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All My Sons Reviews
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| 1 |
INCREDIBLE SHOW- MUST SEE! Review by: bluiceefyre, Jan 4, 2009 |
All My Sons was simply incredible! Holmes, Wilson, Weist and Lithgow did an amazing job- there wasn't a single dry eye by the end of the performance.
If you have the chance to go see, make sure you do! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Adults
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| 2 |
Please go see this now! Review by: TheatreTeacher, Dec 31, 2008 |
| This was my favorite straight play I've seen on Broadway. I really liked Simon McBurney's conceptual directing. My only downpoint was that John Lithgow left at intermission because he was sick. But from what I saw in the first act, he was phenominal. As was Dianne Weist. Patrick Wilson was pretty good, and Katie Holmes didn't bug me as much in the second and third acts as she did in the first. She was a bit too one-note giddy ... read more in the first act, but she's never been my favorite actress, so... The supporting pertformances were also all very good. Loved it. Loved it a lot. Go see it for the amazing acting and a cool directorial take. Gotta love those British directors! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Family
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Recommended for:
The Entire Family, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 3 |
Wow! Review by: artlover, Dec 13, 2008 |
| John Lithgow, Diane Wiest and Christian Camargo's performances were flawless. This is the best performance I've seen, full of warm, tension and sadness. I could watch it five times! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 4 |
Great acting all around, even without Ms. Wiest performing. Review by: David, Dec 3, 2008 |
| This show was a simple stage setting with some new ideas to make the set feel different thru the story. The acting and the storyline are obviously what you would go see this for. And the acting was great, it never dragged and was moving at times, my girlfriend said it was the best play she has ever seen, and Ive taken her to see many. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Tourists
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| 5 |
Do not miss this.. Review by: jord, Nov 21, 2008 |
| I saw All My Sons the day before Opening Night and I loved it!!! I was in tears by the end of the second act and had the chills most of the time. Being familiar with the piece might have helped this but I thought it was absolutely BRILLIANT!! Go see it. You will love Arthur Miller's MASTERPIECE!! Katie Holmes overacted a bit during the first act, but her overacting fell into place during the second and third acts. John Lithgow, ... read more Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson were phenomenal the whole way through. Please Do not miss this awesome life-changing play!! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Large Group
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Seniors, Tourists
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| 6 |
Don't miss this play? Review by: elbowlini, Nov 2, 2008 |
| We were totally blown away by the actors' performances in this play. John Lithgow and Diane Wiest are amazing, and every one of the actors were totally convincing in their parts. The time flew by. The story is riveting and deeply moving, and the ending left us with chills. Don't miss this one! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Seniors, Tourists
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| 7 |
Brillant! Review by: Loving Broadway, Oct 27, 2008 |
All My Sons was fabulous! This is an absolute must see……………
This was the best Broadway show I have seen. I felt that this play was compassionate, it was heartfelt and most of all the emotions that were brought out by each character were superb. John Lithgow? Amazing!! Diane Wiest, Patrick Wilson as well, amazing! As this was Katie Holmes Broadway debut? I thought she was spectacular! She was stunning, confident and portrayed her character in ... read more everyway possible. She was magnificent. I am a huge fan of John Lithgow and especially Katie Holmes. You wonder if the "sweet dawson creek" girl can pull off such a performance. She did! With style, grace and poise. This play is a must see,, and then see it again!
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Adults, Anyone
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| 8 |
loved it! Review by: jilla, Oct 16, 2008 |
| wow - loved it! powerful, emotional,,, incredible acting. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 9 |
A VERY WORTHWHILE PLAY AND A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE Review by: Beth M, Oct 16, 2008 |
All MY SONS
by Beth Mandelbaum
I caught yesterday’s preview of the revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. It offers an opportunity to see a very fine play by one of America’s greatest playwrights. In fact, All My Sons is clearly a great American tragedy. It opened on Broadway in 1947, with the specter of World War II ever present.
As I have never seen any other production of All My Sons, I have no way of comparing this one. ... read more But despite all of this productions many virtues, I found myself feeling that something was missing, but can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t find myself feeling like raving about it, as I had expected to. But I am wondering whether I perhaps missed something as once the play was over, the entire audience, actually myself included, rose to its collective feet and the applause was thunderous. (I will be extremely interested to read the reviews tomorrow morning, as the play opens tonight.).
All My Sons has what appears to be a dream cast—John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson and of course, Katie Holmes. John Lithgow, admittedly my favorite actor, gives a thrilling and spectacular performance, clearly worthy of a Tony nomination. Seeing his performance may in itself be worth the price of admission. And I feel that Dianne Wiest gave an excellent performance. Patrick Wilson’s performance was somewhat understated, until later in the second act, though perhaps this is how the playwright intended it to be. I must admit that I had never heard of Katie Holmes (shame on me??) until she was cast in All My Sons. While she gave an adequate performance, I wasn’t dazzled by it. But, then again, I don’t know how anyone else has played this role.
