The Water's Edge


Written by: Theresa Rebeck
Directed by: Will Frears
Cast: Kate Burton , Tony Goldwyn, Mamie Gumme, Austin Lysy and Katharine Powell
Synopsis: A woman and her two children�s lakeside home is visited by her long estranged ex-husband in this mysterious family drama that explores the question 'What wouldn�t you do for your child?'

What the critics had to say.....

BEN BRANTLEY of the NEW YORK TIMES says �The play's second act negates what was good about its earlier scenes because it feels as if everything has been harnessed in the service of a single conceptual gimmick.�

FRANK SCHECK of THE NEW YORK POST says "Tempted as you may be to leave after the first act by doing so you'll miss one of the more ludicrous plot twists currently found on a New York stage. "

JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ of NEW YORK DAILY NEWS says "Rebeck echoes the tragedy of Agamemnon, a saga swirling in everything from death and guilt to betrayal and vengeance. Unfortunately, what she's come up with is a soggy, sometimes illogical domestic drama that takes a hard turn to dark deeds in the second act."

MICHAEL SOMMERS of the STAR-LEDGER says "The closing scene belly-flops and quickly sinks into a swamp of verbiage."

ROBERT FELDBERG of The RECORD says "Offers two family dramas for the price of one, but, believe me, it's no bargain. The first, which takes up most of the play, is tedious and unpersuasive. The second, which comes near the end and abruptly takes things in a wildly different direction, is preposterous - playwright Theresa Rebeck's desperate attempt to shock a dying evening into life."

MICHAEL KUCHWARA of the ASSOCIATED PRESS says " 'This misguided, modern-day effort makes for unconvincing fireworks despite a solid cast headed by Kate Burton and Tony Goldwyn."

ALEXIS GREENE of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER says "Director Will Frears and an exceptionally skilled cast manage to inject truth into a play that frequently verges on the melodramatic."

DAVID ROONEY of VARIETY says "A B-grade dysfunctional-family Hollywood psychodrama... Burton's measured channeling of anger and pain, her naturalness and economy of gesture and emotion, give even an inferior play some dignity."

External links to full reviews from newspapers

New York Times
New York Post
New York Daily News
Star-Ledger
The Record
Associated Press
The Hollywood Reporter
Variety

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