A Free Man of Color Reviews

Karine Mellenz from New York City

FINALLY A PLAY THAT DOESN'T INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE

Forget the Broadway fast food shows. This is the good stuff. It's theater about something for once. Good text,great payoff,exquisite actors and production. Guare and Wolfe a great pair. Long? Well it depends. Words, action and color kept coming at us. I had so-so seats but didn't mind. Not for kids. But absolutely for adults willing to listen and look at a different version of history. Very entertaining.

Philip B. Spivey from New York, NY

A RESTORATION COMEDY THAT MORPHS INTO TRAGEDY

I saw the matinee of Free Man yesterday and like sugar plums, the costumes, characters and book are still dancing in my head. I'm a great fan of Geo. C. Wolfe, John Guare and especially, Jeffrey Wright. But, I couldn't have imagined that these three would have served up a two-course gumbo of such brillance. The ingredients of robust farce, stunning costumes,a gold standard ensemble of actors with a tour de force by Mr. Wright and an historical reach of epic proportions, make this one of the finest theatre pieces in my memory. The stark (and factual) realities of being Black in White America and bawdiness of the production will make some in the audience wince (as they did yesterday afternoon). For the rest of us, thank you for the this vibrant, life-filled excursion onto the landscape of this very brief moment in time when Black and White, (at least mulatto Blacks) could share in the in the spoils of the aristocracy.

Ruthgee from Connecticut

A WONDERFUL WAY TO LEARN THE HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS

I saw the play yesterday and thought it like a Restoration Play. The acting and the settings were marvellous. It was a very fast paced show, though quite long. The costumes were colorful as were the settings. The main actor was utterly outstanding. Most of the cast were great. It may not be everyones cup of tea but it was mine. It was a pleasure to be there. Good Luck to one and all on November 18th.

Angie from Florida

I LOVED IT!!

It was funny, smart and engaging farce. Great acting, custumes and set decor.

LILA from NEW YORK, NY

GREAT PLAY

I saw the play on Monday. i didnt know what to expect. I thought the play was excellent. Great way to tell history with humor.

Elsie Gutierrez from New York, NY

WORTH IT TO SEE THE GREAT PERFORMANCES

I can honestly say I thought the all of the actors were wonderful. They had edge, passion and worked really well with the flawed material they had. Wright, Mos and Cox were all stand out performancers in a cast of solid performances. The play itself was trying to do too many things in the first half; introduce a multitude of characters, history lesson, cultural references and commentary, comedy, political references (historic and current),etc. This resulted in a muddled and rushed feeling, where I could not totally understand what was happening and was not able to process what had just happened before the next sequence was off and running. The second act was more pointed and serious and tried to bring all of the threads of the first act to a satifying conclusion. The the tightly controlled dramatics of the second act unfortunately did not mesh with frantic rush of the first. Needs more reworking, I feel, but definitely worth it.

Pegomyhrt from New York

GREAT PRODUCTION VALUES ACTUALLY NEED A PLAY

This was a full-dress second-week workshop, not a finished play. Bawdy sex and race laws as determinants of history need real bite, not unfocused, loud exclamation. There were lot of words, some laughs. Costumes, sets, pace, lighting, sound, and acting were terrific, but all of these could not compensate for incomplete ideas. A 75-minute first act of this left me dreading a second act of similar duration, and I left at intermission, along with much of the loge. An usher said the play was still being cut. All of this needs to take place before putting it out in public and charging money to see it. Very disappointing.

Melody Staten from Montclair NJ

BORING AND MUCH SNORING

A free man of colore was so boring everyone around me in the orchestra section fell asleep. One man in the front row left snored so much that i found him to be more entertaining than the play. It must have been agonizing for the actors to watch much of the audience falling asleep and or walking out. The play was too long and too wordy. Even a US History scholar having a vast knowlege of the Louisana Purchase would have been confused with the plot line. The show could have been cut by 50%. We attended the performance with 3 other couples. Everyone agreed that the show was a waste of time and money. All agreed that notwithstanding the crummy play, we enjoyed being out together for evening in the city even though the show made most of us fall asleep. We did enjoy the pre show dining experience at a restaurant not connedted with Lincoln Center. One good theing the costumes and staage settitngs were greaaat. The actors were good but their talent was wasted on this performance.

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