PUNCH Previews

Broadway doesn’t know what’s about to hit ‘em.

Based on a true story, the new play Punch starts previews tomorrow night (September 9) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Written by James Graham, the show has a cast that features Will Harrison, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Victoria Clark, Cody Kostro, Piter Marek, Sam Robards, and Lucy Taylor. Punch — which will be premiering simultaneously in the West End this fall — opens on September 29 for a limited engagement through November 2; Adam Penford directs.

“As Jacob tears through Nottingham in a whirlwind of drugs, girls, and bar fights, he makes a fatal mistake that lands him in prison. But as he struggles to accept the consequences of his actions and build a new life, he finds an unusual source of salvation: the parents of the boy he killed.”

Who’s going?

Going next week! Very much looking forward to it.

MTC says 2:30 runtime, including a 15-minute intermission.

Tonight Act 1 was 1 hour and 1 min. Act 2 was 1 hour and 8 minutes.

this should probably be one act--- it picks up a good pace but then stops and it takes a bit for it to get going again. its very expository---the lead is telling you a story most of the time, narrating a ton with minimal action interludes, and this gets worse in act 2 when we are preached to by a social worker who has to explain a bunch to us/the characters. i definitely think it dragged here and there. the structure makes little sense- we start in like a group meeting with Jacob talking to us, telling a story, but thats abandoned entirely by act 2, and then it closes with Harrison breaking the 4th wall (to lots of sniffling).

but the performances are exemplary. I hope Will Harrison is in conversation during awards season bec its his show (and im not sure I love that choice--giving the show to his character) and hes phenomenal from the jump but especially at the end. Sam Robards is excellent in a few roles, as is of course Victoria Clark (they have her playing a bunch of different parts in act 1, which is a mistake--shes such a powerhouse as The Mom that it almost feels silly to see her pretending to be a drunk bar patron in between her scenes).

aside from the performances, the choreographed movement is rather impressive on the never changing but effective set. the ensemble really moves, often as one. lots to appreciate here.

no bad seats at the Friedman, we were front mezz and most of the rows behind us were empty, on a saturday night. hope it finds its footing.

to each their own but @Matt Rogers that was not my intention! I was very moved at the end and the performances are excellent. If anything, its sitting well/better with me a few days later.

But yes, the first 20 minutes is the lead telling us a story and then the second act has alot of "let me educate these characters about something so i can educate the audience as well" moments.

Go. It is narration heavy to get the story going in the beginning but it moves quickly in the set up.

The last couple of scenes are pretty amazing. The audience we were with you could hear a pin drop. The performances are strong especially the leading man. Victoria Clark's parts were a little confusing. We initially thought she had dropped her accent, but was a different character? Over time she will likely find ways to differentiate them more clearly.

Good balance of story, interesting information and emotion. Glad we went.

Updated On: 9/27/25 at 02:09 AM

This wasn't really my thing.

Bwayphreak is spot-on with the too much narration, especially in act one, and I thought the accents were a smidge too thick. Though the action picked up a bit later on, I can't help but feel this was a bit boring (save for a few touching moments in act two).

Will Harrison gives a fierce, bodily performance that proves to be a monster of a Broadway debut. I also quite liked the lighting design.

Sidenote, it's pretty cool that we get to see not one, but two Kimberly Levacos at MTC this theatre season.

Tonight I clocked 7:06 start and 9:21 blackout.

I was afraid this would be a soap opera, but it mostly avoids those trappings. Act 1 is a freight train, which makes the slower moments in act 2 (especially the meeting between Jacob and the parents) hit harder. Will Harrison, Victoria Clark, and Sam Robards are all fantastic.

My only complaint is that I wish there was a scene or two showing James (the victim) in flashback. He's entirely defined by what other people (namely his parents) say about him. Overall very well done though

I saw yesterday's matinee. I agree with a lot of what's already been posted. Lots of easy nitpicking to be done here (which I'll do below), but overall I thought the show was successful and built around a phenomenal leading performance by Will Harrison.

The first act is too long. Could easily lose 10 minutes.

The second act is much more powerful and probably doesn't work as well without the frenetic nature of the first act.

The writing of everything after the family meeting felt a bit forced. A *little* too neatly tied up. The scene with the little brother was particularly cringeworthy.

The set and lighting are superb.

I agree with a previous poster that having Victoria Clark (and to a lesser extent Sam Robards) in multiple roles was distracting and probably unnecessary. I feel like everything they did outside of their main roles could have been cut or covered by a different ensemble member. However, seeing Victoria bounce around as a street gang member gave Kimberly Akimbo alternate universe vibes that was quite amusing.

It's not a perfect show. There's a decent amount of fat that could be trimmed.

And yet...I ultimately found the show effective and moving. So while I don't think you need to run out and buy a ticket, it's definitely worth a viewing if you're curious at all.

I have to say, few things shock me anymore on this board but the people saying this isn’t good - that shocks me. Saw tonight’s performance and it might be the best thing I’ve seen in 2025. It’s DEVASTATING. It’s also full of hope and makes you truly think about what you’re capable of doing as a person. Could you or WOULD you, be willing or be able put in the work to forgive someone for something like that.

Performances across the board are A+. This is a non stop marathon of emotions for 2 1/2 hours and because of that I disagree that it should be one act. This one absolutely needs a break to let the audience catch its breath and breath forms few minutes.

This is one of those shows I’ll be talking about in 20 years. For me and hopefully for the rest of the upcoming Broadway season, the bar has been set HIGH.

This thread is why I love theatre, everyone see’s and takes something different away from it.

Melissa25 said: "I saw the matinee today and thought the acting was great but I really cannot recommend this. I probably would have left at intermission if I did not have another show this evening. So much of Act 1 is Jacob talking at you.I honestly felt like I was taken hostage and wanted out. Act two is better and the scene with Jacob and the parents was moving but as a whole, this just wasn’t for me.
"

I was at that matinee as well. Finally scored a very discounted ticket. I couldn't stop thinking about Trainspotting while watching the play. The main character narration and then immediate jumps into scenes. At the end of the act 2 heard few sobs, people were audibly crying, and I love to shed a tear in a theater. But it didn't touch me at all, to my surprise. I also wanted to leave at intermission but honestly had no other plans so I stayed.

Updated On: 9/28/25 at 08:09 AM