Broadway.com

Amazing and thought provoking

"Robert Downey brought a flare, charisma and enthusiasm to the play. An absolute must for theatre goers "

sarah D from Porthcawl on Sep 7, 2024

McNeal is a character larger than life. Or is he?

"The subject matter is very current. Robert Downey Jr. gave an amazing performance. The beginning seemed a little slow. When his agent entered the performance that energy really hit its stride. Huge applause for a "Tony worthy" Broadway Play"

Jeffrey W from Richmond on Sep 6, 2024

My thoughts regarding McNeal

"McNeal was neither easy nor fun to watch. McNeal's character was morally inadequate in both his personal life as well as his writing - an inadequacy that spawned arrogance, selfishness, entitlement, along with a complete lack of empathy for anyone else. Yet McNeal was an award-wining author. Within this deplorable narcissistic context, we were further challenged by issues of plagiarism and AI: are these simply two sides of the same coin, or is one side fraudulent and lazy, while the other merely the computerized/digital equivalent of normal creative cognitive processing? Five days out and I'm still grappling with the unsettling question of whether I have EVER had an original idea - or instead, have all my ideas been borrowed (knowingly or unknowingly) from others? In the end, like so many other complex social and political problems in today's world, questions regarding plagiarism and the application of AI are not simple binary issues - but instead, they exist on a continuum. Consequently humility, patience and an appreciation of nuance (rather than anger, intolerance and cancellation) are absolutely essential if we are ever to truly understand such problems or to have any hope of identifying humane and equitable solutions. "

John C from London on Oct 28, 2024

Brilliant performance by Robert Downey Jr.

"I loved the play! The actors did a marvellous job at delivering Akhtar’s story. The genius of Robert D. Jr.’s immense talent shown through. Brilliance. Delivered. What an honour to have witnessed such a work of art in my lifetime. "

Hina A from Zurich on Oct 18, 2024

Powerhouse performance in a thought provoking journey

"I found the play to be very interesting and relevant to what is happening in today’s media. Highly recommend!"

Fabio B from Brooklyn on Sep 30, 2024

Don’t Miss McNeal

"First of all the set design & production was stellar. It was simple yet so classically done! Robert Downey Jr was the perfect actor to play this role. Entire cast was spot on, funny deliberate and emotional. Bravo"

Sue W from lucas on Sep 21, 2024

Excellent for literary man over 50

"I thought the set and the script and Robert Downey Jr. were excellent all the stuff about AI and chat GPT were really interesting and current. I could definitely relate to McNeil‘s character being that I am in my mid-50s and I have read a lot of the people he referred to, and consider myself fairly well-Read for the Norman mailer genre. I don’t think this play is for everyone, but I really really enjoyed it. I don’t think my girlfriend really did or a younger audience would “get it” but I could relate to his depression and existentialism. "

DAVID M from ROSLYN on Nov 17, 2024

Interesting and relevant story

"Liked the combination of modern and traditional topics and staging, and the fact that Robert Downey Jr was the main character. "

Ave K from Madison on Nov 15, 2024

Amazing

"Very interesting and thought provoking. What is ethical when it comes to AI? Have we already opened Pandora’s box? All of that woven through the complications of life. While at times the plot is a little hard to follow, it’s an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. "

Broadway.com Customer on Oct 27, 2024

Clever, fun and thoughtful.

"Robert Downey Jr. leads a strong cast in a very contemporary tale of truth and lies in the digital age. The staging is simple yet effective. And the smaller theater at Lincoln Center gives the story a personal feel. We loved it."

David M from Washington on Oct 25, 2024

Great Performance, Great Plot, Great Message

"The cast was great and their performance was great. I loved the plot and the kind of emotion and questions it induced in me. Great use of lighting. The crescendo of intensity was amazing and I'd love to relive that. My only knock would be that it took them a long time to create that tension. I would've loved a tinge less humor (or humor to be more subtle in some cases) to allow for more time spent living in the drama and the tension. All in all, I truly loved the concept."

Dhruv S from New York on Nov 24, 2024

Great performances. A bit long

"The lead, agent and reporter were very well acted. Intelligent dialog. It was thought provoking. It felt like a run on sentence and it could have been done a tad shorter. Definitely happy we went. "

Broadway.com Customer on Nov 22, 2024

AI elements really make you think

"Acting is superb with a story that takes an eerie look at how far AI is or is not infiltrating art. Makes you think and keep wondering long after the performance. One hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. Would recommend!"

Broadway.com Customer on Nov 18, 2024

Superb acting- tough subject

"Robert Downey Jr. delivers a stellar performance as a NY Times best seller writer who is waiting to hear if he has received a Nobel Prize. Andrea Martin lend humor to the exhausting, serious script which deals with AI. The story is dark and caused me great distress. "

Robin K from New York on Oct 23, 2024

Great performances, good show, meh ending

"This was the first play I've seen that really attempted to grapple with the addictive, probably malignant future of using AI as a creative. Why sweat over a new book as a has-been writer when you can have AI invent new books in your style? Why do the deep work of grappling with your wife’s death when you can just throw her journals and manuscript into an AI generator to make a coherent, more palatable version. In your voice no less! Let’s not mince words though, this was a play driven very much by RDJ's starpower. He’s on stage pretty much the whole time, no intermission, and with that distinctive style of speaking you’re hearing RDJ so he’s very much there as an avatar of himself. This may as well be an alternate universe RDJ who took his talents to writing instead of acting and even went through similar peaks and valleys. I don't want to spoil the ending of the show but rather than any kind of resolution or statement (which is seems to intentionally try to subvert) we end up with what best can be described as anti-plot. It's all a little sudden and left a bad taste in my mouth."

ALEX C from Garrison on Sep 11, 2024

Ambitious play that is both well acted, yet missing something.

"The actors were fantastic. The story was interesting, but too many unanswered question. Expect a very diciotomous conversation with those who attended with you."

Broadway.com Customer on Oct 28, 2024

Uneven

"I thought the play itself was rather clichéd. The debate over AI felt heavy handed. Robert Downey Jr’s performance was good but the characters were all two dimensional. "

Broadway.com Customer on Oct 12, 2024

Great actors but story line weak

"Every story has a beginning, middle and end. You need all three to have a great story. The ending of this play was poorly written and difficult to understand. "

Broadway.com Customer on Oct 12, 2024

ChatGPT can write a script, just not a good one

"The characters in this play are as thinly drawn as the characters referenced in McNeal’s “body of work”. Andrea Martin gives a stand out performance but she’s only on stage momentarily. "

Broadway.com Customer on Oct 27, 2024

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