| Los Angeles Times - Not Recommended
"...An appealing and capable cast keeps the flicker of hope alive that Joanna Murray-Smith’s play “The Gift” will be worth our time despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. But by the end of this 90-minute comedy even the actors seem done in by the e"
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Variety - Recommended
"...As good as the other actors are under Maria Aitken’s expert direction, “The Gift” might very well fall apart without Van Der Beek’s carefully calibrated performance. It’s subtle, but he withholds so much right from the get-go that he immediately becomes the play’s dark center, and the promise of something ready to be revealed, if not explode, drives the play."
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LA Weekly - Recommended
"...Murray-Smith finds rich comedy and abundant sharp one-liners in the earlier scenes, but the later revelations are less persuasive. Director Maria Aitken elicits strong performances from her cast, but the chic minimalist set by Derek McLane emphasizes a pervasive unreality."
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Backstage - Somewhat Recommended
"...Murray-Smith is a skillful playwright who is turning over questions of art and responsibility, but her play falls off the tracks right when it should be getting interesting. A work crafted to rip our guts out offers a spot of psychological indigestion instead."
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Edge - Not Recommended
"...In the end, the new work, directed by Maria Aitken, primarily comes across as a talky dramedy that saves its big surprise until far into its 90-minute running time. Though the cast is engaging and the production is handsome, the play ultimately feels like much ado about too little."
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Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...Ultimately, one leaves the theater with a disappointing sense of somehow being cheated – this is a play of intellectual debate with only the most flatfooted discourse, and it’s a play about morality and love with no real believable emotion. Even the presence of a stellar Hollywood cast can’t make this gift worth receiving."
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The Hollywood Reporter - Somewhat Recommended
"...Even so, the show benefits from savvy direction that navigates past truly bumpy tonal uncertainties, and as a dividend conjures up, of all unexpected flourishes, a dandy storm at sea. Baker remains a reliably attractive and magnetic central stage presence who commands sufficient sympathy to encourage us to stay along for the somewhat checkered journey. Yet the play, especially considered in retrospect, cannot escape a certain tiresome and unrewarding manipulative impact."
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LA Splash - Recommended
"...Directed by Maria Aitken, “The Gift” at the Geffen Playhouse is an evening worth “gifting” to yourself."
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Stage Scene LA - Not Recommended
"...Fine performances, impressive design elements, and an absolutely stunning action sequences prove insufficient reasons for this reviewer to recommend a trip to the Geffen Playhouse for the American Premiere of Joanna Murray-Smith’s highly problematic dark comedy The Gift."
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StageHappenings.com - Not Recommended
"...There seems to be a tendency among some modern writers to put some event changing experience in their plays to see what will happen. Unfortunately most of the time the event or even the characters experiencing the event are left under developed and the result leave the viewer with an unpleasant taste in their mouths as if they have been conned and cheated. After all when you go to a play or movie you are at the mercy of what is presented in that darken space."
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Examiner - Not Recommended
"...Kudos to the overall production values. Unfortunately, while Murray-Smith has some interesting ideas about life, art, artists, personal responsibility, the production was uneven and over-worked. Would I want to spend another night with these four people? No."
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CurtainUp - Not Recommended
"...Ultimately, too much assembly is required."
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LA Stage Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...My own take on The Gift? It discusses its theme with considerable wit and style, but the plausibility of its central conceit might be bolstered if the two couples learned a little more about each other in between the two visits that frame the current action."
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Neon Tommy - Not Recommended
"...“The Gift” is not an actively bad play, so much as a confounding show that doesn’t quite work."
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Frontiers - Recommended
"...The Gift is not perfect. But a play can provoke without perfection, and this intermissionless evening left me pondering questions of selfishness, responsibility and the role of the artist in society. That’s pretty good."
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TheatreTimes.org - Recommended
"...Even before art is mentioned, one may feel its power in Derek McLane's beautiful set, a large room that serves as the hotel bar, a guestroom, and Ed and Sadie's L.A. home. In addition to framing Howard Werner's film and projections, the room's white corner pillars and crossbars remind us of the edges of Martin's cube - and for some may see the frame within Dali's "Sacrament of the Last Supper." The costumes by Laura Bauer help define the characters, and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting combines with John Gromada's sound to make the mid-play storm a supreme testament to the art of theater's technical realm."
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TheatreMania - Somewhat Recommended
"...Had the young couple’s wish been revealed as an Act One closer, and an additional second act had taken the time to really iron out all the arguments, The Gift may have been more rewarding. As it is, Murray-Smith allows her characters and audience only moments of contemplation, presenting food for thought that is never digested."
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Total Theater - Somewhat Recommended
"...Smith’s sardonic take on responsibility and morality has its moments, but they simply don’t add up in a significant way. The actors in The Gift are much better than the play."
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NoHoArtsDistrict - Recommended
"...Maria Aitken’s direction captures the play’s changing rhythms; the action is never too fast or too slow. At one key point, scenic designer Derek McLane and lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski create the effect of a boat sailing on choppy seas that’s a work of art unto itself."
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Culture Spot LA - Somewhat Recommended
"...Maria Aitken directs her ensemble at a quick pace in this intermission-less 90-minute show, but with abruptly awkward scene endings and the usually reliable Baker needlessly screaming her lines. Will you, the audience, be as appalled as Ed was at what Martin and Chloe chose for their gift? Or will you go along with the far-fetched premise that Sadie reasons is perfectly logical?"
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Grigware Blogspot - Recommended
"...The Gift is a difficult piece which will be met with a lot of negative reactions especially from conservatives. As intelligent, well acted and directed theatre, it deserves to be seen and heard. You may not agree with Martin and Chloe’s decision but it doesn’t hurt to open up your mind to an alternate perspective and weigh the possible positive consequences for all concerned."
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Huffington Post - Recommended
"...Do I recommend that you see this show? Of course, for we all feel the need for more theatre of all kinds in this city…, and the Geffen has been in the forefront of providing the best shows we get. I promise that you will be exiting the theatre arguing the ending as we did… and that is The Gift from these good people."
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