The New York Times - Not Recommended
"Ms. McTeer and Mr. Schreiber come across as magnificent bulls who have strayed into a Limoges china shop...Directed by Josie Rourke, this latest 'Liaisons' falls into the trap of such broadness early and lies there, gesticulating madly, for more than two and a half hours. Occasionally something like real feeling raises its startled head - especially in the second act, when Valmont falls in love despite himself. But such twinges of emotion are more disruptive than illuminating."
NY Daily News - Not Recommended
"Delivers all the thrill of watching paint dry...For this play to work there must be high stakes and hot chemistry between the Vicomte de Valmont (Schreiber) and Marquise de Merteuil (McTeer)...The elephant in the theater is that Schreiber is miscast...McTeer fares better. She is a striking presence on stage. She captures Merteuil's sly cold-hearted calculation as well as her vulnerability. But eventually she becomes static and one-note. Dangerous liaisons? More like bland ones."
Associated Press - Highly Recommended
"The formidable McTeer has made the leap and so has the taut direction by the Donmar's Artistic Director Josie Rourke. Liev Schreiber makes a welcome, languid return to Broadway with more than enough chemistry with his co-star...Christopher Hampton's dark comedy of sexual intrigue in pre-Revolutionary France can be overly fanciful and drag during its three-hour run time, but this revival simply crackles as a witty comedy descends into horrific satire."
Hollywood Reporter - Recommended
"A blazing performance by Janet McTeer...Even if Liev Schreiber is ill-suited for the part of Valmont, Josie Rourke's evocative staging provides a compelling portrait of a dissolute aristocracy on the brink of devouring itself...All this would be just so much juicy bodice-ripping melodrama without Hampton's glittering dialogue and without Rourke's sound psychological investigation of the characters' motives...Visually, Rourke's production is both pared-down and sumptuous."
Vulture - Not Recommended
""A gorgeous but tiresome revival...Most of the laughs in the first half-hour were dead on arrival. That's exactly backward; 'Liaisons' works better as a rollicking comedy that then pulls you up short, slowly implicating you in its cruelty. It doesn't help that Rourke directs the ensemble to make the minimal set changes between scenes while prancing and singing as if at Fragonard garden party. It's a triumph of the visual over the dramatic, or would be but for the actors fighting back."
New York Theater - Not Recommended
"The ill-timed if stylish new Broadway revival...Liev Schreiber is either miscast or misdirected...The look of this production is certainly impeccable...But strip away the British locutions, the elegant costumes and the fancy fencing, and the (mostly) quality performances: Does Valmont's 'seduction' of the child Cecile, in which he carries her onto the bed, and sticks his hand under her dress, in some way differ from a sexual assault?"
NY1 - Recommended
"Rourke's stylistically evocative staging portends the waning days of the French aristocracy. And with an excellent cast it certainly looks and sounds just right. But it's marred somewhat by a less than climactic ending. What should be a cathartic battle royale fails to ignite sufficient heat. And instead of a tragedy we get a lukewarm finale. Fortunately, there's McTeer and Schreiber in the leads. For the bulk of the drama, it's great entertainment watching these unparalleled actors."
Variety - Somewhat Recommended
"Under the direction of its artistic director, Josie Rourke, wit and style count more than passion...When Merteuil realizes that Valmont is no longer playing their game, McTeer's silent reaction is devastating...Valmont has his own piercing insight...Schreiber gives it his best shot, but the sensitive feelings of a charming libertine don't register in the same way that his more animal appetites do...But while director Rourke's casting seems a bit bizarre, her staging is superb."
Newsday - Highly Recommended
"The casting of Schreiber as slinky, high-styled sexual predator Le Vicomte de Valmont in 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' threatened to be an uneasy fit...Director Josie Rourke's celebrated revival from her Donmar Warehouse was hardly a sure thing. It is one now...Schreiber finds another way, an increasingly irresistible way, into a character generally expected to exemplify the exquisite, unrepentant boredom of the pre-Revolution French aristocracy."
amNY - Not Recommended
"The new revival of Hampton's crowd-pleasing erotic thriller is puzzling enough to fall into the category of 'what were they thinking?'...Director Josie Rourke has managed to take the fun and suspense out of this well-made drama through bad casting and design choices, leaving a disjointed, dull and dragging production...Schreiber's Valmont is disengaged and stiff instead of smooth and sexy...McTeer gives an authoritative performance, but she has zero chemistry with Schreiber."
