AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE 2024 Broadway Reviews

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 2:12pm

Sam Gold's production of Amy Herzog's adaptation of Ibsen's play, starring Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli, opens at Circle in the Square on March 18, 2024.

A thread for reviews, critics' and otherwise.

Updated On: 3/18/24 at 02:12 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 9:03pm

Theatermania:

Review: A Battle of the HBO Stars in Rousing Enemy of the People on Broadway

Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli lead the cast of this Ibsen revival, adapted by Amy Herzog.

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-a-battle-of-the-hbo-stars-in-rousing-enemy-of-the-people-on-broadway_1734531/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 9:05pm

AMNY is mixed (and says he didn't attend the night with the protestors, but it probably would have been more exciting, for those who were offended by the suggestion in the previews thread):

Review | ‘Enemy of the People,’ with Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli, mirrors today’s politics

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/broadway/review-enemy-of-the-people-broadway/

"The first half of the production (which runs two hours with a just brief pause instead of an intermission) contains some questionable design and directorial choices, including extremely dim lighting in order to emphasize the use of candle-lit lamps inside Stockmann’s house, a rectangular set design that resembles a hockey arena, and foreign-language folk songs during scene changes. Much of the acting feels stiff and stodgy, which is often the case in revivals of Ibsen plays with rare exceptions (such as last season’s revelatory Broadway revival of “A Doll’s House”).

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:01pm

Deadline is positive:

‘An Enemy Of The People’ Broadway Review: Jeremy Strong & Michael Imperioli In Battle For Our Times

https://deadline.com/2024/03/enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-1235860766/

"And the disruption also pointed up another strength of the production: The cast. Staying in character, going with the flow and tapping into some truly impressive improv skills, and demonstrated their complete grasp not only of their individual characters but of the play and its themes as well. It was nothing less than a privilege to watch cast members Michael Imperioli, Jeremy Strong and David Patrick Kelly stayed so theatrically grounded and invested that many in the audience – myself included – were convinced, at least initially, that the disruption was all part of the plan.

But have no doubt: Audiences on any every night of this limited 16-week run at Circle in the Square will witness a taut and exactingly directed production. Sam Gold’s An Enemy Of The People is one of the best play revivals of the current season to date, right up there with Purlie Victorious, besting Doubt and even Gold’s own, shakier Macbeth starring Daniel Craig in 2022."

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:03pm

A- from Entertainment Weekly

Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli do brotherly battle in An Enemy of the People

https://ew.com/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong-michael-imperioli-8610065

"No doubt fans of Succession, The Sopranos, and The White Lotus will be flocking to the Circle in the Square to see Strong and Imperioli do their thing in such close quarters. And they will not be disappointed. The actors are tremendous and completely lose themselves in the parts. But as audiences file out of the theater, they may also find themselves confronting some much thornier issues — issues that 140 years and thousands of miles have not dulled in the least. A–"

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:04pm

NYT Critics Pick from Green:

Review: With Jeremy Strong, ‘An Enemy of the People’ Is Still Making Trouble

The “Succession” star headlines a Broadway revival of Ibsen’s play about a lifesaving doctor and the town that hates him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/theater/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong.html?unlocked_article_code=1.d00._xnb.mQHWrlJPGZfL&smid=url-share

 

Updated On: 3/18/24 at 10:04 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:06pm

Holdren in Vulture is positive:

Ibsen, Translated Into American: An Enemy of the People With Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli, and drinks on the house.

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-an-enemy-of-the-people-strong-imperioli-gold-herzog-ibsen.html

"Herzog and Gold have cleared away any fustiness (which really lies not in Ibsen but in us) and have drawn out Enemy’s inherent muscularity.

Their two leads are also a real asset here, and not for their famous names. As the brothers locking horns at the play’s center — the principled Dr. Thomas Stockmann and the political animal Mayor Peter Stockmann — Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli both bring a vigorous contemporary affect to the material. You can feel the toughness and tension, the roiling potential energy, of their more modern characters flexing within David Zinn’s costumes, which land us softly in the 1880s without feeling rigid in their period accuracy. Just as Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks did with Waiting for Godot last fall, they find a uniquely American tone that, rather than creating dissonance, only highlights the play’s fundamental solidity. "

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:08pm

NY Sun is positive:

Director Sam Gold Strips Down Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People,’ Digging for Relevance for Today’s Audiences

The play stars Jeremy Strong of ‘Succession’ fame and Michael Imperioli of ‘The Sopranos,’ yet the standout performances are delivered by other actors, including David Patrick Kelly, Thomas Jay Ryan, and Victoria Pedretti.

https://www.nysun.com/article/director-sam-gold-strips-down-ibsens-an-enemy-of-the-people-digging-for-relevance-for-todays-audiences

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:10pm

Washington Post is mixed.

