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The Seafarer Reviews
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| 1 |
A BRILLIANT DRINK WITH THE DEVIL Review by: Driver8, Mar 11, 2008 |
| $%^& LOVED IT! Perfect ensemble cast.....hard to choose one actor over another....they're like your favorite band. The older blind man and his alcoholic side kick are absolutely hysterical, yet heartbreaking at a later time. If you love Ciaren Hinds and David Morse, they deliver the goods...... The play is a take on the age old adage about playing for your soul..... Done in an expert and refreshing way. This is a GREAT play! One of my two ... read more favorite this year (August: Osage County being the other one) SEE IT! |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 2 |
Stirring second act makes show worth seeing Review by: JW, Feb 28, 2008 |
McPherson's "The Seafarer" plays like a study in human dissipation as its characters struggle with life's many adversities. Which means that you will witness a great deal of unpleasant behavior on stage, especially in the first act where some of the characters are wallowing in a constant state of drunkenness. Although I did not find the first act scenario particularly entertaining, it does serve its purpose by setting the stage for a ... read more stirring second act. In the second act, McPherson basically asks the question: Can we oversome life's misfortunes and rise above the fray? He introduces a familiar dramatic supernatural element in the story line as a means to resolve that question for the play's protagonist. Although the resolution is not totally effective (as it appears that the fate of the protagonist hinges more on chance than on free will), the play's second act is extremely entertaining, even spellbinding, and makes the show worthwhile.
One caveat regarding this production. As mentioned, some of the characters are portraying drunkards, which when coupled with the fact that they are speaking with severe accents, renders some of their dialogue unintelligible, at least in the front mezzanine where I was sitting. Thus, to better appreciate this show, it may be wise to sit as close to the stage as possible. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 3 |
For: Performances. Against: the Play Review by: DJ, Feb 21, 2008 |
| For: the performances. Con: the play. It doesn't go anywhere. The playwright perhaps was trying to say something, referring to two distinctive speeches, one that says "man-kind adds up to two balloons in the chest (lungs) and a whistle on top (meaning your voice.) Then you die." In another speech, a character recalls starring at a house fly. The jist being, "how is it god or the creator, got all that in there. And what, if anything is it ... read more thinking looking back at him?" To which another character replies, "yeah, but flies eat crap." If things got too slow, which is most of the time, there were pick up lines thrown in. However, not enough that I can recommend seeing it. Note: stage is static - no changes throughout. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 4 |
Go see if you're into this kind of play Review by: Disappointed Reviewer, Feb 8, 2008 |
You must be aware that this is a play, NOT a musical.
Buying the ticket on the last minute, I wasn't able to read the reviews of the show. After watching, I felt like I payed too much for too little.
very good acting, good story. if you're into plays, especially Irish play, go to this show.
If you're like me (likes fancy dancing, singing, and stage set), go only if you can easily afford the ticket price |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Alone
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Adults
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| 5 |
Engrossing Review by: , Feb 1, 2008 |
The Seafarer was humurous, touching and a bit mystic. Anything that seemed a little slow in the first act had its purpose in the story.
I left the theatre very glad I had seen it. The 3 people I went with also enjoyed it.
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Make an effort to see
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| 6 |
Great Theater? NO WAY! Good entertainment? YES! Review by: RALPHIE, Jan 11, 2008 |
SEAFARER has been praised to a degree it does not deserve. This is a good play, but it is NOT exceptional. The acting is very good, but you'll certainly see better this season.
I'd rather not talk about the Tony. After they gave it to History Boys, a play that advocated homosexual abuse of children by their teacher, nobody ought be stuck with a Tony.
As for SEAFARER, if you see it I'll bet you enjoy it; but do not allow ... read more your pleasure to be ruined by the high expectations born of excess praise by emptyheads. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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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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| 7 |
The Seafarer Review by: Tom Bestor, Jan 2, 2008 |
Conor McPherson writes Irish ghost stories ("The Weir" "Shining City"), and his latest is no exception, though it is the first play of his I have seen. "The Seafarer" is set in an intensely shabby Dublin apartment where Sharky Harkin (played with delicious restraint by David Morse) has returned to his father's home after a chauffeuring job in Lahinch went wrong. Sharky is also trying to go on the wagon, as his drinking is preventing him from ... read more being a sailor.