Wall Street Journal - Not Recommended
"Josie Rourke, the director, and Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber, the stars, seem not to realize that for most of its length, 'Liaisons' is a high comedy about two lost souls who end up in hell. The acting is consistently unsubtle and unfunny—Ms. McTeer and Mr. Schreiber both mistake archness for wit—and the direction and design are even more heavy-handed."
Washington Post - Not Recommended
"Though a whiff of pleasurable malice is supposed to perfume this story of havoc-wreaking romantic duelists, joy is nowhere to be located in director Josie Rourke's soporific production. Neither McTeer nor Schreiber is particularly well suited to the role of nonpareil seducer... Both the combat and the play itself come across as excessively artificial, an impression reinforced by Rourke's fussy and fuzzy directorial choices."
Chicago Tribune - Not Recommended
"It is both miscast and misdirected. Also - to be fair to director Josie Rourke and all involved here - time also has not been kind to a play that, to be frank, centers on a scene that now feels too much like the sexual abuse of a minor...This plodding, dull production does not seem to understand the pitfalls of that particular scene, and thus does not do enough to remediate those concerns...The major problem is Liev Schreiber."
Time Out New York - Recommended
"Ghostly and sensuous revival of Christopher Hampton's hit play (based on the 1782 epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos)...Schreiber's impassive libertine pairs nicely with McTeer's vengeful, wicked widow. Director Josie Rourke opts for a languid pace as these two dance a minuet of wasted love and cruelty, a game in which death is the prize and the winner feels cheated."
The Wrap - Not Recommended
"In Liev Schreiber's eccentric performance, this audio disconnect provides one of the few pleasures in what is otherwise a lethargic production...McTeer can best be described as arch in her overly mannered approach to the character's mechanizations...As presented here, the Hampton play turns into another of those British middle-brow dramas masquerading as high art."
The Guardian - Somewhat Recommended
"Rourke offers a feminist reading of the work, one in which the roles women play, by force and by choice, are closely examined...This is an astute and intellectually provocative approach, but it doesn't always serve the rather more salacious script...Schreiber's Valmont is no match for Merteuil. He layers some of his eventual rout into the earlier scenes, all but ceding the stage to McTeer. McTeer knows what to do with it...Her extraordinary performance is scorching and chilling."
Telegraph - Highly Recommended
"This new staging signals the Broadway debut of English director Josie Rourke and marks the first 'Liaisons' in my experience to come anywhere near the power of the original. Its newfound elan is thanks to a sizzling cast led by the sublime Janet McTeer and a bolder take on the piece from Rourke...Rourke allows a period piece to tap into gender wars that are being waged even now while ensuring that this 'Liaisons' feels newly dangerous, indeed."
Deadline - Not Recommended
"I don't think the feminist angle is new, and certainly not new to Hampton's terrific script, now three decades old. So Rourke's production seems so much gilding of the lily, as it were, making the points with as heavy a hand as possible. It's skillfully performed, sometimes visually arresting but mostly just plain crude...It's an oddly off-putting mix of period melodrama and contemporary finger-wagging that left me unmoved and deflated."
CurtainUp - Recommended
"The foppish Valmont issn't a natural fit for Schreiber. Yet, he displays deft comic timing to bring out the eye-winking humor in Hampton's text...There's no question that Ms. Rourke has given the nasty pair's story a striking and symbolically rich production...Janet McTeer is superb...I have nothing but praises for the stylish staging of this much told tale of sexual intrigue. And the current presidential campaign underscores the evolving timeliness of Hampton's text more than ever."
Talkin Broadway - Not Recommended
"There's practically nothing in this Donmar Warehouse production that touches on danger of any recognizable kind. That is, unsurprisingly, a problem...Only once the second act hits its stride does this production get interesting, and McTeer and Schreiber become genuinely invested. They still have to fight the severe stodginess of Rourke's staging...Merteuil and Valmont should always be flirting with danger. Here, they spend most of their time not flirting with anything at all."
Cititour.com - Highly Recommended
"Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber are generating the sexual, seductive sparks that make Josie Rourke's new production of Christopher Hampton's 'Les Liaisions Dangereuses' so extremely compelling. What initially seemed to me to be a less-than-necessary revival turns out to be required viewing for serious theatergoers...Delivering a quip or sting with the aim of an Olympic archer or concealing her sneer beneath a crocodile smile, McTeer is never less than masterful."
