The Nance - Broadway

Reviews

• Review by Erik Haagensen
  from Backstage
  April 15, 2013

  ‘‘Douglas Carter Beane's 'The Nance' is a bold, brave play, in which this eminent theatrical boulevardier reaches for something deeper and darker. The show offers taut direction from Jack O'Brien and a tour de force turn from the brilliant Nathan Lane. ’’

• Review by David Cote
  from Time Out New York
  April 15, 2013

  ‘‘The season isn’t over yet, but 'The Nance' may turn out to be its dramatic high point. 'The Nance' is howlingly funny, with several laugh-out-loud burlesque interludes. Perhaps it's heteronormative of me to say, but 'The Nance' can attract man or woman, gay or straight-even the undecided. ’’

• Review by Elysa Gardener
  from USA TODAY
  April 15, 2013

  ‘‘No living stage actor can make an audience laugh more adroitly than Nathan Lane. His wry line shadings, priceless expressions and expertly timed pauses have produced some of Broadway's funniest moments in recent decades. So it's happy news that Douglas Carter Beane's 'The Nance' which opened Monday at the Lyceum Theatre, offers Lane the juiciest role that he has had since 2001's 'The Producers'.’’

• Review by Mark Kennedy
  from AP
  April 14, 2013

  ‘‘Directed with subtlety and tenderness by Jack O'Brien, this is a bittersweet tale of repression and rebellion wrapped up in a valentine to a lost theatrical art form. Lane as the tortured soul at the play's heart is magnificent -- showing sides that are charming, witty, savage, self-destructive and yearning. One of the best scenes is toward the end when a self-loathing Miles returns to the stage in full-on drag. He has dropped the nance act and is playing an old whore named Hortense. Lane is still funny but seems thoroughly and unbearably broken. It is heartbreaking.’’