The Wanderers

[yyys]

Posted: 1/29/23 at 10:42am

Has anyone seen it yet?  Thinking about going next weekend...... 

[Ricey2]

Posted: 1/29/23 at 11:42am

Yes! I actually won the TodayTix rush for this yesterday. I was orchestra O, all the way to the edge. I thought it was really good and I would recommend it! I will say that I am not Jewish and as such, I missed a bit of the jokes that leaned on the faith and upbringing. Even then, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the show. 
 

It starts out slow, but I was really invested by the end of it. Katie Holmes and Eddie Kaye Thomas were the highlights in the cast to me. I don’t want to give any spoilers. I’ll just say that the synopsis is of it being a play about love, family, faith, and Brooklyn is very accurate. 
 

Runtime was 1:45 with no intermission. The audience was terrible. Didn’t have anything to do with the show, but wanted to just say that. One woman SCREAMED at the ushers during the beginning that someone stole her seat. It made the cast stop in their tracks, but they picked it up without issue. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/29/23 at 12:22pm

A friend of mine saw it the other night and said the play itself was alright but Katie was fantastic. I’m seeing it in a couple weeks (wanted to give it a chance to settle in a bit) but I’m looking forward to it.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 1/30/23 at 10:56am

Ricey2 said: "Yes! I actually won the TodayTix rush for this yesterday. I was orchestra O, all the way to the edge. I thought it was really good and I would recommend it! I will say that I am not Jewish and as such, I missed a bit of the jokes that leaned on the faith and upbringing. Even then, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the show.


It starts out slow, but I was really invested by the end of it. Katie Holmes and Eddie Kaye Thomas were the highlights in the cast to me. I don’t want to give any spoilers. I’ll just say that the synopsis is of it being a play about love, family, faith, and Brooklyn is very accurate.


Runtime was 1:45 with no intermission. The audience was terrible. Didn’t have anything to do with the show, but wanted to just say that. One woman SCREAMED at the ushers during the beginning that someone stole her seat. It made the cast stop in their tracks, but they picked it up without issue."

Sounds like a typical Roundabout audience to me.

[ggersten]

Posted: 1/30/23 at 12:09pm

Should I be disappointed that this is not a stage version of the 1970s film? 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/30/23 at 2:52pm

LarryD2 said: "Ricey2 said: "Yes! I actually won the TodayTix rush for this yesterday. I was orchestra O, all the way to the edge. I thought it was really good and I would recommend it! I will say that I am not Jewish and as such, I missed a bit of the jokes that leaned on the faith and upbringing. Even then, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the show.


It starts out slow, but I was really invested by the end of it. Katie Holmes and Eddie Kaye Thomas were the highlights in the cast to me. I don’t want to give any spoilers. I’ll just say that the synopsis is of it being a play about love, family, faith, and Brooklyn is very accurate.


Runtime was 1:45 with no intermission. The audience was terrible. Didn’t have anything to do with the show, but wanted to just say that. One woman SCREAMED at the ushers during the beginning that someone stole her seat. It made the cast stop in their tracks, but they picked it up without issue."

Sounds like a typical Roundabout audience to me."

 

The problem with a subscription-based audience is that the patrons develop a sense of entitlement and may actually feel they OWN their seats.  They believe all the hype they read in the brochures the Roundabout puts out and know other audience members from previous shows. 

A friend of mine subscibes there and I actually heard him say he was "proud to be a member of the Roundabout's ever-growing family"  (Barf)

 

Updated On: 1/30/23 at 02:52 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 9:45pm

Saw this tonight and did enjoy it. We don’t get a ton of Jewish-centered plays so I do appreciate Roundabout producing this one. 

Updated On: 2/16/23 at 09:45 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 9:54pm

I feel like there are a TON of Jewish centered plays, and major ones at that. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/15/23 at 9:59pm

This one just felt different, walking home on 8th Ave i don’t know how to describe it this second. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s still a very good play, I thought. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 1:43pm

Did anyone else have a lot of trouble hearing Sarah Cooper? I know this is her stage debut, but it felt like she really didn’t know how to project at all. (I was in Row J of the orchestra, for context.)

I don’t foresee this one getting strong reviews tonight. I was there last night as well, and there seemed to be an unusually high number of walkouts. 

Updated On: 2/16/23 at 01:43 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 1:48pm

Funny enough it was only at the end that I could barely hear her but yeah it like she all of a sudden started whispering. 
 

I agree that I don’t think it’s going to get particularly strong reviews but there’s enough in it that I liked that I hope it’s not totally panned. 

Updated On: 2/16/23 at 01:48 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/16/23 at 11:00pm

NYTimes

Jesse Green really hated it and, like a real ass, gave away the “twist” in the end. You don’t have to like a show but that’s such a d*ck move, dude. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 7:12am

Jesse Green really is the worst critic to have landed at the Times. He takes such glee in attempting to be a show killer in an age when reviews really don’t matter much and he knows it. All a play for relevance. 

[The Other One]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 7:49am

Jordan Catalano said: "NYTimes

Jesse Green really hated it and, like a real ass, gave away the “twist” in the end. You don’t have to like a show but that’s such a d*ck move, dude."

As someone who has not seen the play, I found Jesse's mode of revealing the "twist" quite funny. 

