Betty Buckley fans listen up (and fans of good theatre).....

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 10:31pm

Ms. Buckley is giving an absolutely amazing performance at Signature Theatre in Horton Foote's The Old Friends. The play is a bit old fashioned and schematic, but the production is wonderful and Buckley is incredible.

Slight spoiler, but I haven't seen a glass shattered so effectively on stage since three Cat on a Hot Tin Roofs ago!

Tickets are $25. Get them before they are gone, and they will be, when word gets out.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 10:40pm

Go, Betty!

Great to hear.

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 10:42pm

I have tickets for Sunday!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 10:50pm

I'm going tomorrow. Can't wait!

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 10:58pm

You'll have a better, more detailed review than mine, and I can't wait to read it. You should be working for the Times. Love your reviews.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/21/13 at 11:31pm

Ha, thanks. :)

I feel so starved for some good theater, or even halfway decent theater; hopefully this show breaks my unlucky streak!

Foote is one of my favorite playwrights, and good god this cast. If Lois Smith steps on stage I'm there, but throw in Buckley, Veanne frickin' Cox and Hallie Foote and I'm in heaven.

Is it too soon for Signature to bring back The Orphan's Home Cycle? Did you see that, Matt Rogers?

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 12:49am

Satisfying theatre is so rare amidst the smug snark and self-indulgent guff that we are constantly fed that we need to give it a royal welcome when it arrives. So all hail to The Old Friends, which is not merely satisfying, but is theatre the way it should be: vibrant and dramatic, compassionate and wise. Horton Foote presents us with a varied assortment of vividly-drawn characters, evoking the universal foibles and longings of human nature with insight and humor.

Betty Buckley has a humdinger of a role, and she makes the most of it --- and then some. It is so great to see her shine here. Hallie Foote knows her father's characters inside out, and delivers a heartfelt performance. Veanne Cox is as usual, just plain wonderful.

Horton Foote's stature only grows with each successive production of his works. He towers over today's critics' darling playwrights like a sequoia over a barren field of stumps.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 1:29am

Seeing this in early September and I just can't wait!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 6:42am

A rave review from, of all people, After Eight, and about one of my favorite actresses in the world.

Almost restores my faith in.... well, almost restores my faith.

[Mark-o]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 9:17am

seeing this in early September... can't wait!

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 9:26am

What is the layout of this theater? Are there any seats to avoid??

[theaterfan862]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 10:59am

I will do my best to squeeze this show into my already busy September. I love me some Betty Buckley!

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 11:32am

"What is the layout of this theater? Are there any seats to avoid??"

It's a small theatre and the sightlines are good. No center aisle. (I wish they would stop building theatres this way. It's inconvenient for everyone to get in and out.)

I guess the seats at the far ends in the front rows are the ones to avoid.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 11:33am

Thanks, After Eight. I've never been in there and just want to make sure I have good sightlines (I'm very short, so take that into account, too).

[TappingMan]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 2:41pm

See, this is the kind of thread that made me join BWW.
As soon as I read the postings, I was able to purchase the last ticket available for this Sundays matinee.
Its so refreshing to get this kind of info on here, as opposed to the usual negative, nasty, bitter - threads that are just attacks on performers, creative teams and other members.

Thank you so much for starting this thread. And I'm so looking forward to seeing this show on Sunday.

Peace.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/22/13 at 11:58pm

But us, old friend,
What's to discuss old friend?
Here's to us. Who's like us?
Damn few.

And there's been damn few like The Old Friends this summer.

Horton Foote, that beautiful master of words, was in fine form when he wrote this one, and even goes full on Tennessee Williams in the second act. I loved both the characters and the plot so much; this is easily the best play I've seen since Vanya and Sonia.

The actors are performing at such a high caliber, and at the third preview no less, that I don't know what to do but effusively gush over each of them.

Buckley, as indicated in the title of this thread, is sure packing a wallop and taking full advantage of the juicy part that she was given. She plays a oft drunk widow of a wealthy rancher in Harrison, Texas. She has all the money in the world, but can't seem to buy the affections of Howard (Cotter Smith, in Bobby Ewing mode). She is ruthless, pathetic, pitiable, desperate and funny as hell. She's doing some splendid work.

On the other side of the coin is Hallie Foote. To paraphrase Buckley's character, she doesn't say much, but she sure THINKS a lot. Yes Foote doesn't have so many line, but don't let that fool you. She takes no prisoners and it was her performance that truly killed me tonight. I truly thought she was brilliant; a masterful display of the understated heartbreaker.