Climate activists disrupting Jeremy Strong was the best part of the play

The ‘Succession’ star’s Broadway revival of ‘An Enemy of the People’ is weirdly underwhelming

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2024/03/18/jeremy-strong-enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-climate-activists/

"

But the production’s puzzling lack of fire (despite beautiful, lantern-rich lighting design by Isabella Byrd) originates with the good doctor himself. Strong carries Thomas’s convictions like a loose hand on a briefcase, maintaining a placid composure even as he makes a deadly discovery and then gets battered by betrayals trying to expose it. Famous for his extreme-sport acting approach, Strong seems alive to every moment onstage but not fully implicated in their consequences — even when the latter leave him curled up on the floor.

The gears of Ibsen’s logic turn at a modest pace — how does Thomas not immediately get that fixing the water problem would be expensive? — allowing audiences to jump ahead and watch the characters catch up. Dramatizing the delayed epiphanies of a supposedly brilliant man is tough, and Strong takes an understated approach. Ditto to his indignant oration calling his haters an ignorant and complacent horde. After the blazing cries of real protesters, Strong’s delivery seemed all the more subdued."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:11pm

TimeOut is Recommended/4 stars:

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/an-enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-jeremy-strong-michael-imperioli

"In this regard, Gold’s An Enemy of the People—notwithstanding its 19th-century costumes (by David Zinn) and sets (by the design collective dots) and elaborate period business (the loading of pipes, the heating of drinks, the lighting and snuffing of lamps)—feels pointedly modern, a quality that is brought to the fore in the production’s pivotal scene: a public meeting at which Stockmann tries to share his findings directly with the populace. The scene takes place after a short intermission during which members of the audience go onstage for free shots of aquavit at a shiny modern bar stamped with the logo of the brand providing the liquor. Breaking from the cozy naturalism of the production’s first half, Gold introduces elements of environmental theater: He brings up the house lights and treats the audience as part of the meeting; the characters address us directly, and a few spectators are even seated onstage to pad out the crowd. Circle in the Square’s in-the-round seating plan is ideal for this scene, a public square within a circle of observers. "

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:12pm

Hollywood Reporter is positive:

‘An Enemy of the People’ Review: Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli Set Off Sparks in Visceral Distillation of 1882 Ibsen Drama

Sam Gold directs the Broadway revival in a new adaptation by Amy Herzog, who penned last year’s scorching update of the Norwegian dramatist’s ‘A Doll’s House’

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/an-enemy-of-the-people-theater-review-jeremy-strong-michael-imperioli-broadway-ibsen-revival-1235854269/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:14pm

Variety is mostly positive:

‘An Enemy of the People’ Review: An Actorly, Broadway Face-Off Between Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli

https://variety.com/2024/legit/news/an-enemy-of-the-people-jeremy-strong-broadway-michael-imperioli-1235944570/

"An “Enemy” in which Strong had the moral advantage but was, say, annoying about it, or brusque, or purposefully alienating, would be one that’s more intriguingly unsettled, and would leave you staring into the seats across the stage a bit more urgently. This production has much to recommend it, and Strong in particular should return to the stage as often as he can. But it’s hard not to feel as though this “Enemy of the People,” in which as rootable as possible a hero is ground down by the forces of evil, ended up presenting an opportunity for the audience to put themselves on trial, and then, with a sigh of relief, exonerate themselves."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:15pm

Theatrely is mixed:

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE: Watered Down, Liquored Up — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/an-enemy-of-the-people-watered-down-liquored-up-review

"though the climate protesters who disrupted the performance I attended certainly brought its flaws into starker relief, Amy Herzog’s watered-down adaptation was already a lost cause.