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 8:41am

Some other reviews I could find:

Theatermania -- positive: https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/the-wanderers-anna-ziegler-roundabout-review_94873.html

NY Stage Review -- positive (4/5 stars): https://nystagereview.com/2023/02/16/the-wanderers-2-generations-2-couples-1-engaging-drama/

Theaterly -- negative: https://www.theatrely.com/post/aimless-ambling-in-the-wanderers-review

Exeunt NYC -- negative: https://exeuntnyc.com/reviews/review-the-wanderers-at-the-laura-pels-theatre/ 

Talkin' Broadway -- mixed-to-negative: https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/ob/02_16_23.html

The Wrap -- positive: https://www.thewrap.com/the-wanderers-off-broadway-review-katie-holmes/

New York Theatre Guide -- mixed: https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-wanderers-off-broadway-review-katie-holmes

 

[inception]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 8:45am

I couldn't make heads or tails out of that review.  It seems written not for prospective audiences, but rather for those who have already seen the play.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 9:02am

The Other One said: "Jordan Catalano said: "NYTimes

Jesse Green really hated it and, like a real ass, gave away the “twist” in the end. You don’t have to like a show but that’s such a d*ck move, dude."

As someone who has not seen the play, I found Jesse's mode of revealing the "twist" quite funny."

 

Funny or not, it’s a horrible thing for a critic to do  

 

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 9:09am

RippedMan said: "I feel like there are a TON of Jewish centered plays, and major ones at that."

There are definitely a ton of Jewish plays, but almost all of them are about the Holocaust- which gets tiring because there is so much more to the Jewish experience than just that moment in time.  What I think makes this one stand apart, and what makes it feel refreshing, is that it manages to explore Judaism without exploring the trauma Jewish people have faced throughout history.  It’s much more rooted in Jewish culture and it’s evolution than it is about “oh look a bunch of people are trying to kill Jews again.”

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 9:37am

Thanks for that. That kind of what I wasn’t able to articulate when I was writing, walking home the other night. Not just the Holocaust but also “My Jewish Mom is trying to be a zany matchmaker!” - it’s all fine and I’ll see most of them but this touches on a part of Judaism that I don’t reflected on stage much, if at all. And again, while I do wish the play had been better I did enjoy it for that reason.   

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 10:18am

LarryD2 said: "Some other reviews I could find:

Theatermania -- positive:https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/the-wanderers-anna-ziegler-roundabout-review_94873.html

NY Stage Review -- positive (4/5 stars):https://nystagereview.com/2023/02/16/the-wanderers-2-generations-2-couples-1-engaging-drama/

Theaterly -- negative:https://www.theatrely.com/post/aimless-ambling-in-the-wanderers-review

Exeunt NYC -- negative:https://exeuntnyc.com/reviews/review-the-wanderers-at-the-laura-pels-theatre/

Talkin' Broadway -- mixed-to-negative:https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/ob/02_16_23.html

The Wrap -- positive:https://www.thewrap.com/the-wanderers-off-broadway-review-katie-holmes/

New York Theatre Guide -- mixed:https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-wanderers-off-broadway-review-katie-holmes

"

What? There were no reviews about this on Corine's Corner?

[JoeW4]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 10:23am

Right now, there seems to be a push, among storytellers from a wide range of marginalized groups, to tell stories about their people that aren’t focused on their trauma; and/or, where the identity of the characters/playwrights informs the broader context of the piece, without necessarily coming into play with the plot.

When other groups write stories like this, we tend to still label them as “Black stories” or “Asian stories” or “LGBTQ+ stories,” or what-have-you. But for Jewish playwrights, we don’t seem to apply the same principle; we tend to only consider something a “Jewish play” when it explicitly deals with Jewish identity and history. So when Jewish storytellers write works where Judaism isn't the main focus of the plot, we might not immediately think to recognize their work as a "Jewish story."

All of this is to say, there’s no shortage of Jewish plays that aren’t about Jewish trauma. We’re maybe just not looking broadly enough. And not for nothing, but I’d argue that The Wanderers also focuses on Jewish trauma, even if it’s not a direct result of anti-semitism.

Updated On: 2/17/23 at 10:23 AM

[dexter3]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 12:32pm

Yeah I wish dearly that the Times would have picked a reviewer for their staff that elevated the art of reviewing. Everything else about the Times is just so classy. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/17/23 at 1:12pm

As someone who has not seen the play, I found Jesse's mode of revealing the "twist" quite funny.

100%

All of this is to say, there’s no shortage of Jewish plays that aren’t about Jewish trauma. We’re maybe just not looking broadly enough. And not for nothing, but I’d argue that The Wanderers also focuses on Jewish trauma, even if it’s not a direct result of anti-semitism.

Correct. Great comment.

Updated On: 2/17/23 at 01:12 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 2/18/23 at 6:31pm

From Charles Isherwood's (WSJ paywall) generally positive review

“The Wanderers” is what one could derisively call a “talky” play, meaning that dialogue and monologue dominate, especially since the often-long email exchanges between Abe and Julia (read aloud by the actors) play a major role. But Mr. Edelstein directs—one might almost say choreographs—the drama so adroitly that it never feels freighted with big bales of verbiage."