THE THANKSGIVING PLAY Reviews

4 stars from TimeOut

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/the-thanksgiving-play-broadway-review

"Second Stage’s Broadway production of The Thanksgiving Play, tightly directed by Rachel Chavkin, represents a notable glow-up from the version that ran at Playwrights Horizons in 2018. Finneran is a hoot as the dowdy and nervous Logan, and Carden brings knowing confidence to the dim-witted but professionally savvy Alicia; Sullivan’s tryhard energy plays nicely against Foley’s smooth solicitousness."

Daily Beast:

Review: ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Is Anti-‘Woke’ Satire—to What End?

IDENTITY POLITICS

“The Thanksgiving Play” is a satire skewering the many blindspots that accompany white liberal earnestness. But, written eight years ago, it misses more contemporary targets.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/review-the-thanksgiving-play-is-anti-woke-satireto-what-end

Deadline:

‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Broadway Review: No Meat On These Bones

Eight years is pretty close to eternity when it comes to sell-by dates for topical humor, which might be one reason that the jokes in Larissa FastHorse’s Broadway comedy The Thanksgiving Play fall flat as an underbaked pie. We can only surmise that when she first began writing this satire on Liberal guilt, woke sensitivities and Goopy indulgence back in 2015, words like “decoupling” and “soy milk” seemed like terrific punchlines.

https://deadline.com/2023/04/thanksgiving-play-broadway-review-deadline-scott-foley-1235332356/

NY Stage Review:

2 stars: The Thanksgiving Play: Much to Give Thanks For? https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/20/a-thanksgiving-play-much-to-give-thanks-for/

4 stars: The Thanksgiving Play: The Satire of Political Correctness We Need Right Now

https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/20/the-thanksgiving-play-the-satire-of-political-correctness-we-need-right-now/

Theatrely:

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY Undercooks Its Satire — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/the-thanksgiving-play-undercooks-its-satire-review

"But, for the most part, it’s a succession of “Who’s on first?” bits that start to drag, despite the cast’s—including MVP Finneran (“This is post-BLM and there are grants at stake!”)—best efforts. And Rachel Chavkin, who masterfully mapped farce and intellect onto onstage bodies in How to Defend Yourself earlier this season, here struggles to create slapstick out of a should-be drama of ideas. Running under 90 minutes, with agreeable performances across the board, The Thanksgiving Play is not a bad time. But without a distinct point of view, its bottom line of “Thanksgiving is problematic” renders it only a pleasant, toothless, pilgrimage to the theatre."

AMNY:

Review | ‘Thanksgiving Play’ satirizes attempt at cultural sensitivity

"I regret that I did not see “The Thanksgiving Play” when it was presented Off-Broadway with a different cast and creative team. (It has also been presented regionally and as a starry Zoom reading with Keanu Reeves and Bobby Cannavale). On Broadway, it comes off as static, slow, and overextended, and it is hard to determine at first glance whether the fault lies primarily with the play itself or the aggressively over-the-top direction of Rachel Chavkin (“Hadestown&rdquo – or perhaps both."

Chicago Tribune:

Review: ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ is an unforgiving Broadway satire of turkey day

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/broadway/ct-ent-broadway-thanksgiving-play-review-20230421-3lk5y7xfu5bajnubhuudrvtyda-story.html

"“Thanksgiving Play” has been well-received in other productions both in New York and regionally, and thus I suspect it has had much funnier and deeper ranging interpretations than this one, which is just not really staged with an eye to comedy.

The production problems evident here are rooted in a lack of believability. FastHorse’s premise only works if you can imagine this little crew really existing, and the actors and director have to make that happen. Alas, they don’t."

This is a good solid entertaining comedy. Not the heaviest lift, emotionally or intelligently, but well-performed and well-written. I was particularly taken with Katie Finneran and D'Arcy Carden.

Also a play that, tho it has a liberal angle, might be enjoyed by "all sides" for different reasons (or maybe my blue brain is broken)

Isherwood, Wall Street Journal (paywalled):

 

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 05:26 AM

Interesting that the negative reviews are not exclusively from right-leaning publications (Vulture is intriguing). The telling issue here is the deft hand or lack thereof in handling the pointed satire, not the underlying issues.  A number of people predisposed to find the play's targets worthwhile and timely have commented on the heavy-handedness. In the preview reports, the naysayers were often fellow progressives who didn't feel the comedy landed with precision or freshness. 

Doesn't sound like my cuppa.

I'm getting weary of storytelling that has contempt for it's characters a la Don't Look Up, Bros, Bodies Bodies Bodies etc etc.

 

Yeah, there's just something about this play that doesn't work. The script is okay, the actors are game but it really just spins its wheels for 90 minutes.

I think, for me, the main critique is of white people twisting themselves into pretzels when no one really asked them to (think M&Ms giving the female M&M flats to replace her heels: feminists weren't demanding this but got blamed by the right-wing media for it anyway). They're doing it to possibly alleviate any guilt that they have, which actually places the focus back on them and not on the injured minority, but the whole thing gets muddy and so it feels like a more generalized take-down of "woke-ness" (which I don't necessarily think it is). Does that make any sense? Haha