilled about these raves! I loved all five of the performances and thought play was one of the most thought-provoking in a long while.

Congrats to all involved!!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 6:49am

I'm with RippedMan and yes, Murray and especially Linda Winer in Newsday. The magic is missing for me, here, too, and I'm a die hard fan of the play on the page. A play I finished and began again immediately, a couple of times. I think these reviews attest to the play's inherent strengths, and the supporting cast's fervor and focus, despite less than ideal (and to my subjective eyes, too glib) direction. At the center, Dhillon and Mol just lack the needed firepower.

Random observation, or maybe not: the handsome Dhillon reminds me of a young David Selby. He looks eerily like him on the stage and in some shots. He even has some of Selby's qualities. Not the ones I'd want in the role, duly noted.

Updated On: 10/24/14 at 06:49 AM

[indytallguy]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 7:13am

"Saying things like "it was very apparent his acting was all surface" have little credibility when framed as absolute truth. "

But RippedMan prefaced that statement in the sentence before, specifically by saying "when I saw it." That's a pretty good disclaimer.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 8:46am

I haven't seen the Broadway production, but I adored the play at LCT3 so I'm happy for these raves!

Updated On: 10/24/14 at 08:46 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 10:33am

"But RippedMan prefaced that statement in the sentence before, specifically by saying "when I saw it." That's a pretty good disclaimer."

Not if he's using the time he saw it to debunk what they saw when they saw it. The implication is still that the show he saw is what was reviewed, hence "I just wonder what people see." He seems to clearly be saying they saw what he did, but were oblivious to the flaws he found, no?

[Kad]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 10:49am

Although I'm not at all a fan of the play or this production, I'm not surprised by the reviews, considering its subject and pedigree, I am glad than an American play about a little-discussed topic is finding success.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/24/14 at 10:55am

I don't understand the people who follow me around this board and somehow get offended by what I post. I've said it again and I'll say it now: It's just my opinion. That's all it is. Nothing more. Why do I need to put "In my opinion" before everything I say? Of course it's my opinion. I'm writing it. I can only talk about how this show and this particular performance effected me.

[broadwayrocks2]

Posted: 10/25/14 at 2:18pm

With the good reviews do you think they would re-cast down the line if the show gets legs ? The original cast is signed through Jan?

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/25/14 at 2:53pm

Given that many members of the cast have been involved in previous productions of this show, and with Josh being a friend of the playwright, if the show were to extend, they would probably stay with it, I'd imagine.

[bfreak]

Posted: 10/25/14 at 3:21pm

Right now the show is scheduled for an open-ended run, so it's the same thing as any other open-ended show. If the actor wants to and could stay with the production then they will, if not, it will get a replacement or a closing date. Right now there's no official decision yet.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 12:54am

There is never a feeling that the play is satirizing these characters, even when Emily is serving a fennel and anchovy salad or chirping with Isaac about the London art scene. But what “Disgraced” does do, smoothly and theatrically, is confront us one by one with our assumptions and pieties about the culture clash that is defining our era.
Disgraced Theater Review: Bluntly Provocative, Dramatically Satisfying