Did Broadway Critics Find McPherson's Shining City Haunting?

Conor McPherson's Shining City was supposed to come to Broadway in Fall 2005, but that commercial production was cancelled. Manhattan Theatre Club subsequently swooped in and grabbed the property—opening a limited engagement of the drama, starring Brían F. O'Byrne and Oliver Platt, at the Biltmore Theatre on May 9. Did critics take a shine to it?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Rob Kendt in his Broadway.com Review: "Conor McPherson aims for territory more elusive and elliptical than the bittersweet monologues of St. Nicholas or This Lime Tree Bower, or his last Broadway appearance, The Weir—a series of monologues, really, couched in a play. Here, in place of the gab are gaping silences and hesitations, and the weight of things not said registers with as much force as the sketchy dialogue. Which, in director Robert Falls' soulful but wispy production, is not much force at all."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "In terms of construction, Shining City is as close to perfection as contemporary playwriting gets. As elliptical as the conversation is, there's not a word or pause that doesn't feed the work's theme or its interconnected, disconnected stories. The same is true of even small physical details… and what turns out to be the most shocking ending on Broadway. And, no, I won't say anything more about it except that Mr. McPherson has found an inspired alternative to those inadequate tools of communication called words."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post "In Shining City, we're offered snippets of stories that never quite hang together and never quite make sense. They're presumably meant to illuminate characters which, unfolding before us, provide a meaningful dramatic experience. They don't. But they do talk, and quite interestingly, as we try to pick up the crumbs that might give us a better idea of what's really going on… the acting—including a fierce but defeated Plimpton and a convincingly scuzzy but world-wise Scanavino—beautifully directed by Robert Falls, is absolutely lovely."

Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "McPherson has, in effect, written two plays… With his heavy jowls and sweetly bleary expression, Oliver Platt is both funny and heartbreaking as Ian [sic]… There is a similar comedy in Brian F. O'Byrne's attempts to be authoritative as a therapist when we see how confused his private life is. Especially in his encounter with a male trick, O'Byrne has a vulnerability we haven't seen before. Peter Scanavino is droll as the unappealing trick, and Martha Plimpton is strong as the abandoned woman. Despite the wonderful cast and Robert Falls' sensitive direction, the two plays never quite jell."

David Rooney of Variety: "Reflecting with subtlety and compassion on the guilt, anxiety and restlessness of two lonely men seeking emotional and spiritual connections, this compelling drama has been staged with penetrating insight and an impeccable balance of humor and melancholy by Robert Falls. With a superb cast that digs deep inside naturalistically drawn characters, the final play of the Broadway season is one to savor."

Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "McPherson, an Irish playwright best known here for The Weir, has written a small, carefully calibrated tale that requires delicate handling. Fortunately, it has been given a scrupulous production by Manhattan Theatre Club… McPherson's dialogue is deceptive, subtle yet often gently humorous and able to find the poetic in everyday happenings."

Linda Winer of Newsday: "In Shining City, at least one character—a widower played by the bizarrely cast Oliver Platt—is literally haunted. Unfortunately, this is not the same as being haunting. The play, told in five duets over 90 minutes, recounts clumsy attempts at intimacy by lonely but not especially interesting people who punctuate their limited social exchanges with lots of 'You know ...' and 'I mean ...' Comparisons with Faith Healer, the four exquisite monologues by the Irish master Brian Friel that opened on Broadway last week, are obvious but unkind."