THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN - Reviews

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Critics are starting to chime in with their reviews. So far, they have welcomed Thoughts of a Colored Man with open arms.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Review-Roundup-THOUGHTS-OF-A-COLORED-MAN-Opens-On-Broadway-20211013"

Not quite open arms… the Times didn’t love it, and both Time Out NY and Variety gave mixed reviews.

Not-great reviews from several Black critics, which feels like it needs to be noted after last weekend's convo.

…a no name show with a no name cast … won’t need reviews to sell… ok… but hope you’re right!

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 01:32 AM

Yes, papering the house is common for press performances, Sutton, which might explain the "packed" nature of it. It looks less than half full for tonight and the majority of performances in the coming week (which will also likely have second-night press), so "packed" it is not. I wish it well. I don't object to its brilliance, but brilliant art is different than something that large numbers of people want to pay to see.

And rg, if Luke James (or anyone else in this play) were actually as famous as you say he his, his agent would have negotiated for his name to be above the title, and the producers would be promoting his name in all the advertising. He may have 1 million instagram followers, which is far more than Rob McClure or even Audra McDonald, but that doesn't mean people are looking to spend $50+ to see him in a play on stage.

There are some quotes they can advertise from lesser publications than the NYT, and the GMA piece yesterday was quite good, so the numbers might see a moderate boost. But at this point, the play is far from a hit.

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 10:23 AM

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "As with A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2, I wonder how much the title THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN is hurting or helping the show's audience appeal? This is anecdotal and not scientific by any stretch, but I have heard grumblingfrom several friends in the Black community about the title...so it might be alienating audiences of all races."

The title is definitely an issue. A few black relatives of mine who I go to see shows with wouldn't even be curious to find out about the details of the show because of the title. I think it might particularly be alienating to older black audiences.

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 10:53 AM

Falsettolands said: "I do hope to see this in a few weeks once the show I'm in closes. The reviews are promising enough.But the ticket sales have me concerned it won't be open when I'm back in the city."

I am going to assume they at least have enough money in the bank to run another month at low ticket sales, considering the hefty budget? But we should expect this to close in January or sooner unless there's a massive uptick in sales. Or if it's somehow secretly doing sustainable business (unlikely).

Time will tell. It's a great show and I hope it's successful.

Correct. Thanks, Troy. With this board being so white, I hope people will give it a chance and not feel weirdly "attacked" by the title or by the uncomfortable conversation of equality.

Lolz.

https://thoughtsofacoloredman.com/