Epiphany at Lincoln Center Theater

TheaterMania - Recommended

"...What does the word "epiphany" mean to you? What about "Epiphany", with a capital E? Those are a couple of the questions that the guests of an unusual dinner party discuss in Brian Watkins's bizarre and altogether hilarious new play Epiphany, now running at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater under the fine-tuned direction of Tyne Rafaeli."

TheaterScene.net - Recommended

"...Director Tyne Rafaeli combines the calibrated performances with choreographed actions and polished stagecraft, all into a highly satisfying mood piece, fulfilling Watkins' vision. A gothic center staircase out of The Munsters television show is a central element of John Lee Beatty's grandly perfect snow-centric scenic design. Lighting designer Isabella Byrd supplies plenty of visual variety evoking the play's tones and off-kilter dimension. Daniel Kluger's original music and sound design fully conveys ominousness and crypticness thru piercing melodies and crashing effects. Costume designer Montana Levi Blanco represents the nine diverse characters with individualized flair and authenticity."

NY Theatre Guide - Recommended

"...Lincoln Center Theater’s Epiphany begins with an ominous rumbling that’s so mighty it might measure on the Richter scale. Dishes and glasses on the set clink and chatter. The effect seems to set the stage for something of enormous magnitude."

Theater Pizzazz - Recommended

"...Dinners and dinner parties, the automatic catalyst for awkward, revealing and often life-changing interactions, have fascinated such writers as Thornton Wilder, A.R. Gurney, and especially James Joyce. Now, we can add Brian Watkins to the list. His haunting new play Epiphany, getting its New York premiere at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theatre under Tyne Rafaeli’s assured direction, borrows elements (and names) from Joyce’s The Dead, while providing a contemporary spin on this age-old formula."

The Observer - Somewhat Recommended

"...But is it so startling? From the first glimpse of John Lee Beatty’s customarily lavish set, a pre-war parlor with snow falling on bare trees visible through transparent walls, there’s a heavy vibe of old-timey mortality in the air. The building itself seems on the verge of giving up the ghost. Marylouise Burke, an actor who always seems like a teenager trapped in the body of a senior citizen (she did star in the 2001 play version of Kimberly Akimbo), is just as youthful, but plays up her character’s frailty and fearfulness. If I were to tell you that Epiphany is basically about death, it wouldn’t qualify as a spoiler."

New York Stage Review - Recommended

"...Anyone who's endured being stuck at a seemingly endless dinner party with people you couldn't care less about will find much to relate to in Epiphany. Brian Watkins' play riffs on James Joyce's The Dead and features allusions to Samuel Beckett and other literary sources, so you can feel proudly smart while you're watching it. But this half-baked meditation on (among other things) the need for human connections and whether or not rituals can still provide comfort in a post-modern era wears its intellectual pretensions too heavily on its sleeve. When filmmaker Luis Bunuel attempted something similar with The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, he at least had the courtesy to make the proceedings fun and sexy."