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Relatively Speaking Reviews
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Adequate Show. Nothing Too Special Review by: Jim-NJ, Jan 28, 2012 |
Three one-act comedies. The first one is about a psychiatrist chatting with a postal worker in a mental hospital lock-up. This was generally very funny.
The second comedy had Marlo Thomas in it as a nutty woman who just found out that her husband has been killed in an avalanche and she goes to her friend's house to get emotional support. This was OK but went on maybe 10 minutes too long (like they were deliberately stretching it).... read more.
The last comedy was the Woody Allen one. It is in a motel bridal suite and has several actors involved throughout, building up to I think 10 by the end. It was funny enough, centering on an older man stealing a young woman from his own stepson at the altar. On a scale of 4 stars I would give it 2 and a half. Your mileage may vary. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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See Something Else Review by: Manhattanite, Dec 18, 2011 |
| I went with great expectations, since I have great respect for all three of the authors of the plays. Big disappointment. The last of the three plays, written by Woody Allen, was the best, but that's not saying much. As other reviewers have said, don't waste your time or your money. Go see something worth seeing and wait for Coen, May, and Allen to do something else -- which we can only hope will be better. I should say there's a lot of ... read more great acting talent on the stage, including Marlo Thomas, Steve Guttenberg, Grant Shaud, and lots of others. They are not well served by this material. I don't recommend it for anyone. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 3 |
In this show Elaine May rocks, Woody Allen not Review by: , Nov 23, 2011 |
| I am a huge fan of Woody Allen and that is why I went to see the show. The reviews called his play a masterpiece and the best of the three. Boy, was I disappointed!!! Woody's play is a farce in bad taste, basically recycled punch lines, plus the acting was very bad. The play by Elaine May, though, touched my heart. It rings so true to life. Marlo Thomas deserved a Tony nomination. Ethan Coen's play was not bad at all. I actually plan ... read more on seeing Happy Hour off-Broadway that has three of his one-act plays. |
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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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| 4 |
Woody is Back! Review by: DoctorJoeE, Nov 21, 2011 |
I'm surprised at the reviews preceding mine -- evidently most people either love this show or hate it, and the surprise is that most seem to be in the latter category. But put me in the former.
This is a trilogy of one-acts addressing the central theme of relatives. ("Relatively Speaking"...get it?) The theme concept isn't obvious at first, so the point of Ethan Coen's "Talking Cure" is not obvious as you watch it; but as the second and ... read more third plays unfold, with some of the actors from Coen's piece returning in new roles, the tie-ins become clearer, and "Talking Cure" improves in retrospect.
In the second play--"George is Dead" by Elaine May--Marlo Thomas gives a near-Tony-worthy rendition of a dim, totally helpless rich woman who can think of only one way to deal with her husband's sudden death: taking over the apartment of her former nanny's daughter. There are some classic, hilarious Elaine May lines and a typical Elaine May non-ending.
But it's Woody Allen's piece, "Honeymoon Hotel", that is worth the entire price of admission. I can't really tell you anything about the plot without spoiling it; but it reminds us of how funny Woody can be when he isn't feeling the need to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders. Maybe now he'll devote more time to the theatre, where he always belonged. One can only hope.
Taken together, the trilogy is easily as good as anything playing on Broadway right now, and quite a bit better than anything else *original* playing now. Everybody can identify at least one of the annoying relatives depicted, and it's good to be reminded every so often that one must see the humor in such situations. Go for Woody, but enjoy it all. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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| 5 |
Don't waste your money, go see something that will give you great memories to talk about Review by: Theater man, Nov 11, 2011 |
Don't waste your money!
The first two plays were terrible. The guy next to my wife fell asleep in the first play and I fell asleep in the second one. If there had been a cricket in the building that would have been the only sound you heard as there was not any laughter. I can't blame the actors they did the best they could with the poor writing.
