First Preview of An Enemy of the People- Page 2

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 9/18/12 at 6:22pm

Row C seat 108....could. I get any better

Posted: 9/19/12 at 12:44pm

I saw it last night and loved it save for the set and odd shout/"acting" by James Waterson. Boyd Gaines was thrilling and was the balance of the cast. Not sure why doors were constantly being slammed by almost every actor except the women upon entering or exiting a scene. The play really resonates today with all the craziness going on in the world; especially the election! GO- you won't regret it

[macnyc]

Posted: 9/26/12 at 11:38am

I can see updating Ibsen for a modern audience, but this is taking things too far!





Updated On: 9/26/12 at 11:38 AM

[lenstersf]

Posted: 9/26/12 at 12:09pm

I saw this last weekend, and thought Boyd Gaines was phenomenal, especially his incredible impassioned speech in the second half. Go and watch this!

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 9/27/12 at 3:57am

Playbilly, not necessarily contemporary but hard to tell exact time period. Set in Norwegian village...

I was set to be disappointed because my friend had seen it the day before and was not a huge fan. Walked away very pleasantly surprised. Boyd Gaines has become my favorite contemporary stage actor, Richard Thomas was beautifully aristocratic as the Mayor/Brother. For me, though, Gerry Bamman stole the show with his range...at first, he seems to be comic relief but ends up being an integral character of the show.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 9/27/12 at 9:53am

macnyc, hilarious. But now I'm thinking of a certain President...

[ChanceEncounter]

Posted: 9/27/12 at 12:41pm

Saw the final preview last night and absolutely loved it. Boyd Gaines was wonderful. I kept having to stop myself from booing the Mayor because of how incredibly villainous Richard Thomas was. Someone else mentioned having a problem with James Waterston shouting too much I found his tendency to speak loudly accurate to the characters youthful exuberance and passion for for change. My problem was with John Procaccino who without seeming to ever grow more manic or outraged as a character simply got louder and louder in every scene.

For me though the evening was all about Gerry Berman and Michael Siberry. Berman was really brilliant. I don't know if his slow movements are actually because of physical limitations but it fit perfectly with his character who continuously espoused the virtues of moderation and not getting swept up in their own passions. And Michael Siberry as Morten Kiil just, wow. He's only in a couple of scenes but he without question steals the show.

[Tom-497]

Posted: 9/27/12 at 8:31pm

I saw it last night and thought it was OK but somewhat disappointing. The cuts were too severe, in my view. To me, it seemed like someone decided that there were certain "major points" that had to be touched on, and any variations on those points could, with a couple of exceptions, be safely eliminated.

Gaines' big speech suffered the most -- unless my memory is really failing me, they basically eliminated his whole borderline eugenicist argument about breeding cows, poodles who can do tricks, etc.

Also, I missed some of the Jesus parallels that were removed, like in the final scene where Gaines's character (as written) says that he'll need at least 12 students (echoing the number of apostles) for his new school.

And the absence of his sons from the final scene, with new dialogue about how they're in their rooms recuperating after fist-fights, was a weakness, because Gaines was merely talking about the children in the third-person rather than addressing them and getting responses from them. To me, it came across as a change that was obviously made for the sake of saving money and effort in the production, even though the presence of a very young, new generation is a crucial aspect of the play's conclusion.

Also, I didn't really care for the lead performances, which surprised me, because I usually like both Gaines and Thomas.



Updated On: 9/27/12 at 08:31 PM