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See what the critics are saying about The Public Theater’s world premiere play Public Charge, a new play based on true events written by former United States Ambassador Julissa Reynoso and award-winning playwright Michael J. Chepiga and directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes.
Following Reynoso’s real-life adventures in immigration, diplomacy, espionage, and politics, Public Charge is drawn from her experience as Ambassador and working in the State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton.
The production has been extended through Sunday, April 12.
Roma Torre, New York Stage Review: Simply put, Public Charge is not very good theater, but as a docudrama, it’s an important work that deserves to be seen. The story is true as told through the eyes of former diplomat and co-writer Julissa Reynoso who created the play with Michael J. Chepiga. In episodic fashion, it takes us through Reynoso’s (Zabryna Guevara) experiences from 1981 as a young girl in the Dominican Republic straight to her career in government where she rises to become US Ambassador to Uruguay in 2011.
Jerry Portwood, One-Minute Critic: This isn’t snark, but a palette cleanser from the doomscrolling. Public Charge may uplift many who have grown depressed and disillusioned, urging us to pick up the pieces, take action, and remember that the work, however maddening, is always worth doing.
Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: A wistful nostalgia courses through Public Charge, a reverence for a recent past when government workers epitomized competence and know-how to produce real change. USAID has been dismantled; career diplomats sidelined or removed. What has been lost is not only lasting change but the idealism needed to reclaim the former status quo.
Caroline Cao, New York Theatre Guide: My audience laughed nervously as Reynoso vowed to get Clinton elected, as if the play is ushering in a Shakespearean tragic hero. This final scene seems like the play’s cross-examination of itself, acknowledging that faith in the government might as well be taking not just a fall, but a farcical plunge. But its abruptness sidesteps a real sense of reflection.
Tim Teeman, Time Out New York: Mostly, though, Public Charge feels like a tease of juicy subject matter kept firmly obscured—the work of a public official constrained by habitual discretion. There is something to be said for a play that argues for the value of government service, but good theater is not always diplomatic.
Average Rating:
56.0%
.
