Review Roundup: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Opens Off-Broadway Starring Jim Parsons

Classic Stage Company's A Man Of No Importance officially opened on Sunday, October 30. The cast of A Man Of No Importance includes four-time Emmy winner Jim Parsons (The Boys in the Band) and two-time Emmy winner and Tony nominee Mare Winningham (Girl From the North Country) as siblings Alfie and Lily Byrne, respectively, and more.

The play will run through Sunday, December 18.

Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally's acclaimed musical A Man Of No Importance tells the story of an amateur theatre group in 1960s Dublin and their leader, bus driver Alfie Byrne (Jim Parsons). Determined to stage a production of Oscar Wilde's Salome despite the objections of local church authorities, Alfie confronts the forces of bigotry and shame over a love "that dare not speak its name." This evocative and award-winning musical illustrates the redemptive power of theater, love, and friendship, all for a man of seemingly no importance.

Check out the the critics are saying below!

Jesse Green, The New York Times: Few shows benefit from all these deprivations at once, and "A Man of No Importance" does suffer slightly in its final third as it begins to reveal too much skeleton. Even if you know the story you may wonder which character an actor is now playing, or whether you're in the church or the pub. You may also feel the lack of choreography, especially with the fine dancer Shively in the cast. But for the most part, this being a show about the possibilities of even the most minimal stage, a minimal stage makes an apt enough setting, and the style enhances more than it squelches. Doyle even manages the equivalent of a hat trick, when an actor plays a tambourine that, in turn, plays a plate.

Elysa Gardner, NY Sun: Mr. Doyle has enlisted some superb actors who play musical instruments for supporting parts, among them Kara Mikula, who fiddles nimbly while pouring comic prowess into her role as an exhausted matron, and Da'Von T. Moody, whose bar patron strums a guitar when not flirting with Alfie. The director, who also serves as scenic designer, has them stroll with other players across an assiduously spare set - dominated by wooden chairs that match the stage - and occasionally wander into the audience.

David Finkle, New York Stage Review: There is one outstanding group number, "Going Up," nicely staged by director John Doyle (for this final CSC outing). That tune equals Flaherty at his best. At the other end of the workmanlike spectrum is the mind-numbing "Love Who You Love." Set aside the grammatical gaffe and think of first-rate lyricist Ahrens designing this for the Wilde-obsessed Alfie. A prospective LBGTQ anthem, it isn't.

Sandy MacDonald, New York Stage Review: Parsons sings adequately but not stirringly, and in any case Stephen Flaherty's music (composed for the show's 2002 Lincoln Center debut, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Terence McNally - ordinarily a knockout team) is doggedly bland. The first big number, "Going Up," a self-referential scene-setter gushed seriatim by a chorus of community-theatre aspirants, goes on ... and on, eating up a sizable chunk of the scant (105-minute) running time. It takes a pro like Mare Winningham, playing Alfie's over-solicitous sister, to break the monotony. Her accent, attitude, and behavior on point, Winningham makes a meal of this thin, rewarmed stew of a musical.

Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely: Alfie Byrne, the story's central Oscar Wilde enthusiast, is played by Jim Parsons, with touching realism and a nice, lower-case singing voice, but often gets lost in his own story. Events float through Doyle's universe without leaving much of a mark, a problem made worse by the choice to trim down the material to one act. As Byrne's production of Wilde's Salome rises and falls due to the interventions of the church which houses his troupe, its personal and larger implications don't land, but merely sputter.

Matt Windman, AMNY: Some of the songs (especially those for the lead character, which were written with a non-singing actor in mind) are underwhelming, and the plot can feel dated and sentimental. However, it does contain an Irish rock number that ranks among Ahrens and Flaherty's greatest hits ("The Streets of Dublin") and some tender ballads. It also celebrates the ability of non-professionals to enrich their lives and build community by making art.

David Roberts, Theatre Reviews Limited: Along with A. J. Shively and Mare Winningham, they do their best to bring out the best in Jim Parsons who fails them and himself in his listless portrayal of the spirited man Alfie Byrne. Mr. Parsons seems not to understand the pathos of his character, choosing instead to mope across the stage in an aimless search for Alfie, the character who chooses less to be pitied and more to be understood and accepted unconditionally.

Matthew Wexler, Queerty: Those familiar with Doyle's theatrical style (he had Patti LuPone play the tuba in a 2005 revival of Sweeney Todd) will recognize his familiar treatment, which often gets in the way of cluttered staging as the cast simultaneously juggles furniture and the score. Musically, Flaherty rarely reaches the emotional heights found in his previous songwriting collaborations, including Ragtime and Once on This Island. Nevertheless, "The Streets of Dublin" remains a standout, though Shively can't vocally compete with the role's originator Steven Pasquale.

Thom Geier, The Wrap: But Doyle's production remains oddly lifeless - and even moments of violence pass by without so much as a blip to raise the blood pressure. It's one thing to explore the effects of repressed emotions, but if those passions never bubble to the surface we're left with a plot that carries no real weight or consequence. In the end, the title feels all too apt.