"By reframing Molière in modern, colloquial language, Mr. Burkle means to bring “Don Juan” closer to us and have a bit of fun. He succeeds only intermittently...Molière’s play is a weird one, what with the talking statue that shows up for dinner, but it’s also rooted in a Christian culture whose rules Don Juan is flouting. Plotwise, the adaptation retains those elements. But in their pursuit of silliness, leave their antihero without a foil and their play without a context."
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"Under Hal Brooks' direction, Don Juan simmers with fine performances and a well-adapted script, but it never quite reaches a boil...The play's humor is often blunted when the script becomes burdened by long lines of alliterative language...The show goes by at a clip, but it would have really taken off if Brooks had amped up the camp a bit more. Though the Pearl's Don Juan isn't quite second-date material, it's fun enough to flirt with for an evening."
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"There is a more serious play inside these antics, and it often struggles to get out. But there is also plenty to like, in any case, this is a rare chance to meet up with one of drama's most famous characters, and as such it is unlikely to disappoint."
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"Jess Burkle’s ultra-jokey, up-to-the-second adaptation, funny as it can sometimes be, and Hal Brooks’ broad if occasionally inventive direction often overwhelm the more serious aspects of the classic 17th-century dramedy. Ultimately, Moliere’s point gets made, but the whole affair sometimes has the feel of a drawn-out Saturday Night Live sketch that intermittently lands its punches...the wages of sin are clearly second fiddle to the spoils of the war between the sexes in this telling."
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"The play is laugh-a-minute hilarious...As to the current version of Molière’s play, while the lines are funny, there is no trajectory. We have incident after repetitive incident, but little analysis. It’s static. Wisdom overheard in the ladies’ room: 'There’s no plot.' 'It’s like a long session of ‘Can You Top This?’"
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