THE THANKSGIVING PLAY Reviews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 3:16pm

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 8:13pm

4 stars from TimeOut

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/the-thanksgiving-play-broadway-review

"Second Stage’s Broadway production of The Thanksgiving Play, tightly directed by Rachel Chavkin, represents a notable glow-up from the version that ran at Playwrights Horizons in 2018. Finneran is a hoot as the dowdy and nervous Logan, and Carden brings knowing confidence to the dim-witted but professionally savvy Alicia; Sullivan’s tryhard energy plays nicely against Foley’s smooth solicitousness."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:35pm

NYT Critic's Pick from Jesse Green

Review: In ‘The Thanksgiving Play,’ Who Gets to Tell the Story?

Larissa FastHorse’s comedy of performative wokeness is also a brutal satire of American mythmaking.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/theater/thanksgiving-play-review-larissa-fasthorse.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:36pm

Daily Beast:

Review: ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Is Anti-‘Woke’ Satire—to What End?

IDENTITY POLITICS

“The Thanksgiving Play” is a satire skewering the many blindspots that accompany white liberal earnestness. But, written eight years ago, it misses more contemporary targets.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/review-the-thanksgiving-play-is-anti-woke-satireto-what-end

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:37pm

The Wrap:

‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Broadway Review: The Show Where Woke Went to Die

Playing an unapologetic opportunist, D’Arcy Carden of ”The Good Place“ and ”Barry“ sizzles in her Broadway debut

https://www.thewrap.com/the-thanksgiving-play-broadway-review-darcy-carden/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:38pm

Deadline:

‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Broadway Review: No Meat On These Bones

Eight years is pretty close to eternity when it comes to sell-by dates for topical humor, which might be one reason that the jokes in Larissa FastHorse’s Broadway comedy The Thanksgiving Play fall flat as an underbaked pie. We can only surmise that when she first began writing this satire on Liberal guilt, woke sensitivities and Goopy indulgence back in 2015, words like “decoupling” and “soy milk” seemed like terrific punchlines.

https://deadline.com/2023/04/thanksgiving-play-broadway-review-deadline-scott-foley-1235332356/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:39pm

B+ from Entertainment Weekly:

The Thanksgiving Play review: D'Arcy Carden shines in blistering satire of well-meaning white artists

https://ew.com/theater/theater-reviews/the-thanksgiving-play-review-darcy-carden/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:40pm

NY Stage Review:

2 stars: The Thanksgiving Play: Much to Give Thanks For? https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/20/a-thanksgiving-play-much-to-give-thanks-for/

4 stars: The Thanksgiving Play: The Satire of Political Correctness We Need Right Now

https://nystagereview.com/2023/04/20/the-thanksgiving-play-the-satire-of-political-correctness-we-need-right-now/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:42pm

Vulture:

The Thanksgiving Play’s Satire Runs Short

Good intentions go awry — both in the script and otherwise.

https://www.vulture.com/2023/04/theater-review-the-thanksgiving-play-on-broadway.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:43pm

Theatrely:

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY Undercooks Its Satire — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/the-thanksgiving-play-undercooks-its-satire-review

"But, for the most part, it’s a succession of “Who’s on first?” bits that start to drag, despite the cast’s—including MVP Finneran (“This is post-BLM and there are grants at stake!”)—best efforts. And Rachel Chavkin, who masterfully mapped farce and intellect onto onstage bodies in How to Defend Yourself earlier this season, here struggles to create slapstick out of a should-be drama of ideas. Running under 90 minutes, with agreeable performances across the board, The Thanksgiving Play is not a bad time. But without a distinct point of view, its bottom line of “Thanksgiving is problematic” renders it only a pleasant, toothless, pilgrimage to the theatre."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:44pm

Theatermania:

Review: The Thanksgiving Play Is Checkmate for the Well-Meaning Woke

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-the-thanksgiving-play-is-checkmate-for-the-well-meaning-woke_1698978/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 9:45pm

AMNY:

Review | ‘Thanksgiving Play’ satirizes attempt at cultural sensitivity

"I regret that I did not see “The Thanksgiving Play” when it was presented Off-Broadway with a different cast and creative team. (It has also been presented regionally and as a starry Zoom reading with Keanu Reeves and Bobby Cannavale). On Broadway, it comes off as static, slow, and overextended, and it is hard to determine at first glance whether the fault lies primarily with the play itself or the aggressively over-the-top direction of Rachel Chavkin (“Hadestown&rdquo – or perhaps both."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 10:14pm

Variety:

‘The Thanksgiving Play’ Review: Larissa FastHorse’s Broadway Satire of Wokeness Is Outpaced by History

https://variety.com/2023/legit/reviews/the-thanksgiving-play-review-broadway-darcy-carden-scott-foley-1235589845/

"

FastHorse first drafted the play in 2015, in what was a vastly different social and political climate. Although the text has been updated, with a couple of nods to Black Lives Matter tucked into subclauses, Second Stage’s Broadway production feels out of step.

There is an alarming rise in hand-wringing over what’s being taught in American classrooms, but not from the inferred PC police that keeps this troupe on their toes. One could almost be nostalgic for when that was the case and not the reverse: Parents, administrators and legislators are successfully calling for bans on the discussion and teaching of racism, sexuality and gender diversity from kindergarten through college. In the midst of a culture war rapidly advancing toward censorship and fascism — with schools at the frontlines — elaborately woke teachers hardly seem an urgent target for satire. Or maybe they do, but more likely to those who maintain a willful blindness to America’s original sins."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 10:17pm

Chicago Tribune:

Review: ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ is an unforgiving Broadway satire of turkey day

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/broadway/ct-ent-broadway-thanksgiving-play-review-20230421-3lk5y7xfu5bajnubhuudrvtyda-story.html

"“Thanksgiving Play” has been well-received in other productions both in New York and regionally, and thus I suspect it has had much funnier and deeper ranging interpretations than this one, which is just not really staged with an eye to comedy.

