Sons of the Prophet at 2nd Stage Theatre

Sons of the Prophet

2nd Stage Theatre
6500 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles

Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam (Speech & Debate) is a refreshingly honest take on how we cope with wounds that just won't heal. If to live is to suffer, then Joseph Douaihy is more alive than most. With unexplained chronic pain and the fate of his reeling family on his shoulders, Joseph's health, sanity, and insurance premium are on the line. In an age when modern medicine has a cure for just about everything, Sons of the Prophet is the funniest play about human suffering you're likely to see.

Thru - Mar 29, 2015

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Price: $25-$30

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 323-462-9707

Sons of the Prophet Reviews

Average Rating based on 10 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Recommended

"...The inevitable pain of human existence receives an exhilarating shake-up in "Sons of the Prophet," the Blank Theatre's latest L.A. premiere and a fairly triumphant one."

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- David C. Nichols

LA Weekly - Recommended

"...Gentle absurdities flow down in a pleasing drizzle, under Michael Matthews' lovely direction, thanks in large part to Silver's endearing Joseph and Molinaro's twitchy, slightly demented interpretation as his brother. The ensemble is superb in a comedy about misery, and how "character" evolves from slogging through it."

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- Steven Leigh Morris

LAist - Recommended

"...Director Michael Matthews emphasizes the surviving men's disinclination to wallow in self-pity or resignation even as the discomfort of their circumstances intensifies. Joseph is overwhelmed but not broken by his misfortunes, and Silver doesn't overplay either either the strength or the suffering or his character. Erik Odom provides a forceful counterpoint in the smaller role of a manipulative TV reporter who hooks up with Joseph and then betrays him. The play ends with a moment of grace for Joseph that struck us as somewhat unearned and out of sync with everything that comes before it."

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- Lyle Zimskind

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Director Matthews' staging possesses an up close intimacy that leaves you almost feeling as though these guys are your own family. It's almost a shame when the play ends, as the effect on the viewer is quite unusual: You feel as though you've just gotten one of those end-of-year Christmas letters from a distant wing of the family, whom you wish you knew better and could spend more time with."

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- Paul Birchall

LA Splash - Somewhat Recommended

"...A bit long, and at times tedious (for me,) it had a lot of expository narrative and character's back story that did not seem necessary for what the story was trying to say. There were a few actual comedic moments, but for the most part I wasn't sure if the audience laughter was delayed because of discomfort or if they really thought events and scenes were funny."

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- Serita Stevens

Stage Scene LA - Recommended

"..."We're like the Kennedys without the sex appeal" quips 29-year-old Joseph Douaihy about his woe-beset blue-collar Eastern Pennsylvania family in Stephen Karam's extraordinary new play Sons Of The Prophet, now getting its Los Angeles Premiere at Hollywood's The Blank, as fine an example as one could wish for of just how crucial the Los Angeles 99-Seat Plan is to our city's one-of-a-kind intimate theater scene."

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- Steven Stanley

ArtsInLA - Recommended

"...Karam's arrestingly on-target tale careens recklessly from high comedy to intense melodrama, heightened by director Michael Matthews's expert, finely nuanced balancing act, as well as a supremely game and gifted cast able to maneuver the twists and turns along the way with consummate ease."

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- Travis Michael Holder

Total Theater - Not Recommended

"...Sons of the Prophet came to L.A. with a lot of hoopla propelling it: successful run at the Roundabout in New York, finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. That made me attend the L.A. premiere with a keen sense of anticipation…only to be badly let down."

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- Willard Manus

Working Authur - Somewhat Recommended

"...Despite excellent performances by those named, as well as Ellen Karsten and Irene Roseen, no clarity of intent came through to me, either from the playwright or director Michael Matthews."

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- Ernest Kearney

The Los Angeles Post - Recommended

"...The Blank Theatre Company's Sons of the Prophet is a near-perfect example of how a brilliant director, a first-class cast, and a top-notch design team can come up with a production so enthralling, moment-to-moment, that it's only when you're halfway to your car afterward that you realize you don't know what the play you've just seen was about."

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- Dan Berkowitz