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Reasons To Be Pretty Reviews
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Belongs Off-Broadway If At All ... Review by: Theater Lover, LI, Jun 12, 2009 |
| Decent acting although the story line was painful and went no where. Depicted the ultimate of dysfunctional relationships skills in todays society of young adults. I took my mother for Mother's Day and we were in awe that a show like this could be marked for Broadway. Put it at the bottom of your list if you are older than 30 years of age. |
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Don't go
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| 2 |
sit this one out... Review by: marc, May 18, 2009 |
| the acting was great, but the material was just plain boring and one dimensional. with all of the great plays out there right now, i think this would be one to skip... |
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My recommendation:
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| 3 |
Review by: Tom B., May 11, 2009 |
"reasons to be pretty"
Imperial Theatre
One day, I'd like to see Neil LaBute and David Mamet go after each other for the title of Alpha Male Playwright. The Bard of Testosterone. Let's get 'em in the same room, liquor 'em up and let them really go at it. My money's on LaBute, if for no other reason than he seems to be trying harder at representing for the men, while Mamet is softening up, putting out sweeter, creamier work like the farce ... read more "Romance" or 2007's terrific satire, "November". LaBute, on the other hand, seems to keep his foot firmly planted on the accelerator, driving his audiences as quickly as possible into territory where hard, painful things happen. Things men cause, then move on from because that's what men do. His plays have a well-deserved reputation for stripping away niceties and laying bare the bad things that bad people (men and women) do.
"reasons to be pretty" is LaBute's latest, but his first foray onto Broadway. He's spared little of the emotional cruelty and misanthropy that have marked his work over the years. Here his focus is the fragility of human connection. What is the nature of love? On what is it predicated? More important, even if we can answer those two questions -- even if only for ourselves, can we find our way through all the obstacles that prevent deep connection between humans? You know, jealousy, envy, low self-esteem (why would anybody love someone like me?) and inflated self-image (how could anyone not love me?)?
At curtain, Steph (Marin Ireland) is fighting with Greg (Thomas Sadoski), her boyfriend of three years. He's apparently said something to his friend Kent (Steven Pasquale) about Steph's looks, within earshot of her friend (and Greg and Kent's co-worker, and Greg's girlfriend) Carly (Piper Perabo). What he said wasn't awful, and could be defended, but it wasn't a great comment, either.
But what he said isn't as important as what Steph hears -- and feels. Over the course of the next two hours (including intermission), these two couples go through a fair bit of emotional hell -- which LaBute sometimes manages to make funny, even when the cruelty reaches its height. (The best scene in the play is when Steph reads aloud her notes about all Greg's physical shortcomings -- not just to Greg, but to everyone else at the mall food court, as well.)
LaBute has written a great play, I think. He gets to some very deep places with some pretty elegant, efficient writing. And though the cast does a mostly first-class job, I regularly felt there was emotional depth that was present in the text that the actors (or director Terry Kinney) failed to plumb. There were times, especially in the first act, where there just didn't seem to be enough veracity in the interaction between Steph and Greg.
But given the rawness of emotion that would be exposed if the actors went as deep as LaBute's text, I'm not sure audiences are ready for that. At least not enough to keep a Broadway play going long enough to recoup anything close to its investment. |
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| 4 |
discount ticket worthy Review by: DC2NYCtheatrefan, Apr 20, 2009 |
| Worth the discount ticket price. A fine production, great acting, a intersting somewhat simple plot. |
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Go see if you get a chance
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Not Broadway worthy Review by: mickey, Apr 10, 2009 |
Great acting, but a script that goes nowhere - like a defective sparkler that flashes a couple of times then just fizzles out.
There are some great lines, but the cardboard characters and their actions (like a cheesily staged ballpark fight)play out like an after school special for adults.
The set is abominable...it's clear the producers tried to pull this production off 'on the cheap' and the show suffers for it.
This may have ... read more been great fun off-broadway, but on Broadway it's a disappointing waste. |
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Don't go
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| 6 |
Review by: SteveL, Apr 6, 2009 |
| Acting was very good. Story line was uneven. Production was marginal. Overall I enjoyed the show due to the actors; I would recommend the show to a friend. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Romantic Date, Adults
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| 7 |
Go see it Review by: James, Apr 1, 2009 |
| Very good drama with comedic overtones surrounding a girlfriends knowledge of her boyfriends comment about her face. Performances are very good particularly from Pasquale. Simplistic in set piece, but good dialogue. Go see- |
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| 8 |
Review by: , Mar 20, 2009 |
I haven't seen the Broadway production yet, but I saw this last summer and loved it.
If you've ever been in a relationship, you will be able to relate to at least some of this.
You will laugh and cringe.
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must see!
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Definitely worth it Review by: , Mar 19, 2009 |
| We liked it a lot, very good acting, and the story most people can easily relate to. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
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| 10 |
Sub-par Review by: clallread, Mar 18, 2009 |
| Not worth seeing. The story was uneven and the acting was sub-par. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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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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