Profile for bear882

The main takeaway of the reviews I have scanned thus far is universal praise for Laurie Metcalf, even from the few critics who didn’t care for the revival. (I don’t have a New York subscription so only have a summary of Sara Holdren’s review.)

Joe Mantello’s direction gets a lot of praise, although Helen Shaw says his choices leave no question about Willy’s fate from the start, which she sees as a flaw - or at least a tradeoff - in an otherwise po

pagereynolds said: "I mean, you can think whatever you want about the choice of car. (I was right up front and didn't see the boombox, I guess we were too far over.) The costumes other than maybe Happy's are 1940s era. There are no script changes at all. It's 1948."

But the choice of car, and its prominence in the revival, was a conscious decision by director Joe Mantello. I highly doubt it was because they couldn’t find a 1940s Studebaker. Even

nycward said: "I believe in the Vulture interview with the cast and director, it is referred to as a 1964 Chevy Malibu which initself tells us that we are in for a very different look at Salesman. The end of the war that is referred to in the script now becomes about Vietnam, which clearly has an impact on Biff and Happy. Come to think about it, as the draft ended in 1969, wouldn't these boys be drafted in the early 60's? I guess sometimes a new concept can just go so far whe

Auggie27 said: "Just back from the matinee, and stunned. It's remarkable.

Joe Mantello strips it of excess homage and places it down center with a startling immediacy. Gone is the poetic prism on the house. But it’s not bare bones deconstruction; the world of the play has a decided theatrical capture but freed of 1948 specific tropes. The audacious movement to the early 60s gives the text a different post war context, since Miller anticipated an America split ope

bryan2 said: "Just a question? Does the POSING get repetitive and boring , Cats in itself is repetitive musically so I cant understand how this sustains interest after the first 10 or 15 minutes of being wowed by the moves. The version of MEMORY is spectacular , I was surprised how good it was sung. I am curious if this is just something people love of just feel they have to love to seem cool...thanks for any responses. I want to see this so bad to see for myself

I wi

I assumeThe Wild Party isn’t going to transfer but glancing at clips of the show on YouTube reminded me of how much I enjoyed it. I was curious about the musical and excited (justifiably, it turned out) about the cast. As many others have said, Jasmine Amy Rogers is a star - and her early scene with a threatening Jordan Donica sold me on the twisted dynamic of their relationship even before the main action starts. Adrienne Warren, who I haven’t seen since her pe

I hate to be the skeptical one, because I thought Tick… Tick… BOOM! was an unexpectedly fantastic movie musical so I refuse to doubt Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ability to bring out the best of the material. And I love that he’s directing a Dave Malloy musical.

But I cannot fathom how this show works as a film, even if I can imagine the ways a director can open up the musical.

I was listening to the score again last night, and I was reminded

binau said: "I wonder what an Adrianne Warren Queenie might have been like. It would not surprise me if she auditioned for the part.

In any case, this cast singing this score seems like anembarrassment of riches.

Jasmine's lively "Welcome to my Party", emotional "Lowdown-down", Tonya Pinkins' iconic-sounding almost sardonic "Moving Uptown" and "When it Ends". the Jasmine/Warren Duet "Best Friends", Jasmin

I agree with bwayphreak234 that where you sit offers a different experience. I chose fifth row center mezzanine, thinking it was most panoramic view of the show and would offer a good look at whatever was happening on the runway. That proved correct and I would recommend those seats (and there’s not really direct interaction with the cast, if that’s a concern). I couldn’t even see the regular orchestra seats due to the setup, which did leave me curious what was going on ther

uncageg said: "Glad you had a great week of theater! And congrats on your first "Encores!" show. I have seen 3 and it just feels kind of special attending one."

One thing that struck me about seeing The Wild Party, on a Saturday night, is that the “Encores!” audience, especially in the orchestra, was remarkably tepid. I gather that there were some sound issues for folks in the balcony, but the orchestra audience was the quietest of

RUkiddingme said: "QueenAlice said: "The last scene is extreme house right so I’d go for even numbered seats."

i never mastered the stage right vs house right thing.

The last scene takes place where? Thanks"

I saw the play from a center mezzanine seat, and most of the show is in the middle of the stage. But the key scene toward the end is extreme house right/stage left. Sitting house right should be fine, as long as you

JSquared2 said: "Lithgow is brilliant — but everyone knew he would be and his performance was exactly as I expected it to be. Lane is a revelation and is giving a career best performance (so far)."

When I was walking out of the Winter Garden after Death of a Salesman, several people around me - veteran theatergoers, older than me - were praising Lane in part because he seemed to have surprised them based on their expectations of how he would perform th