TheaterMania - Somewhat Recommended
"Only intermittently compelling...With a bold design concept and acidly cynical staging, director Josie Rourke convincingly argues that this is the perfect time for a play about the twilight gavotte of a rotten aristocracy. It leaves us wishing that the cast could keep up with the tempo...In bringing so many artfully executed ideas to the design, Rourke has unfortunately neglected some of the basics that make this drama endurable. The performances range from stilted to hypernaturalistic."
Huffington Post - Recommended
"This new 'Liaisons,' directed by the Donmar's artistic director Josie Rourke, is intelligent, colorful, and lively (mostly)...McTeer's Marquise is successful, on its own; but she seems to be observing the proceedings, rather than determinedly pulling the strings. Part of this might be due to a mismatch with Mr. Schreiber, who is also an actor of great power. Not quite so much here. Without the pair engaging in a dastardly battle of wits on a taut tightrope, the play restlessly drags on."
Broadway Blog - Somewhat Recommended
"Director Josie Rourke's production is modestly successful...It's difficult to ascertain what's awry in this mostly tepid production—it's like going on a date with someone who checks all the boxes but with whom you find no spark. As the manipulative Merteuil, McTeer is downright juicy in her interpretation of the text...While there's plenty to find attractive in 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses,' it's ultimately an unfinished canvas."
Theater Pizzazz - Recommended
"The acrimonious pas de deux between Merteuil and Valmont (as well as the heartbreaking collateral damage) knocks the wind out of the audience. This is no 'feel good' story, but rather a brilliant, exhausting, psychological drama filled with dynamic dialog and complex character interplay...'Liaisons' is an emotionally tough play to endure...On the night I attended, several people left during intermission; but, a large number of those who stayed gave it a standing ovation."
Front Row Center - Not Recommended
"Tepid. That about sums it up...While McTeer is magnificent as always, she cannot alone hold up the tent. Mr. Schreiber mumbles and seems preoccupied...As for the rest–well honestly they don't seem to matter too much. They are executing the story, and that is all...Perhaps if it were a better production it would rise above the text into a loftier position. This one only serves to remind us that women's position is best prone and that their fates are in general fodder for locker-room banter."
Phindie - Somewhat Recommended
"In other roles, Schreiber radiates a dark, dangerous masculinity, but here he's earnest, almost puppyish...That geniality saves him when it comes to an uncomfortable scene that would seem a lot like a rape in another actor's hands...No one can look at anyone else when McTeer is on stage anyway. The minute she walks through the doorway of her crumbling drawing room, her skirts swishing silently, the candle chandeliers flickering across her face, she is the queen of her domain."
WNYC - Somewhat Recommended
"In other roles, Schreiber radiates a dark, dangerous masculinity, but here he's earnest, almost puppyish...That geniality saves him when it comes to an uncomfortable scene that would seem a lot like a rape in another actor's hands...No one can look at anyone else when McTeer is on stage anyway. The minute she walks through the doorway of her crumbling drawing room, her skirts swishing silently, the candle chandeliers flickering across her face, she is the queen of her domain."
Times Square Chronicles - Not Recommended
"Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber have no chemistry, no seething wit or malice and are terribly miscast...For three hours Josie Rourke fails to bring the play to life. I blame her for this dull uneventful stagnate production. Ms. McTeer is neither sexy, powerful, nor cruel enough. She is like a tall cool glass of water who the posing Schreiber does not connect an ounce with. This time the Donmar Warehouse fails."
Reviewing The Drama - Not Recommended
"McTeer and Schreiber have such great chemistry...It's difficult to watch Valmont ravish Cecile (especially because this Cecile looks so young)...The direction, by Josie Rourke, doesn't help...Schreiber and Sorensen have no chemistry...Sure, McTeer and Schreiber are red hot lovers as the Marquise and Valmont, but everyone and everything else (save the always welcome Peil) pales in comparison. Danger, Will Robinson. Skip this liaison."
StageZine - Recommended
"Productions can vary, casts can give different interpretations, and weak directors misguide the show but this play about love, passion, deceit, seduction, lust and much more is a marvel to behold...Schreiber and McTeer are both very good but they don't strike the right chord together. They lack the sting the two need that causes all this devastation around them and that comes from faulty direction...Despite the minor flaws I mentioned, I strongly recommend 'Les Liaisons.'"
NJ.com - Not Recommended
"Director Josie Rourke's new revival does many things right...Yet this 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' has a fatal flaw — a miscast and uncomfortable-looking Liev Schreiber...Without a compelling Valmont at its center, the first act of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' never sufficiently heats up...This may very well be what Rourke is after — a 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' more horrific than satiric — but it's doesn't quite seem true to the spirit or complexity of Hampton's play."