The production problems evident here are rooted in a lack of believability. FastHorse’s premise only works if you can imagine this little crew really existing, and the actors and director have to make that happen. Alas, they don’t."

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 10:17pm

DTLI Consensus: Give thanks to one of the funniest shows of the season - warts and all, this sure ain’t no turkey. 

5 positive (including the NYT), 3 mixed, 3 negative. 

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/the-thanksgiving-play/

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 12:39am

This is a good solid entertaining comedy. Not the heaviest lift, emotionally or intelligently, but well-performed and well-written. I was particularly taken with Katie Finneran and D'Arcy Carden.

Also a play that, tho it has a liberal angle, might be enjoyed by "all sides" for different reasons (or maybe my blue brain is broken)

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 1:25am

Surprised by some of the negative reviews. At least a couple have said the play is “anti-woke,” which it’s not. Have political tensions become so fraught that we can no longer laugh at ourselves?

[JasonC3]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 5:26am

Isherwood, Wall Street Journal (paywalled):

 

"While the play has been directed with dispatch by Rachel Chavkin, Ms. Fast- Horse’s satiric bite is not al- ways subtle; in fact, it is often broad as a pumpkin patch. This eventually be- comes a liability, since poking fun at the characters’ jargon-riddled ideologies reveals itself to be the entire point of “The Thanksgiving Play.” By its conclusion, the play is spinning its wheels; even at just 90 minutes, it comes to resemble a comedy sketch that has been taffy- pulled to fill out an evening.

Still, the device used to embellish the play is a de- light: videos of schoolchildren of various ages singing tunes about the holiday. The first such video is the choicest, as we watch a lineup of young kids, their eyes hollow with boredom, their uninflected voices signaling their lack of interest, sing a Thanksgiving song adapted from “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The superb cast, and those diverting videos, keep the play humming along. But a feeling of satiation sets in. For all its knife- sharp humor, the play might be compared to a delicious Thanksgiving meal that nevertheless makes you feel a bit overstuffed, and slightly tired of your family, too."

Updated On: 4/21/23 at 05:26 AM

[BJR]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 9:36am

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Surprised by some of the negative reviews. At least a couple have said the play is “anti-woke,” which it’s not. Have political tensions become so fraught that we can no longer laugh at ourselves?"

I've read that, too, and how wild. It very much isn't. It pokes fun at progressive whites, sure, but the foundational point is still how problematic Thanksgiving is.

I find it interesting how many knock it for not feeling timely but a few years late, if only because most theatre artists wish it didn't take years to get something produced. And that's not considering if a play like this would've been done on Bway in, say, '16 in the first place.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 10:00am

Interesting that the negative reviews are not exclusively from right-leaning publications (Vulture is intriguing). The telling issue here is the deft hand or lack thereof in handling the pointed satire, not the underlying issues.  A number of people predisposed to find the play's targets worthwhile and timely have commented on the heavy-handedness. In the preview reports, the naysayers were often fellow progressives who didn't feel the comedy landed with precision or freshness. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 11:16am

Auggie27 said: "Interesting that the negative reviews are not exclusively from right-leaning publications (Vulture is intriguing). The telling issue here is the deft hand or lack thereof in handling the pointed satire, not the underlying issues. A number of people predisposed to find the play's targets worthwhile and timely have commented on the heavy-handedness. In the preview reports, the naysayers were often fellow progressives who didn't feel the comedy landed with precision or freshness."

Well, publications like Vulture and The Daily Beast also tend to lean towards the reactionary or self-consciously "edgy".

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 12:24pm

Doesn't sound like my cuppa.

I'm getting weary of storytelling that has contempt for it's characters a la Don't Look Up, Bros, Bodies Bodies Bodies etc etc.

 

[kwoc91]

Posted: 4/21/23 at 12:24pm

I found the Vulture review to be spot-on, personally.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 1:16pm

Yeah, there's just something about this play that doesn't work. The script is okay, the actors are game but it really just spins its wheels for 90 minutes.

I think, for me, the main critique is of white people twisting themselves into pretzels when no one really asked them to (think M&Ms giving the female M&M flats to replace her heels: feminists weren't demanding this but got blamed by the right-wing media for it anyway). They're doing it to possibly alleviate any guilt that they have, which actually places the focus back on them and not on the injured minority, but the whole thing gets muddy and so it feels like a more generalized take-down of "woke-ness" (which I don't necessarily think it is). Does that make any sense? Haha 

[ardiem]

Posted: 4/22/23 at 2:28pm

Saw this in previews and I had a viscerally negative reaction to this. I wasn't simply bored, but was angry at those involved for trapping me there. I found the writing to be inexcusably lazy and puerile, amounting to 90-minute SNL sketch - the bad kind that's good for a chuckle in the first 20 seconds but leaves you waiting for a new idea for the remaining 5,380 seconds. I'm all for skewering dogmatic "virtue signaling" and "wokeness" (for lack of a better term), but this isn't it. If you were to drop Jordan Peterson in the audience, he'd be delighted.