Review Roundup: THIS IS OUR YOUTH Opens on Broadway - All the Reviews!

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's new production of Kenneth Lonergan's critically acclaimed This is Our Youth opens on Broadway tonight, September 11. In this production, Michael Cera makes his New York stage debut opposite Kieran Culkin and Tavi Gevinson, which premiered at Steppenwolf in Chicago this past summer, and is directed by Anna D. Shapiro. The limited engagement of This is Our Youth runs through Sunday, January 4, 2015 at the Cort Theatre (138 West 48 Street).

Set in New York in 1982, This is Our Youth follows forty-eight hours in the lives of three very lost young souls: Warren (Michael Cera), a dejected nineteen year old who has just stolen $15,000 from his abusive, tycoon father; Dennis (Kieran Culkin), his charismatic drug-dealing friend who helps Warren put the stolen money to good use; and Jessica (Tavi Gevinson), the anxiously insightful young woman who Warren yearns for. Funny, painful and compassionate, This is Our Youth is a living snapshot of the moment when many young people go out into the world on their own, armed only with the ideas and techniques they developed as teenagers -- far more sophisticated than their parents realize, and far less effectual than they themselves can possibly imagine.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: Just watch these bodies in motion: loping, flying, dancing, vamping and writhing at an altitude known only to the permanently high and perpetually crashing. The acrobatics being performed in Anna D. Shapiro's sensational, kinetically charged revival of Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth,"...aren't anything like those you'd find at the Cirque du Soleil. But they're every bit as compelling, and probably (painfully) a whole lot closer to your own experience...Shapiro...knows how to scale up intimate confrontations to Broadway dimensions without losing nuance. Under her direction, "Youth" becomes more explosively physical than I recalled it, a ballet of gracefully clumsy collisions. And Mr. Cera, Mr. Culkin and Ms. Gevinson imprint highly legible and individual signatures onto their characters, in ways that extend into every inch of their postures.

Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: Michael Cera, making his New York stage debut, once again perfectly captures being an awkward man-boy, while veteran fashionista and acting newbie Tavi Gevinson matches his goofy nervous energy. Kieran Culkin is marvelous as their smug, narcissistic friend. Spending two hours watching these wealthy, unmoored slackers is a treat, even without the contact high. The production...is directed by Anna D. Shapiro, who knows her way around onstage arguments ("August: Osage County") and movie stars (James Franco in "Of Mice and Men"). She keeps this revival fresh and electric, crackling with energy even as the stoned get more stoned.

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: Steppenwolf's revival of "This Is Our Youth," Kenneth Lonergan's 1996 play about disaffected rich kids in the Reagan era, might be re-titled (or marketed as) "These Are Your Parents." These post-adolescent slackers living on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 1982 could easily have grown up to reproduce themselves as our current crop of privileged youth. In fact, this demographic is turning out in strong numbers for the show, drawn by its cast of baby stars Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin and Tavi Gevinson. That makes two generations of potential ticket buyers for this superbly directed staging. We can see the family theater parties now.

Linda Winer, Newsday: There are just three characters in "This Is Our Youth" and three gifted, demographically hot-button actors onstage in this Broadway premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's 1996 slacker comedy. And yet, as the deceptively shaggy story unwinds in a single one-room crash pad, we don't just get to know these three privileged, directionless offspring of successful Upper West Side Jewish parents in 1982. Thanks to the playwright's meticulously hand-picked insights and Anna D. Shapiro's tight yet seemingly easygoing direction, we somehow feel we have spent a couple of amusing and ultimately painful hours with an entire world of offstage parents, drug dealers and friends of friends.

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: Shapiro is more restricted here, working with a smaller, less practiced company on a play that, for all its appealing aspects, betrays both its age and the relative inexperience of its gifted creator. But she manages to mine the wry humor and pathos in Youth's portrait of privileged despair and spiritual malaise...Sadly, Gevinson, who plays Jessica, is the production's weak link. Squirming and shouting her lines in a high-pitched whine that suggests barely repressed hysteria, she overplays Jessica's feigned confidence and confusion, making Warren's enduring attraction to her less convincing. Still, under Shapiro's patient guidance, this Youth is intermittently funny and poignant -- and provides a timely reminder that when our economy and culture are fractured, even the young and well-off suffer.