Now on to Veanne Cox, that little viper. She's another one you can't underestimate in that small frame of hers. If Cotter Smith is Bobby Ewing then Cox is Sue Ellen x10. She plays a miserable lush trapped in an unhappy marriage, and has no qualms about chasing after younger men. I LOVED her final moments on stage.

Lois Smith is a JOY. There are some shades of Trip to Bountiful in her plot, as she plays an elderly woman trying to escape the unhappy life she has staying with her daughter and son-in-law. She goes through some ups and downs, but always remains hopeful and loving. She never loses her spirit no matter the struggle she must face, and this is a beautiful thing.

It's easy to take Michael Wilson's work for granted because he's directed so many of Foote's plays with such ease, but this is one of his strongest efforts.

Reading the note in the Playbill there are two other plays with these same characters. I pray that Signature will find a way to put on the other plays, and if they can run them in rep with this cast all the better. Congrats to all involved on such a great night at the theater!

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/23/13 at 7:21pm

Sounds great WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel, thanks. Looking forward to seeing this in a couple of weeks.

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 11:28am

This was my first Horton Foote show, and so I don't want to say too much about it because I really don't know what I'm talking about. My theater partner, who is familiar with Foote's body of work, liked it much more than I did. We both felt the play kind of fizzled out at the end. I did enjoy the performances a lot, and agree with what previous posters have said about that aspect. Sets were good too.

Updated On: 8/26/13 at 11:28 AM

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 2:17pm

After Eight-Since you really were helpful with seating when I asked, I'm going to pose one more question. I found a seat in the back of the floor (last row). How far away will I feel? Is it an intimate space? (I'm dying to see this but I want to be able to see/hear and feel connected to it.)

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 8:16pm

Dreaming,

I'd call it an intimate space. I've seen a few plays from one of the back rows, and it didn't seem far away at all to me. Plus, the theatre has stadium seating, so there should be no problems with sightlines.

Hope you enjoy this show!

[HBBrock]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 9:06pm

Dreaming...go Sunday night for a slightly closer seat.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/7/13 at 9:44pm

Saw THE OLD FRIENDS this afternoon and pretty much loved it. It's probably the strongest production of a Foote play I've seen. The performances are fantastic all-around...yes, Buckley is exceptional in the meatiest, showiest role of the bunch, but Hallie Foote was by far my favorite performer. She absolutely knocked my socks off...what a haunting, charming, quietly intense performance. The direction is pitch-perfect, the sets are lovely, and the show truly flies by. See it if you can!

The only issue I had with my experience was some of the audience behavior. The crowd was about 90% over the age of 70, and I'd say most of the people in the audience were pretty quiet and well-behaved. Except for the guy behind me sucking on a lozenge for the entire first scene of the second act so obnoxiously. And an older man and woman towards the back of what I would assume was the center part of the theater, who were FIGHTING back and forth for the first five minutes of the first act and the first ten minutes or so of the second. He would scream something at her and she would say "I'M GOING HOME." You can't make this sh*t up. It was absolutely ridiculous. It absolutely ruined the beginning of the second act for me and after they were done arguing, they continued to "whisper" back and forth to each other. Besides that, it was a wonderful afternoon at the theater and I'm very glad I saw it.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/25/13 at 9:08am

Saw it last night. And want to respectfully offer a dissenting view.

Kind of shocked at how overrated a play this is. A few nice and funny moments (Lois Smith's reflections on Harrison's past among them) - very few. Otherwise a dull bomb of a play, obvious, propelled by two self-centered monster women characters (Buckley who overcomes the material and Cox who doesn't) lacking in poetry, interesting tension (especially the first act), comedy, and certainly originality. Unimpressed to the point of "wtf does everyone see in this?" But Buckley, Lois Smith and especially Hallie Foote, whose every move is true and whose simplicity is intoxicating, were very impressive. And the sets were great.

The wonderful Novella Nelson, who unfortunately is barely in the play, wasn't there for curtain call last night. I hope she is ok.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/8/13 at 6:17pm

Going tonight! Snagged a $25 rush ticket! Second row! So excited!!!

[indytallguy]

Posted: 10/8/13 at 8:01pm

Only three exclamation points of excitement? You better hope Betty Buckley doesn't learn of this lukewarm enthusiasm :)