The work of the British avant-garde director Simon McBurney was quite interesting. When one walks into the theater, what you see is an almost empty stage, except for a white door in the background, a chair, two metal gates, Astroturf on the ground, and a tree, which has special significance and great meaning, as we learn early on in the drama. Suddenly we see the entire cast emerging and walking towards the audience, headed by Mr. Lithgow. The entire house applauded wildly and this kept on going, despite Mr. Lithgow’s gesturing to the audience to settle down and allow the play to begin. Actually it begins with Mr. Lithgow breaking the 4th wall by introducing himself and speaking directly to the audience, saying that this afternoon they will be presenting Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. While I don’t see the necessity for such a device, it did create a sense of personal touch between the actors and the audience. Mr. McBurney also uses projections, which has been done with a uniquely British touch, and made me think back to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Woman in White and most recently, in Sunday in the Park with George. The projections seemed effective as a way of creating flashbacks, and the haziness of these images, projected at the top of the stage, seemed to be letting the audience know that what we are seeing is in another realm, that of the past, rather than in the present action of the play.
All My Sons is filled with excellent in-depth characterizations. The father-son relationship here is especially noteworthy, though the play is filled with many extremely well written examples of a variety of interpersonal relationships. It tells an extremely suspenseful story, which, while it seemed to start at a low boil, increased greatly in its intensity, ultimately to the point of meltdown. I do believe that, more than the first act, the second act was extraordinarily compelling.
The play also treats a number of themes that not only create a gripping drama, but which also seem both universal and timely. One key theme is death, and the great pain of not being able to accept that a loved one is never coming back, while others have come to terms with the finality of loss. The contrast makes for excellent and highly poignant drama.
Another key theme is what is now often called “corporate accountability,” an issue all too prevalent today. Without wanting to give major away plot details, suffice it to say that the theme of a business making money by serving the needs of the war and going beyond ethics and morality rears its ugly head in All My Sons. And in relation to this, the desperation of giving one’s family the opportunity to live the so-called “American Dream” and the extent to which one will go to try to make this possible is another major theme in the play.
One of the most chilling aspects of the play comes at the end, when the true meaning of the title All My Sons is revealed. It becomes almost impossible not to be deeply and powerfully affected.
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Tourists, Adults
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| 10 |
Excellent Review by: sep, Oct 14, 2008 |
| I went to see the play basedon the actors involved and the story. I took seven others with me and we were all blown away by the play. The acting was phenominal and the story line rich and detailed although admittedly a bit depressing. Myself being a small business owner passed from father to son the play accurately displayed the difficult balancing act between responsibilty to family and to country or customer. I will be playing this show over ... read more in my mind for quite a long time. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Anyone
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| 11 |
Review by: theatreadoration, Oct 12, 2008 |
this show was extremely disappointing. The supporting cast and the lead young man were the best. Dianne Wiest was awful, shrilling, nasal and very overrated in her performance. Katie Holmes was not right for the part. The production was so so and not a good match for the great talent of John Lithgow, who overacted the part adn i was not touched at all. This is a protest play. If you like that Genre, you'll admire the play. But Frankly, my ... read more Theatre Coummunity in Staten Island could have put on a better production. Smaller would have been better, smaller stage, less acting, more feeling.
Don't bother unless you want to see stars. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Family
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Recommended for:
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| 12 |
Runs the Gamut of Emotions from A to B Review by: Carol, Oct 11, 2008 |
| The play is very derivative of A Death of a Salesman. The acting is very good, but the characters shout at one another for over three hours, so their range is limited by the vehicle. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 13 |
Review by: marsmccoy, Oct 10, 2008 |
| Good acting does not make a good play. All the actors in this production can be brillant, but it did not work as an ensemble piece. I felt like everyone was in their own little story and not connected to the story of the play. I blame the direction. Use of video for the backdrop was a cheap piece of production, no sense that the father came from a working class background and made something of himself as a ... read more business man and therefore had a lot at stake for being discovered as a lier and cheat. Overall I was disappointed in this production and was sorry I wasted my money. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Business Associate
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 14 |
Review by: frankb, Oct 4, 2008 |
This is a brilliant production of a brilliant play. The acting is first rate all around.
The story stays with you long after leaving the theatre, as any great play should.
It is riveting from the first moment till the last, one of the best I've ever seen.
It is a limited run, see it. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| Acting: |
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 15 |
Phenomenal Cast - See This FAST!! Review by: CT29, Oct 2, 2008 |
I've seen most of the shows out there right now and in the category of non-musical theatre, this is definitely one of the best I have seen in a long time.
I admit the story is a little depressing (hello...Arthur Miller), but the cast was absolutely phenomenal.
I lucked out and got a front row center seat, and while I knew the cast was top-rate, John Lithgow blew me away the most. Having seen his most commonly in comedy, he showed ... read more that he is one of the most talented in the craft, right alongside another pro, Dianne Wiest.
Expect some Tony's for this one and see it as soon as you can. With this cast and the limited run, tickets will go fast. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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