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter: Unfortunately, what must have worked beautifully in the Steppenwolf's far more intimate environs doesn't fully register in the large house, making the play seem smaller than it really is. This is despite the expert direction by Shapiro, who's guided the performers, two of them playing their first stage roles, into vividly memorable turns. The 31-year-old Culkin...is undeniably too old for the role, but he perfectly captures Dennis' youthful braggadocio as well as his carefully hidden insecurities...Cera...Playing not too far from his familiar dorky screen persona, he makes an impressive stage debut, fully mining the pathos and humor of the fumbling Warren and easily scoring the evening's biggest laughs. The 18-year-old, waif-like Gevinson has no such problem in terms of age...But the awkwardness she displays onstage, whether intentional or not, works beautifully for the role of a young woman struggling with a transition into adulthood, and her off-kilter line readings are consistently engaging.

David Cote, Time Out NY: ...Cera has managed to appear both fetally unguarded and crushed by the weight of the world (a millennial Charlie Brown). That broken-naïf vibe makes him perfect for Warren Straub in Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth, in which Cera plays a jumpy and immature 19-year-old who already seems soured by the seedy banalities of 1982 New York....Anna D. Shapiro's clear-eyed and tight staging brings out earnest, honest performances from the young trio. Cera's facial deadpan and vocal drone have the curious effect of deepening, not lessening, our sympathy for Warren. Culkin gets to shine in the flashier role, and Gevinson toggles amusingly between prim ingenue and panicked urbanite. They're nice kids; I think they've got a bright future ahead of them.

Robert Kahn, NBC New York: In spite of it all, I walked out of the two-acter curiously unfulfilled. The play rarely feels relatable, and I'm afraid it's mostly an issue with Cera, the talented "Juno" and "Superbad" star who here steps into a role quite similar to that of George Michael, the awkward man-boy he played on "Arrested Development." That's the rub -- I think Warren would be better cast with an actor who's got more range..."This Is Our Youth" comes to life whenever Culkin -- 31, but playing a character a decade younger -- is on stage. Dennis, the alpha, is abusive, caustic, violent and a crappy friend -- and yet, you absolutely care about him, because Culkin makes him human...Gevinson, 18, a fashion blogger and burgeoning actress, does effective work making us see Jessica as a young woman trying to own her sexual identity...Shapiro directs with her usual spot-on spontaneity and fluidity.

Jeremy Gerard, Deadline: The production is the latest transfer by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, and as staged by Anna D. Shapiro, it's typical of that celebrated troupe in its physicality combined with thoughtfulness...The play, which launched the careers of both Lonergan and Mark Ruffalo (the original Warren), now feels like a period piece; a shell of amber surrounds it. This may have to do with fine performances that nonetheless fail to connect. Culkin exudes energy but not the menace that makes Warren interesting; Cera raises blankness of expression almost to the level of art and Gevinson is simply out of her league on the Broadway stage.

Matt Windman, AM New York: Staged by Anna D. Shapiro with raw intensity and a rough edge, the current Broadway production features Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin and writer Tavi Gevinson...There's no escaping the fact that Cera is giving a performance that closely mirrors his nervous nice guy persona from "Arrested Development" and "Superbad." Even so, it suits his character and he brings plenty of laughs. The 18-year-old Gevinson, who has terrific rapport with Cera, vigorously conveys Jessica's suspicious nature. Culkin displays greater range as Dennis, who embodies cocky 1980s materialism, seeing himself as an entrepreneur.

Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly: Culkin is sensational as Dennis, a talkative schemer whose occasional stumbles in no way impede his innate sense of self-confidence. Cera is nearly as strong as Warren, a willfully quirky boy who collects action figures and vintage toasters and who endures Dennis' poetic rants of invective against him like a pound puppy who craves attention no matter what form it takes...At 18, Gevinson is closer to her character's age than her castmates--but she can seem less at ease on stage for reasons that have nothing to do with Jessica's natural discomfort hanging out in a strange apartment with a virtual stranger.

