The Portuguese Kid

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The Portuguese Kid is a play written by John Patrick Shanley. The play starred Jason Alexander and Sherie Rene Scott. [1] The play opened off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on October 24, 2017.

Contents

Synopsis

In Providence, Rhode Island, habitually widowed Atalanta pays a visit to her second-rate lawyer Barry Dragonetti. Intending to settle her latest husband's affairs, this larger-than-life Greek tightwad quickly becomes a nightmare for her cheesy, self-aggrandizing attorney. Add Barry's impossible Croatian mother, a dash of current politics and a couple of opportunistic young lovers, and you have in hand a recipe for comic combustion.

Original cast

Reception

The play received mostly negative reviews. [2] [3] [4] Writing for The New York Times, Jesse Green said "Perhaps it would have been more convincing if Mr. Shanley hadn’t hired himself to direct. A strong countervailing force might have encouraged him to look beyond the sitcom laugh track — and might have informed him that his spice rack of gender and ethnic stereotypes (women are paradoxes; Puerto Ricans are firecrackers) has gone stale. The designers, all tops in their fields in other productions, might have found a less garish palette, too; “The Portuguese Kid” looks like a picture book designed for children with cataracts." [5] While Isabella Biedenharn at Entertainment Weekly says "The Portuguese Kid makes for a wildly entertaining couple of hours of whip-smart banter — as long as you don’t expect much substance beyond that." [6]

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References

  1. ↑ "Jason Alexander and Other Stars of The Portuguese Kid Meet the Press". TheaterMania. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Gerard, Jeremy (25 October 2017). "Review: Jason Alexander in John Patrick Shanley's 'The Portuguese Kid'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Hofler, Robert (25 October 2017). "'The Portuguese Kid' Theater Review: Even John Patrick Shanley's Trump Jokes Don't Land". TheWrap . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Stasio, Marilyn (25 October 2017). "Off Broadway Review: Jason Alexander in 'The Portuguese Kid'". Variety . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Green, Jesse (25 October 2017). "Review: Throwback 'Portuguese Kid' Will Do Anything for a Laugh". The New York Times . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Biedenharn, Isabella. "Jason Alexander and Sherie Rene Scott bicker their way to love in The Portuguese Kid: EW stage review". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
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