Unfortunately, the Harkin household is not the most supportive place to get dry, especially on Christmas Eve. Patriarch Richard Sharkey has gone recently blind (could it be the illegal poteen he sometimes gets from one of the neighbors?), but that only means he has to rely on friends and family to bring him the prodigious amounts of whiskey and beer he downs each day. As Christmas Eve morning dawns, Sharky is cleaning up the mess from the previous night's bingeing by his elder brother and their friend Ivan (brilliant sloppiness from Conleth Hill). When Sharky is upstairs, Richard and Ivan scurry to find the dregs from any bottles that were left.
The story doesn't really kick into gear until another friend of the family, another (surprise!) alcoholic, Nicky (Sean Mahon), arrives with Mr. Lockhart (the menacing Ciaran Hinds) in tow. Mr. Lockhart, we soon learn, is Satan himself, come to collect the soul Sharky promised him many years ago.
But the story isn't really the draw here. The main reason to see "The Seafarer" is the crackling dialogue delivered by a truly world-class ensemble. Stage acting doesn't get a whole lot better than this. |
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| 8 |
Not worthy of the hype Review by: JRSpeck, Dec 24, 2007 |
| I had heard wonderful things about this show so when discount seats were available, my partner and I jumped at the chance to get them. Well, I wasn't very impressed with the show at all. The acting was quite good but the dialogue was a bit repetitive at times. The character of Richard was the most annoying drunk I have seen on stage in a very long time. I really didn't find any of the characters likeable at all. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 9 |
Acting: YES, Plot: Maybe? Review by: AJ, Dec 20, 2007 |
The acting in this show is incredible. There are some Tony Nominating performances for sure.
After reading some of McPherson's other works I wasn't wholly impressed with "The Seafarer." The plot lacked development and seemed stilted by whole first act, which was almost completely unrelated to the second.
Go for the acting. I'm a theatre major at NYU, and this is some of the best acting I've seen, and I've seen a lot.
Overall ... read more it's an enjoyable and enthralling show.
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Make an effort to see
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Large Group
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| 10 |
Morse and cast deserve the Tony Review by: fornesque, Dec 15, 2007 |
| One of the finest works of recent Irish theatre, The Seafarer left me with the sense that I've added one more great Christmas story to what is now a rather long list. It's completely secular, so all you "non-believers" can rest assured this is no tribute to Mary, Joseph and family. Quite the contrary. The acting is superb. Hilarity reigns throughout--no dour Celtic tale is this. See it. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| 11 |
What a Smart Play! Review by: Nico, Dec 6, 2007 |
While the Story isn't wholly new, this telling keeps you enthralled.
The cast is FABULOUS!!! Simply wonderful!
If you're looking for a "Chritmas" trip to the theatre without all the fluff, this is it!
Conor McPherson delivers. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Tourists
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A PLAY WORTH SEEING Review by: Beth M, Dec 6, 2007 |
“There’s Booze Everywhere….:” Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer
by Beth Mandelbaum
I always feel badly and tend to questions myself when I share that was I disappointed in a play by one of my favorite playwrights. But I have to say that, while there is much that is very fine about The Seafarer, while I was watching it, I did find it less compelling to me than The Weir or The Shining City, both haunting masterpieces.
However, ... read more it is extremely important to add that once the play was over, I felt an enormous sob inside me and I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of sadness. It was as though the play’s impact had a delayed reaction for me. I got in touch with what I seemed unable to fully see before: I suddenly understood more fully that a great deal more was actually occurring in the lives of these men at an intra-psychic level, well beneath the surface of dialogue that often seemed very mundane. I suddenly realized that I was watching the disintegration of three men, who seem to have hit rock bottom in their lives.
The Seafarer is absolutely brilliantly acted. I cannot say enough good things about the cast. They can be wonderfully clown like, and also very emotionally honest; they were an enormous pleasure to watch.