Jesse Green, Vulture: Michael Cera, he of the turtle face and pipe-cleaner arms, has cornered the market on screen nerdism to the point you would think there was nothing left for him to mine from the indignations of the socially awkward. Turns out, given material deep enough, there is. He's found that material in Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth, and under Anna D. Shapiro's superlative direction uses it to fuel an unforgettable performance, the more so for marking his New York stage debut. As the overliteral, quasi-Asperger's lost-soul 19-year-old Warren Straub...he digs so far into the character's drugged-out disappointment you see only the shadows of it rippling the surface. Surprisingly that's enough; he's a triumph.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: Kenneth Lonergan has made a career on stage and film with stories that summon the funny and sad quirks of ordinary lives. He's at the top of his game in his 1996 play "This Is Our Youth," now running at the Cort Theatre in a terrific revival...Cera mines every ounce of Warren's comedy and ache. His forlorn charm...makes you want to hug him. Culkin brings just the right cockiness for Dennis. The lesser-known Gevinson, who's famous in fashion circles, is the show's wild card -- and she's an ace. She brings a weird and wonderful vitality as the pretty and opinionated Jessica. Director Anna D. Shapiro...showcases the play's ample humor and the disquieting tones. Nearly two decades after its New York debut Off-Broadway, "This Is Our Youth" has aged well.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: Culkin and Cera are the indispensable yin and yang of this funny, touching production...Lonergan's portrait of young adults fumbling for purpose has lost some of its edge -- or maybe it was never that edgy to begin with. Yet under the sharp direction of Anna D. Shapiro ("August: Osage County") the actors are so in sync with the material and with each other that they lift up the show. Cera, in particular, is terrific at making Warren...more than a nerdy loser. Instead, the character comes across as smart but insecure, well-meaning but lost...Gevinson has only limited acting experience, but she's blessed with genuine presence...That we end up caring so much for her -- and Warren, and Dennis -- is why this show works so well. We just want to know the kids are all right.

Robert Hofler, The Wrap: Cera...is the Cera we know from the movies: quiet, nerdy, low-key with a delicate imbalance to his delivery that fits Warren as perfectly as the baseball cap he treasures. The "Arrested Development" star is genuinely funny and endearing, and if you've never seen him on-screen before, his Warren will be a revelation. For those who have seen him, it's a performance without many surprises from an actor who has been here, done this male-waif thing. The good news is that he's not playing to the camera, and his performance fills the theater...The words "total surprise" sum up Culkin's achievement here...Culkin presents a perfectly reasonable young cynic, one who's better than most slackers at selling drugs and conning his parents. There's real businessman acumen on display here...It's difficult to see what Shapiro wants to achieve with Tavi Gevinson's loud, hysterical interpretation of Jessica.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: In its home base of Chicago, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's studiolike production of Kenneth Lonergan's closely observed and emotionally potent "This Is Our Youth" was an intimate, immersive affair...On Broadway, though, "This Is Our Youth" is very different proposition...Shapiro's enjoyable production remains a sincerely acted and smart-eyed take...[Dennis is] exceptionally well played by Kieran Culkin, the cast member here who is most at home on a Broadway stage. He drives the production much more explicitly than was the case in Chicago. Cera ("Arrested Development," "Juno") remains his minimalist self, his back stiff and his body constantly residing on the lines of various acute angles. Not all of his work lands as easily on the bigger stage -- to expand Cera is not necessarily to improve him -- but this still is a very smart, funny and painful take on Warren, a tricky character whom Cera turns into an inept but empathetic soul...Gevinson...does not find the technical demands of working in a big Broadway house easy.

Alexis Soloski, The Guardian: Despite this difficulty and a final scene that over-enunciates themes and conflicts, This Is Our Youth is rich and sad and wry in its cruel-to-be-kind portrayal of disillusioned adolescents struggling to take up the business and onus of grown-up life. How do you put away childish things, it asks, when you aren't ready to pick up adult ones?

Peter Marks, Washington Post: Under Anna D. Shapiro's superb direction - maybe the best work of her increasingly impressive Broadway career - Cera and his co-stars mine the material for every desired laugh, every interlude of pathos. Culkin's Dennis, a repository of self-regarding bravado whose out-of-control drug-dealing has prompted his rich parents to banish him to an apartment of his own, is no less remarkable: The bullying bile he aims at Cera's cowed Warren is spewed with magnum comic impact. And Gevinson, as self-conscious Jessica Goldman, a girl so contrary she manages to turn Warren's admiration for her into something bitter, makes the acting triumph here a triumvirate. What she and Cera do with a twisting scene, built around Warren's gift to her of a sentimental item, is itself a little treasure.

David Finkle, Huffington Post: Cera and Culkin, both committed and eagerly expressive actors, make good use of that phone and cord. Speaking to his angry father, Cera's Warren can barely hold the phone bottom aloft. Culkin uses the cord like a whip. He turns one phone call with Valerie -- who's furious over a sculpture of hers having been destroyed (by Warren) -- into an act-two tour de force.

Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record: Given a physically dynamic staging by director Anna D. Shapiro, "This Is Our Youth" is diverting, and frequently funny. It does, though, go on too long. Stretched to 2 1/2 hours, it reveals its slenderness, as Dennis' bad behavior becomes repetitious, and we wait impatiently for his inevitable showdown with Warren. Despite that, it's the rare play that takes a serious and perceptive look at the challenging rituals and relationships people go through on the way to adulthood.

Photo Credit: Brigitte Lacombe

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