Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
4.5
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Neighborhood: Theater District
How to get there
- 50th St • 4 min walk
- 49th St • 4 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
8 reviews
Excellent
4
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brmusicman
Chicago, IL3,106 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Saw "My Name is Lucy Barton," with Laura Linney, here in January 2020. It's a solo performance, and Linney easily commanded the audience's attention for 90 min. in a memorable and powerful one act production.
Lovely venue. Gorgeous house that is relatively small and did not appear to have a bad seat; we were a few rows back in the mezzanine and could easily see the stage. Legroom also adequate. Public areas and restrooms in good condition.
Lovely venue. Gorgeous house that is relatively small and did not appear to have a bad seat; we were a few rows back in the mezzanine and could easily see the stage. Legroom also adequate. Public areas and restrooms in good condition.
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kitdoor
Orlando, FL225 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
I saw a play here in Feb 2024, on a weekday at 1pm. Good accoustics. Comfortable seats, as long as you are under 200 lbs. The larger person next to me spilled out of her seat and into mine, and spent the play glued to my side. It's really unfortunate how small theater seats are (the seats at the Lena Horne theater next door are even smaller! I felt like I was flying Spirit airlines, not watching a play). The theater has a cool old-timey vibe, and the rotating stage was very cool. There is coat check and consession stands, which I did not manage to find in the crowd. I noticed that some people had suitcases that the theater staff stored for them. Lots of restaurants close by, including Friedman's right across the street at the Edison Hotel.
Written February 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
G nmi O
7 contributions
Dec 2022
Saw The Collaboration. GREAT show (for our tastes). Warhol meets Basquiat - if you don't know either name, then investigate further before buying. We thought the acting was superb; the script brought issues to light with just the right emphasis. Very glad we saw it.
HOWEVER - we bought our tickets through "New York Theater Guide" rather than through the theater. NYTG assigns seats after purchase (how did I miss that red flag?). One selects an area on their seating chart (their seating chart and nomenclature, ie mezzanine, does not match the theater's chart) then allegedly one is assigned the best possible seat in that area. Not so.
They assigned us seats in the next lower priced seating chart area and refused to acknowledge same.
Do NOT use NYTG, New York Theater Guide.
HOWEVER - we bought our tickets through "New York Theater Guide" rather than through the theater. NYTG assigns seats after purchase (how did I miss that red flag?). One selects an area on their seating chart (their seating chart and nomenclature, ie mezzanine, does not match the theater's chart) then allegedly one is assigned the best possible seat in that area. Not so.
They assigned us seats in the next lower priced seating chart area and refused to acknowledge same.
Do NOT use NYTG, New York Theater Guide.
Written December 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lee L
Valhalla, NY2,154 contributions
Apr 2019 • Friends
I usually see 1 or 2 shows a year here. It is a great theatre that puts on lots of good shows. Usually you can get discounted tickets even the back of the mezzanine is a good seat.
Ink is the current show about Rupert Murdoch taking on the British Press excellent show, was suprised it didn't win more Tony's.
Ink is the current show about Rupert Murdoch taking on the British Press excellent show, was suprised it didn't win more Tony's.
Written July 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sheryl T
Mahwah, NJ804 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
The current show here is Ink which is closing on July 7. The acting is very good, but the show is 45 minutes too long and it drags. There are cheap tickets on tdf.org or TKTS.
Written June 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cindy B
South Jordan, UT308 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
We enjoyed our experience here. The theatre is intimate with great seats, which made us feel even more connected to the cast and play. I'd highly recommend.
Written June 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carol G
Hartsdale, NY538 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
Choir Boy features Pharus Jonathan Young (Jeremy Pope) as an arrogant, talented leader of the elite Drew Preparatory School for black males. In these qualities lie his problems. He is also gay as Bobby Marrow (J. Quinton Johnson) repeatedly and annoyingly point out throughout the play. Bobby is a cardboard character, unable to see anyone else’s point but his own, who ham-handedly sets out to make Pharus’s life miserable. Add to the mix the fact that Bobby is Headmaster Marrow’s (Chuck Cooper) nephew and a legacy student in comparison to some boys from lower socio-economic classes on scholarship, and the fur is supposed to fly.
Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, who wrote the Oscar-winning Moonlight, does not flesh out his characters. The closest we get to the exploration of self-hood, confidence, and sexuality is in the final scene between Pharus and his roommate Anthony Justin James played sympathetically by John Clay III, a straight man who can nonetheless show Pharus friendship, compassion and understanding.
Were it not for the inventive step dance numbers peppered throughout the play, one would question the point McCraney is trying to make through the lumbering plot. The classroom scenes are unrealistic and ineffective with Austin Pendleton’s bumbling as the retired teacher returned to make critical thinking “fun.” It is in fact another venue for the animus between Bobby and Pharus showing narrow-minded thinking. The secret David Heard (Caleb Eberhardt) keeps is obvious to the viewer early on.
As the renowned choir’s leader, Pharus boasts of his voice and knowledge of music. I was looking for a rich timbre to his singing. It was not there. He was capable enough of singing on-key, but in comparison to truly talented male vocalists such as Usher, John Legend, or Michael Bolton he pales considerably. Pope’s credits indicate he will co-star in Ain’t Too Proud, yet another derivative musical detailing the history of the Temptations. It is hard to see how the quintet could sustain a mediocre tenor.
Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, who wrote the Oscar-winning Moonlight, does not flesh out his characters. The closest we get to the exploration of self-hood, confidence, and sexuality is in the final scene between Pharus and his roommate Anthony Justin James played sympathetically by John Clay III, a straight man who can nonetheless show Pharus friendship, compassion and understanding.
Were it not for the inventive step dance numbers peppered throughout the play, one would question the point McCraney is trying to make through the lumbering plot. The classroom scenes are unrealistic and ineffective with Austin Pendleton’s bumbling as the retired teacher returned to make critical thinking “fun.” It is in fact another venue for the animus between Bobby and Pharus showing narrow-minded thinking. The secret David Heard (Caleb Eberhardt) keeps is obvious to the viewer early on.
As the renowned choir’s leader, Pharus boasts of his voice and knowledge of music. I was looking for a rich timbre to his singing. It was not there. He was capable enough of singing on-key, but in comparison to truly talented male vocalists such as Usher, John Legend, or Michael Bolton he pales considerably. Pope’s credits indicate he will co-star in Ain’t Too Proud, yet another derivative musical detailing the history of the Temptations. It is hard to see how the quintet could sustain a mediocre tenor.
Written January 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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