The play is set on the day before Christmas and on Christmas day in a shabby basement of a house on the sea, near Dublin. A good portion of the first act focuses on two brothers, Richard and Sharkey, and their good friend Ivan. A bit later on they are joined by a man named Nicky, whom Sharkey clearly does not want to have visit; and Nicky brings along a stranger, an exceedingly well dressed man named Mr. Lockhart, whom I noticed had red and silver tinsel around his neck and down his coat; wore a bright red tie, and once he had removed his elegant suit jacket, I noted that the back of his vest was also bright red. While these details of attire may seem like typical of the holidays, they seem to be saying a great deal more, which is revealed as the play progresses.
I did find the first act of the Seafarer moved too slowly and that the often seemingly humorous and rather drunken dialog perhaps dragged dialog along for too long before something more compelling begins to occur. To some extent it felt as though nothing much was happening. Had I left at intermission, which I had no intention of doing, I might have felt that the Seafarer was simply a lesser play by a very fine playwright. However, I knew better.
I have to say that I felt really bewildered as to why there was so much laughter--it was as if people who attended felt somehow compelled to laugh a great deal in the first act.
Perhaps some may have experienced people falling down in an alcohol drenched stupor to be humorous, but I didn’t find that this was played as any kind of farcical slapstick. (Though the brilliant clowning by this phenomenal cast could explain the laughter).
However, to me, despite the wonderful clowning of these fantastic actors, I did not find so much laughter to feel completely appropriate, because, for me, these men are filled with pathos. I found the Seafarer to be simultaneously very much a tragedy within the comedic elements.
We are witness to three men who have fallen on exceedingly hard times and who are filled with deep emotional pain. Richard, who owns the house, has had a very unfortunate accident on Halloween that left him blind. He uses alcohol to cope with the loss of independence and the loss of his ability to do what he had been able to do. His drinking seems to keep him from completely falling apart, and he is often amazingly cheerful as he imbibes one drink after another. Ivan, who is perpetually on the verge of passing out, is experiencing marital problems. He has been thrown out of his home by his wife because of his late night carousing, and is experiencing, even through his alcoholic stupor, a deep sense of humiliation, as his wife expelled |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Tourists, Adults
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| 13 |
BEST ACTING AND BEST PLAY OF THE SEASON! Review by: TopHat143, Dec 2, 2007 |
| I was hoping the stagehand strike would end soon and luckily it did, just in time to see the best acting in theater I've seen in many years. The cast of The Seafarer is a talent to behold. The wonderful and underrated David Morse, funny Conleth Hill, devilishly good Ciaran Hinds, charming Sean Mahon and the terrific Jim Norton made this play a must see this theater season. The play (and directed) by Conor Mcpherson is funny,... read more, scary and heartwarming at the same time. You will be totally engrossed and mesmerized how each characters battle over a game of poker (where one's life is at stake) one Christmas eve in Dublin. I want to say more but it won't do justice how wonderfully written and acted this play is. If you have to see an original play this season, make it The Seafarer. You will have a one hell of a good time! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| 14 |
David Morse and this Stellar Cast Own Broadway A+ Review by: The Reaper, Nov 29, 2007 |
| I have reviewd 5 plays on this site. Hands down...without reservation. This is the single greatest theatre experience I have had in New York City in 10 years. In my last review I used a grade system, so I will stay with that...A+. David Morse is the most underrated actor in America. This cast is one of the most talented, natural and gifted group ever assembled. The play is perfect, the story...amazing. Enough twists and bends to surprise you ... read more even when you've accepted the outcome and stand by waiting to watch a flawerd human being accept his fate. Even then, the brilliance of such a well written play takes you for one last ride. The character acting is almost hard to describe. It's a level of reality so rarely seen on stage, you feel like a voyeur in someone's living room. It's for adults, if you want to take the kids to a show...go see the Grinch. If you want to see the best damn acting on Broadway right now..see this play. There is not a weak link in this cast, production or story. The Reaper is picky. The Reaper is honest to a fault. And The Reaper was completely floored and blown away by the talent and life brought to the stage tonight by this magnificent cast. This ladies and gentleman is a shining example of how theatre can genuinely move you. The reaper has spoken. |
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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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| 15 |
Go experience this play! Review by: joanf, Nov 17, 2007 |
| Wonderful! Utterly Satisfying! This is what theater is supposed to be! I too was put off at the start, but was completely turned around and amazed at the end. It is dramatic, funny, sad, smart, dark, silly and just great. See this one. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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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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