Review: David Bowie Songs and a Familiar Alien in ‘Lazarus’

So after the reflection and the sadness and the music, comes this, the frustration. Bowie, without preaching, showed us how gender was irrelevant. How it could, and should, be played with and regarded, as artifice, as a mutable aspect of art and life. But for So Many of us, these lessons have been forgotten, or Never Learned. Teach Your Children. Or Remember.

What an extraordinary disappointment. Barely coherent story that some decent acting and visuals couldn't disguise. If Bowie weren't behind the project, it wouldn't get produced. Good music, but we already knew that (hope the new songs get released). Can I have my money back?

I thought this play was PHENOMENAL. My husband and I both saw this last night. I'm both a big Michael C. Hall fan and a huge Bowie fan. No, this play isn't for everyone, but I thought the overall stage production was interesting with the use of the video screens, projection, strobe lights, etc. and all the actors had their chance to sign, particularly in singing their songs. I also like that there were only a handful of popular Bowie songs and went for more older, obscure material, and new songs as well. The physical performances of the actors were brilliant. I've seen Michael C. Hall now in everything from his indie films, to Dexter, to Hedwig on Broadway, and he was amazing in this. If you take the plot of the show as one big fever dream of Thomas Newton's, and a man going through his own personal torture and despair, it makes a lot of sense and is actually a rather sad story. My husband was blown away by it, and he is not really a Bowie fan, only knows the hits, and loved every minute of this show. We had a great time.

I'm a Bowie Junkie and have enjoyed some of Ivo Van howe's work ( but not the horrible recent Antigone with Juliette Binoche at BAM). I also love all theater, from a Richard Foreman bizarro-world to more linear traditional story telling. However, I wish there had been an intermission so I could have left. The story is stupid, the pseudo-psychology trite, and the random insertion of the jukebox of I left the theater thinking of the Bowie album "1. Outside" which tracks a serial art-killer in a non linear fashion. Perhaps Mr Bowie should bring that to stage.

I've never been a David Bowie groupie, but I like may of his songs. I've had mixed experiences with Ivo van Hove, but I admire the boldness of his vision. That said, I found LAZARUS an engaging and provocative work, with many strong points -- the cast and musicians are exceptional, the digital effects of this multi-media production are truly stunning -- and some frustrations. The book is obscure, at best. I quickly decided that all the action was in Newton's head and was willing to follow along the free-association path, but the twists and turns became more and more arbitrary. The long passages of dialog were sleep-inducing.

In short, an intriguing experiment, but not a must-see.

I saw the show tonight and just reread BB's review. Seems a reasonable one - the book such as it is is mind numbing but the music is terrific and so are the lead performers. I was not overly impressed by the staging but some of the visual effects were gorgeous. Confession - I am not a big Bowie fan so I can't compare this offering to his live (or recorded) work. I think the friend with whom I saw it liked it more than I did. This is definitely not for everyone.

What a mess. I saw it on Friday night. The staging was great, but none of the performers have engaging voices (and some, like the little girl, use the stiff airless delivery that's been the standard Broadway-style delivery since 1951) and the story gives them and the audience almost nothing to hang on to. Being a big Bowie fan actually makes the show worse. It's as if the cheesiest episode of Glee was being done live at a rich high school. Grade: D.

Mr. Brantley, this is beautiful prose, full of evocative imagery and clever insight. Your review takes us into the essence of the play. What a pleasure to read this article!

I am a big fan of David Bowie and was able to see him live in concert at Madison Square Garden back in 1983. Saw this play from the first row during previews and agree with those comments here saying that there basically is very little story line to this play. Without much of a plot or character development, the only highlight of the show is the music, which is really good, but given a choice between hearing David Bowie music live in Lazarus or live in concert, I would have to say that MSG was much better.

Although the music is good, the book is a complete mess. I would definitely put this in the bottom 5 theater productions for 2015. Mr. Brantley is much too kind.

C'mom Mr. Brantley. I suspect that had Lazarus been penned by any other writer than David Bowie it would have been panned and ultimately discarded on the mount of artistic pretense.

I'll stick with the movie. Loved that!

Saw it in previews but I doubt it changed much before opening. If you aren't a fan of Mr. Bowie's music this may be the longest two hours you spend in a theatre. Nothing that a plot and some characters wouldn't fix. Fancy technology and a good band do not make a play.

Is Mr. Brantley so enslaved by celebrity culture now that he can no longer rouse himself to offer his honest opinion? You'd need a theatrical Rosetta Stone to decipher his opinion from this impressionistic miasma (ironically mirroring the production itself).

"Mind-numbing," in the first paragraph being the key to this piece. The emperor (or in this case the director and playwrights) have no clothes, other than the fabulous catalog of David Bowie. That music, sweet as it is to hear, does not make this good theater (or even interesting) theater, sorry as I am to say it. I don't know what they were trying to do, but they failed and Ben Brantley should call it. This review is no review at all and that's what they pay you for, Mr. Brantley.