The third play by Woody Allen was the best of the three, I and others actually laughed ... read more at parts of it. It appears that Mr. Allen was the only one who put any effort into this production. |
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| 6 |
See something else Review by: lb, Nov 8, 2011 |
| So disappointing. As a fan of the writers, I tried to ignore the poor reviews only to admit, they were right. Not funny. Barely a laugh out of the 1st 2, shticky humor in the last. Acting not bad, but we went to laugh and didn't. Can't imagine this will run too long. |
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| 7 |
Half of a Good Show Review by: Chubby Theater Goer, Oct 27, 2011 |
| I would skip the first half of the show. Not funny and very boring. All the laughs are in the second half which is written by Woody Allen. I'm particularly a fan of Ari Graynor which works out for me. I think she is a terrific young actress but quite limited by the script here. But honestly, who will purposely miss the first half after paying full price for the tickets? Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you... |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 8 |
Save your time and money - see something else. Review by: Marti, Oct 20, 2011 |
| Wow - what a mess. With the talented team of writers one would have expected much more from this show. I go to the theatre quite a bit and keep an open mind to all types of shows, however this one was without a doubt one of the most tedious to watch. The first (Coen) skit was horrible. Very little humor and just dragged along. Elaine May's feature was more entertaining - Marlo Thomas saved it from total garbage, but it went on a bit too much and ... read more was unsatisfying. The final sketch (Woody Alan) was upbeat and had some good lines in it. Not good enough to sit through this horrid play. Seriously, with all of the talent out there it is amazing this was the best they could come up with. The actors were all very good but the material was garbage. I know it is in preview - but unless they do A LOT of rewrites this is going to close down quickly. Save your time and money and see something else. This was a very unsatisfying experience and a real waste of time. |
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Don't go
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| 9 |
Relatively Short Run Predicted Review by: Grams, Oct 19, 2011 |
| We went with friends last night -- wives liked all of it, husbands hated first half (one slept thru it) but we all enjoyed Allen's contribution. Was some of it trite? Yes, but fast paced and very funny. The audience was roaring. Was it worth it for the money? No, only for Allen lovers -- maybe. I think the critics will pan it and it will not last long on Broadway. |
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| 10 |
Total Disappointment Review by: Sophie, Oct 19, 2011 |
| Great disappointment. The show is third rated and stale. |
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| 11 |
see a different show Review by: RS, Oct 18, 2011 |
| First two plays passable but the Woody Allen play was Catskill shtick, not funny except for maybe the first few minutes. Even though we had discounted tickets I feel I just flushed the $ you know where. This is not theater. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 12 |
Highly Recommended!! Excellent!!! Superb acting! Review by: AJ21, Oct 18, 2011 |
| Highly recommended! Excellent !!! My guess is that the previous poor reviews were from people in their 20's or maybe 30's. We along with the majority of the audience were roaring with laughter! I did notice two 20 something people sitting close by that hardly laughed. They just didn't get it. Many jokes are politically and religiously incorrect (nowadays), especially in the third Woody Allen act and those of us 40+ loved it! Our favorite act was ... read more the third by Woody Allen however the first two acts were terrific too. The first act's script is simple yet hilarious! The second script did get a bit overly melodramatic without an emotional catch. The third act was as good as it gets! Vintage Woody Allen!!! And like a great wine Woody Allen's writing improves with every year (Midnight in Paris). Marlo Thomas is Tony Award worthy!! Steve Guttenberg is terrific as is Richard Libertini and Julie Kavner and the entire cast! Please do not listen to the poor reviews. If you are an open minded mature worldly adult you'll be belly laughing and very happy you went!! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| 13 |
What, you think the audience is stupid? Review by: JayCee, Oct 14, 2011 |
This is undoubtedly a vanity production that does not even meet the standards for a decent high-school play. Only an overabundance of arrogance could lead authors and a director with so much experience to think they could get away with producing such third-rate work (third might be too high). I doubt the show will survive the opening night reviews - but what about those of us who paid full price for the pre-review "previews"? At least this ... read more production is a good reminder that the best work is to be found off the Great White Way where theatergoers can still find excellent theater without dipping into the kids' college fund.
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 14 |
Try Hard To Miss This One Review by: Steve160, Oct 12, 2011 |
Miss this one. Coen's play - awful. May's play - just as bad. Allen's play - a bit better. All three of these plays are about dysfunctional families who do crappy things to each other.
Coen's play, in two small acts, is about a prisoner in therapy with a psychiatrist. Not a funny line in it all. The second act, is about a husband and wife who yell at each other about how they really don't like the friends they invited to ... read more dinner and how the phrase "shut up" might somehow warp the baby growing inside the wife. Of all the writing and acting the entire evening, this was the single worst piece of junk. No redeeming value whatsoever.
May's play is acted well enough, but who cares? The situation is basically that someone's husband has died and the new widow comes to stay the night with the daughter of the woman who was her nanny years before. The widow is completely self-centered and clearly has dementia and nothing is funny.
Allen's play is a farce about the immediate aftermath of a wedding gone bad, has generally good acting and some funny lines, but ultimately fails to sustain the evening.
Save your money.
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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| 15 |
Provocative and fun--don't miss it! Review by: JG, Oct 12, 2011 |
| An unexpected delight: the genius of Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen expertly delivered by an all-star cast--provocative and fun. Don't miss this quintessential New York theatre experience! |
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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, Tourists
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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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