"'Of Good Stock,' actually feels like a better-than-average chick flick — well acted, smoothly paced, occasionally touching and, for those who indulge in such forms of reassurance, as comforting as a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream, eaten straight from the container...Some of the dialogue here could slide easily into pretty much any dysfunctional family sitcom of the last decade or so...Otherwise, you laugh, you cry, you yawn. There’s nothing taxing or revelatory about 'Of Good Stock'.”
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"In 'Of Good Stock', directed by Lynne Meadow for MTC, rising writer Melissa Ross mixes in some laughs and insight, but overdoes it on the tears, clichés and whining...The play looks great; you may wish you could live in Santo Loquasto’s fancy rotating beachside home set. But although it’s presented in a designer package, 'Of Good Stock' is off-the-rack family dysfunction."
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"Chekhov meets Beth Henley in 'Of Good Stock', Melissa Ross’ melodramedy...With its tiresome jokes, Ross’ play takes way too much digging to unearth an underlying richness...The best thing about 'Of Good Stock' is the ending, which, it turns out, is no ending at all. It seems to end in mid-sentence, or mid-action, which I took to be the attitude of a realist-optimist. A sweet touch."
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"Tinny and hollow comedy...This work feels undercooked and tolls with phony baloney...There’s only so much director Lynne Meadow can do when the script falters. She keeps the pacing up and wraps the show in handsome style. That’s become a recurring Manhattan Theatre Club hallmark — productions that look better than they play."
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"Hell is spending a weekend with the three irritating Stockton sisters who strut and fret in Melissa Ross’s busy but fruitless family drama, 'Of Good Stock.' Director Lynne Meadow’s production is smartly cast and easy on the eye. But everyone in this unpleasant family of narcissists is consumed with herself, and their histrionic posturing is exhausting."
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"Has a distressing air of familiarity in its depiction of a trio of squabbling siblings whose respective emotional issues are endlessly and loudly expressed. It may be cathartic for the characters, but for the audience, not so much...The evening is not always as painful as it sounds. Ross displays a flair for writing sharply funny dialogue, and the performances are generally fine, although Silverstone overdoes her character's narcissistic traits."
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"An overwritten-yet-undercooked show where emotions are eclipsed by a ridiculously intricate rotating set...Half the dialogue feels as if it’d been cooked up by a 60-year-old trying hard to sound hip rather than by an actual young woman three years out of Juilliard...Sadly, these misfires bury the play’s genuine kernels of gravitas...The actors are the production’s saving grace."
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"Playwright Ross’ quips give 'Of Good Stock' the engaging feel of a good sitcom, though the jokes are particularly suited to an NYC audience... It is only during the sisters’ climactic airing-of-the-grievances stretch where the play begins to feel longer than its breezy two hours. (Silverstone’s eventual meltdown may put a lump in your throat as it crescendos, but the scene drags on far too long.) Still, the skilled performers elevate a potentially 'Stock' setup to a relatable and thoroughly entertaining experience."
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