It must be said the cast – which also features Michael Imperioli as the doctor’s brother, the town’s corrupt mayor – turns in fine performances, though Sam Gold’s direction guides the production toward an unnecessary slower-burn. (David Zinn’s costumes, and dots’ scenic design, naturally, are also gorgeous).

Herzog’s take on the material, attempting to soften Ibsen’s grandiloquence, smoothes out the characters’ stances. Dr. Stockmann is not a very compelling character; he essentially makes his discovery in the play’s first scene, then spends the remaining four rallying against the opposition. It’s not dramatically dynamic, but the righteousness is the point. Here, he hedges. He wants to believe the politicians and even doubts his own evidence."

Updated On: 3/18/24 at 10:15 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:17pm

Isherwood/WSJ is positive:

‘An Enemy of the People’ Review: A Doctor and His Conscience

Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli star in Sam Gold’s Broadway production of the Henrik Ibsen classic, performed in a supremely intelligent new version by Amy Herzog.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong-broadway-michael-imperioli-sam-gold-ibsen-amy-herzog-6b1bb53e

"Purists may question Ms. Herzog’s fresh interpretation of Thomas, who in this version is less ornery and scorching in his denunciation of those who oppose him; even in his celebrated speech excoriating the disapproving townsfolk (audience members are recruited to represent them), Mr. Strong, taking his cue from Ms. Herzog, seems befuddled by his rejection, and afterward his designation as an “enemy of the people.” Thomas is notably less contemptuous, and less an advocate for a rigid meritocracy, than Ibsen’s original.

But Mr. Strong is powerfully affecting and at times bitterly funny in drawing a portrait of a much-wronged man who puts his ideals ahead of even his family’s welfare, while also illustrating how deeply painful it is for Thomas to accept his new, dark view of humanity."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:19pm

USA Today is positive:

'An Enemy of the People' review: Jeremy Strong leads a bold and necessary Broadway revival

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/03/18/enemy-people-broadway-review-jeremy-strong-michael-imperioli/72946126007/

"Strong is astounding as Thomas, resisting easy histrionics even as tensions reach their boiling point. Soft-spoken and even-keeled, he imbues the character with a deep well of sadness, not only for his late wife Katherine, but for the willful ignorance that’s afflicted his community.

At one point, Thomas naively suggests to his daughter, Petra (Pedretti), that they move to America, where they “won’t have to worry” about being attacked for their staunchly progressive views. (“When you’re fighting for truth and justice, don’t wear your good pants,” he wryly reminds her.) The exchange received knowing laughs from the audience, and in lesser hands, could read as too on the nose. But beneath the bumper-sticker idealism, Strong’s finely tuned performance captures the simmering fear and exasperation of living in a world that values profits over people."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:21pm

3 Stars from Oleksinski/NYP:

‘An Enemy of the People’ review: Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli duke it out on Broadway 

https://nypost.com/2024/03/18/entertainment/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong-and-michael-imperioli-duke-it-out-on-broadway/

"But Gold, whose Broadway “Macbeth” starring Daniel Craig was a bells-and-whistles disaster, nearly bungles it by serving the audience free shots of Linie Aquavit between the first and second halves from a hopping bar onstage. The otherwise riveted man next to me said, “This is so stupid.” Twice.

I’m sure there is a high-minded rationale for the pop-up pub. Perhaps it’s there to confront us with our own hypocrisy, or lull us into a false sense of security before the untethered town meeting where Thomas is attacked. 

Whatever the reason, the silly trick flattens the tension the cast built and leaves it up to Strong to pick up the pieces.

He ably does, thank goodness, and prevents his director from becoming the enemy of the play."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:24pm

The Wrap is mixed, or maybe somewhat, if glibly, positive:

‘An Enemy of the People’ Broadway Review: Jeremy Strong Makes a Great Dr. Fauci

The “Succession” star returns to the Gotham boards in an Ibsen revival that’s short, swift and politically pointed

https://www.thewrap.com/an-enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-jeremy-strong/

"It’s the Covid pandemic all over again at the Circle in the Square, where a radically pared-down version of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” opened Monday.

Best of all is Jeremy Strong’s Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who vividly recalls Dr. Anthony Fauci, especially when this good Norwegian doctor is warning a town about the dangers of an impending epidemic.

