NETWORK Reviews

[LimelightMike]

[Miles2Go2]

Should be interesting if the critic reviews are as polarized as those on here. Could this be like The Cher Show where only one principal actor (Block, Cranston) gets lauded while the rest of the show gets trashed? Will be even more interesting if they both ride poorly-reviewed shows all the way to a Tony Award for themselves.

[FANtomFollies]

Curious to see how this will be reviewed. I saw it yesterday and really loved it. It's not perfect but the thrills FAR outway it's flaws, in my opinion. I would consider it must-see theater. 

[JBC3]

For a comparison, here are a few of the London production's reviews:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/theater/network-review-bryan-cranston-national-theater.html

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/13/network-review-bryan-cranston-lyttelton-national-theatre-lee-hall

https://variety.com/2017/legit/reviews/network-review-bryan-cranston-1202612341/

https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/network-theatre-review-bryan-cranston-is-astonishing-in-uk-theatre-debut-a3710751.html

[Miles2Go2]

From what I’ve gathered from the posts on here, some of the things (casting, the sightlines within the theatre) that made the play pop in London have been lost in its transfer across the pond. I’m surprised at the mixed response on here as I expected mostly raves ala The Ferryman. Will be interesting to see what critics say tonight.

[Stage Door Sally]

For me, if Goldwyn and Maslany were up to the task I would be raving about it. Instead, I'm just telling everyone Cranston is giving a tour de force performance.

[Kad]

I agree. Cranston is phenomenal, but the ensemble is not nearly on his level (Maslany, in particular, who I thought was surprisingly not good at all). And that has been pretty much what I've heard from everyone I know who's seen it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Hollywood Reporter is mixed to positive. Doesn't like that it's still set in the 1970s and calls Maslany "miscast," but says it "remains gripping, largely because Cranston makes his character's tragic trajectory a white-knuckle ride."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/network-theater-1167200

[BroadwayConcierge]

The Wrap is positive, and highlights a sharp change in tone midway through the show. 

https://www.thewrap.com/network-broadway-review-bryan-cranston-conjures-bill-oreilly-paddy-chayevsky-ivo-van-hove/

[BroadwayConcierge]

Deadline is mixed. Raves for Cranston and calls him "blistering," but says the rest is "something of a let-down, and certainly no improvement over the film." Disliked Goldwyn and Maslany. 

https://deadline.com/2018/12/network-broadway-review-bryan-cranston-ivo-van-hove-mad-prophet-1202514424/

Variety is positive. "Fresh fury in a sizzling stage production." 

https://variety.com/2018/legit/reviews/network-review-bryan-cranston-broadway-1203081590/

[Mike Barrett]

I think Bryan Cranston is a Tony nom lock at this point

[BroadwayConcierge]

Chris Kelly for NJ.com is mixed to positive. Calls Cranston "ferocious," but doesn't like that it's still set in the 1970s, saying that the allusions without reference to President Trump means the production "doesn’t entirely hang together."

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2018/12/network-starring-bryan-cranston-review-a-knockout-take-on-the-classic-movie.html

[BroadwayConcierge]

TimeOut NY is mixed to negative, giving 3 out of 5 stars. Says Cranston is "an extraordinary actor," but that the rest of the show "isn’t galvanizing, it’s numbing: emptily flashy in its condemnation of empty flash, inhuman in its wan defense of humanity. It has a superb TV star and a killer catch phrase, but behind the sound and fury is only a shadow of significance." "In its rush to the finish line, the show even sacrifices basic storytelling."

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/network

[Stage Door Sally]

Brantley loved it in London... what say he now?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Terry Teachout for the Wall Street Journal is negative. He says everything surrounding Bryan Cranston has the "unintended effect of turning Network into a one-man show." "If you’re willing to pay Broadway prices to see Mr. Cranston give a tremendous performance, there’s a chance you’ll go home happy. Otherwise, you might as well rent the movie." Also disliked Maslany.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/network-and-the-cher-show-reviews-broadways-recycling-bin-1544148001

[Miles2Go2]

http://theaternewsonline.com/NYTheaterReviews/RATINGSAREPOWER.cfmTheater :

Theater News Online is mixed but leans much more positive than most of these. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Brantley's rave for the London production in November 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/theater/network-review-bryan-cranston-national-theater.html

Brantley for the New York Times on the Broadway production is positive. Critic's Pick seal. A full-on love letter for Cranston, who is "all but flaying the skin off his body."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/theater/network-review-bryan-cranston.html

Worth noting that Brantley doesn't so much adore everything else: "If the bravura dementia of his Howard makes much of the rest of the show seem as two-dimensional as a flat TV screen, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept, albeit with a sigh."

[BroadwayConcierge]

amNY is positive, giving 4 out of 4 stars. It "flashes by as quickly as one of the commercials running on one of the countless screens in the background."

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/broadway-review-network-cranston-1.24287410

[LesWickedly]

Edit: Didn’t see that BroadwayConcierge had already posted the Times

[Stage Door Sally]

Good for Nick Wyman, getting a little shoutout from Ben. He would have made a great Max!

[carolinaguy]

Adam Feldman can drop the mic. His review nailed it.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Agreed Adam hit the nail on the head with this one.

[HogansHero]

methinks even the positive reviews will fail to sell some tickets

[Miles2Go2]

It’s selling quite well, no?

[HogansHero]

It is, and I would not expect that to change. But I don't think these reviews will shift it into overdrive.