Prophecy OFF-BROADWAY REVIEWS

• NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Vietnam and Iraq Invade a Marriage

  Charles Isherwood

  June 11, 2010: When bad acting happens to good actors, it’s sometimes hard to know where to look. My attention kept straying to my shoes, to the back of the chair in front of me, to the tacky patio furniture of the set, in order to avoid having to watch Kathleen Chalfant and George Bartenieff flail their way through “Prophecy,” a long and ludicrous new play written and directed by Karen Malpede at the Fourth Street Theater in the East Village.

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• NY POST REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Epic failure

  Frank Scheck

  June 11, 2010: If good intentions made for good theater, "Prophecy" would be a master piece. Karen Malpede's highly ambitious politically themed play incorporates, among other elements, the Old Testament story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar; the Greek tragedy "Antigone"; Middle East political tensions; and the devastating effects of not one but two wars, Iraq and Vietnam. Is it any wonder that you emerge exhausted?

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• THEATERMANIA REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Prophecy

  Andy Propst

  June 11, 2010: An indefatigable five-person ensemble, including George Bartenieff, Kathleen Chalfant, and Peter Francis James, works valiantly to bring Karen Malpede's Prophecy, running at the East Fourth Street Theater, to credible life. But not even the efforts of these A-list talents can elevate or enliven this overly artsy and badly written soap opera.

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• CURTAIN UP REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Prophecy

  Elyse Sommer

  June 11, 2010: To paraphrase the above quote by Sarah Golden, the pivotal character in Karen Malpede's Prophecy, "Sometimes, usually, in fact, I would say all the time, we are no better at writing anti-war plays than we are at preventing wars."

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• THEATERMANIA REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Prophecy

  Andy Propst

  June 9, 2010: An indefatigable five-person ensemble, including George Bartenieff, Kathleen Chalfant, and Peter Francis James, works valiantly to bring Karen Malpede's Prophecy, running at the East Fourth Street Theater, to credible life. But not even the efforts of these A-list talents can elevate or enliven this overly artsy and badly written soap opera.

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• CURTAIN UP REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Prophecy

  Elyse Sommer

  June 18, 2010: To paraphrase the above quote by Sarah Golden, the pivotal character in Karen Malpede's Prophecy, "Sometimes, usually, in fact, I would say all the time, we are no better at writing anti-war plays than we are at preventing wars." Typical of the genre known as agitprop theater, Prophecy, is built on a foundation of passionate belief. Instead of aiming for the sort of balanced take on opposite points of view, playwright and director Karen Malpede has given better than equal time to the emotional lives of her characters with war hardly a factor during more than half the play. But don't let that fool you. There's a reason this play is part of an anthology titled Acts of War: Iraq & Afghanistan in Seven Plays.

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• NEW YORK POST REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Epic Failure

  Frank Scheck

  June 9, 2010: If good intentions made for good theater, "Prophecy" would be a master piece. Karen Malpede's highly ambitious politically themed play incorporates, among other elements, the Old Testament story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar; the Greek tragedy "Antigone"; Middle East political tensions; and the devastating effects of not one but two wars, Iraq and Vietnam. Is it any wonder that you emerge exhausted?

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• VARIETY REVIEW OF Prophecy

  

  Johnny Baseball

  Frank Rizzo

  June 18, 2010: The damn Yankees aren't the only baseball team with a musical-theater hex. The Boston Red Sox deal with their own fixed fate onstage -- one with darker implications -- in the cleverly crafted and terrifically performed new tuner "Johnny Baseball," receiving its first ups at Beantown's (Cambridge, really) American Repertory Theater. Helmer Diane Paulus hits a clean line drive straight into center field with a thoughtful, crowd-pleasing and deftly balanced show that even a Yankee could love.

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