The only problem with making “Enemy” a blow-by-blow retelling of Trump and Fauci’s battles is that what we all endured in real life a few years ago was so much more dramatic than what’s being offered onstage under the direction of Sam Gold."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:25pm

Four stars from The Guardian:

An Enemy of the People review – Jeremy Strong impresses in timely Ibsen drama

Circle in the Square Theater, New York

The Succession star delivers a bravura central turn in a rousing adaptation of a story that carries a discomforting contemporary relevance

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/mar/18/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong-henrik-ibsen-drama

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:26pm

Four stars from The Telegraph:

An Enemy of the People: Jeremy Strong brings fervour and nuance to his first lead role on Broadway

The Succession star’s commanding performance makes Anna (sic) Herzog’s adaptation deserve its status as one of the season’s hottest tickets

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/an-enemy-of-the-people-new-york-succession-jeremy-strong/

"Gold, whose recent Broadway projects – a Daniel Craig Macbeth and Glenda Jackson King Lear – were big messes, takes a sensibly traditional approach with this production. At times, it could use more vigour, but thanks to Strong’s presence this Enemy of the People is, deservedly, one of the season’s hottest tickets."

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:29pm

NY Daily News/Chris Jones is positive:

BROADWAY REVIEW: ‘Enemy of the People’ is lively showcase for Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli

https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/18/broadway-review-enemy-of-the-people-is-lively-showcase-for-jeremy-strong-michael-imperioli/

"We’re told that there will be no intermission, but there is actually a pause, at which shots of aquavit are served on the stage, even though Gold clearly doesn’t want to sacrifice any intensity by, you know, letting his audience go to the bathroom. This sudden house-lights-up is a way to liven things up from a straightforward naturalistic plod while also being an exceedingly clever way to get some audience members onto the stage as Strong’s Stockmann finds himself reviled at a public meeting, thus making the point of how much like sheep the public can be, even when the science is clear.

And Strong grabs that sudden intimate connection like a man holding on to bucking steer, falling ever deeper into his character’s abyss. It is a sight to see. Strong is one of the great American actors of his generation. And Imperioli is no slouch either. He’s as live and present as anyone could ask."

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:29pm

DTLI Consensus: A well-executed and timely play revival, buoyed by a Strong lead performance.

11 positive (including the NYT), 3 mixed.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/an-enemy-of-the-people/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:30pm

Slate is positive:

Review: A Strong Enemy of the People Gets an Unexpected Real-World Jolt

Sam Gold’s sharply accelerating production reveals the horror of hypocrisy.

https://www.slantmagazine.com/theater/an-enemy-of-the-people-review-jeremy-strong/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:33pm

Daily Beast is a rave:

In ‘An Enemy of the People,’ Jeremy Strong Finds His Way From ‘Succession’ to Broadway

OH BROTHER!

A new adaptation of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” also starring Michael Imperioli, beams directly in to 2024—and a plea to support those confronting stifling authoritarianism.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-enemy-of-the-people-jeremy-strong-finds-his-way-from-succession-to-broadway

"For one, both Succession and this adaptation, directed by Sam Gold (who is married to Herzog) know how to crunchily position drama and wit, profundity and comedy, alongside one another. This brilliant Enemy of the People is notably funny in both its smarts and pacing, and even its later gathering darkness—when Stockmann is viciously trounced and isolated by his townsfolk—is studded with light, and the certainty of his self-preservation."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:36pm

Dueling reviews from NY Stage Review, one four star, one two star.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE: IBSEN’S CAUTIONARY TALE AS TIMELY AS EVER, 142 YEARS ON

By Melissa Rose Bernardo

★★★★☆ Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli square off in a battle of right vs. wrong, science vs. politics, and brother vs. brother

https://nystagereview.com/2024/03/18/an-enemy-of-the-people-ibsens-cautionary-tale-as-timely-as-ever-142-years-on/

 

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE: IBSEN’S CLASSIC TRIVIALIZED WITH GIMMICKRY AND ICE CUBES

By Frank Scheck

★★☆☆☆ Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli star in Sam Gold's production of Ibsen's classic drama, adapted by Amy Herzog.

https://nystagereview.com/2024/03/18/an-enemy-of-the-people-ibsens-classic-trivialized-with-gimmickry-and-ice-cubes/

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/18/24 at 10:38pm

Looks like there’s a front-runner for Best Play Revival.