Daily Beast - Not Recommended
"Where's the thrill: theirs and ours?...Janet McTeer at least has oodles of fun, and we with her...The set design for this adaptation remains as static and stubbornly unmoving as the text...Only the costumes, and five glittering chandeliers which rise and descend, carry any sense of luxe...The pile-up of self-awareness, contrition, tragedy, and regret at the end happens so quickly its impact feels fleeting. Ultimately, these liaisons seem more tedious than dangerous."
Off Script with Dan Dwyer - Somewhat Recommended
"La Marquise de Merteuil remains as wicked in New York as London in the hands of the splendid Janet McTeer but Liev Schreiber's Valmont isn't quite evil enough to get the full force of Christopher Hamptons's award-winning drama. Schreiber's perfectly skilled in the part, bringing to it, appropriately, his own interpretation, but he plays Valmont laconically, even comically at times. It muddies the character...The direction by Josie Rourke is assured as always."
TheaterScene.com - Recommended
"McTeer and Schreiber have such an accomplished interaction with each other, it's like watching a master class in How to Act with Someone Really Good...Yet the intimacy between them can be extreme, as if McTeer and Schreiber are in one play by themselves, with all the other actors in another. Fascinating to watch, but not engaging...Go see this perfectly postmodern production. If you haven't seen it before, you're in for a rare treat. Don't miss it."
Wolf Entertainment Guide - Recommended
"Schrieber is especially deft in the role...McTeer is adept at hauteur toward Valmont and others, but also effective in unleashing venom and communicating inner pain and distress...Director Rourke strikes a balance between the nastiness of the interplay and the humor derived from it...The drama could use some cutting, as after a while the events seem repetitive...While this is not a production for the ages, it is certainly a reputable addition to the lore and lure of Hampton's work."
Plays To See - Somewhat Recommended
"Schreiber's performance sapped emotional energy, as if his lines had to be delivered through a pillow, which makes it, instead of a thrilling romp, a very slow, nearly three-hour wind up before we get the pitch...McTeer can make us pay attention to her with the merest flick of a fingernail in the air...Sadly there's not a great deal of chemistry between the principals–we sense more mutual respect than anything. More convincing were the 'marks' in Valmont's romantic cons."
Front Mezz Junkies - Highly Recommended
"Schreiber is riveting in that dastardly role, matching the spectacular McTeer at every jab and thrust. McTeer, a true master of the stage, gives us a woman in full control of each and every devious turn...Josie Rourke has not let her guard down and has given us an equally impressive theatrical experience worthy of compare...McTeer grabs us in that last scene and takes control. Demolishing our memories of the film and replacing them with her assured performance."
The Stage - Highly Recommended
"A significantly more confident and sexier iteration of Josie Rourke's production. Janet McTeer is joined by Liev Schreiber as her co-conspirator in sexual mayhem; together they capture the characters' supreme vitality as well as their vulnerabilities. There's a faster heartbeat – and darker heartache – to their tangled dance of deceit, but Rourke's production breathes easier on a larger head-on proscenium stage where it is not as crowded as it was on the three-sided Donmar stage."
The Observer - Not Recommended
"I've seen excellent productions of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses,' including five movies. This is not one of them...Christopher Hampton's elegant prose is not well served by a cast that either rushes through the dialogue or swallows it like candy from the concession stand. Both stars seem handcuffed by their roles...The rest of the cast, under Josie Rourke's uneven direction, is sorely lacking in gusto. They're not physical, sexy, or powerful enough...A big disappointment."
Reflections in the Light - Not Recommended
"McTeer holds our interest as the deceitful woman who is her own worst enemy and Kampouris is convincing as the virginal, yet sexually curious Cecile. Not much else compels us to remain engaged with the action...Rourke fails to ignite chemistry between any of the characters, particularly between McTeer and Schreiber...Everything has a mechanical feel and the two hours and 45 minutes feel very long and unsatisfying for a play that's supposed to be all about passion and fulfillment."
City Cabaret - Not Recommended
"Regretfully, McTeer and Schreiber elicit no fireworks...Instead of lusty magneticism, he appears bored and disengaged. The two banter with clever flirtations but any fire between them has been long extinguished. After almost three languorous hours, the vicious guiles of Merteuil and Valmont become tiresome. Directed by Josie Rourke, the play has entertaining moments seesawing between sharp wit and cynicism. Rourke elicits sharp portraits from the supporting cast."
