Disgraced Previews- Page 2

[eperkins]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 4:08pm

Thanks Followspot for the answer on Tony eligibility.

I wonder about "It's Only A Play" as well - since it is supposedly completely re-written. Would that make any difference?

Not to hijack this thread, so I'll add more about Disgraced. I was seated (via TDF) on the side, 5 seats off the aisle, on house right of the Mezz, one row from the back. I had a good view, but going too much further to the right, you would not be able to see the right side of the stage very well - if at all (forget about the Right Boxes!). And some action does happen over there. I think you could sit farther from the center if you are house left. I assume it would be the same in the orchestra.

[followspot]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 4:17pm

I wonder about "It's Only A Play" as well - since it is supposedly completely re-written. Would that make any difference?

If the producers really wanted to, they could petition the Tony Committee to deem the production a "new play" based on the rewrites, and the Committee would either accept or reject the request. (But the new material in the current production is simply replacing outdated Broadway references with current Broadway references — the underlying play itself remains the same as the original — so it's pretty safe to say this won't happen.)

Updated On: 10/1/14 at 04:17 PM

[mpd4165]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 4:20pm

RippedMan - Yes, it's produced in associated with LCT, so LincTix are available as well as a rush.
Theatregoers Can Get Disgraced for $32; Rush Policy Announced

[gstrus2]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 6:49pm

Has anyone tried the rush yet? Hoping it isnt too bad.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/1/14 at 9:32pm

It's Only a Play has not been entirely rewritten. The jokes have been updated but that's about it.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 10/2/14 at 4:19pm

Saw this earlier this week and enjoyed every minute of it. Smart, quick, witty and even funny at times; and then the last ten minutes hit you like a brick. Highly suggest this one!

P.S. - Some of y'all have been sooooo overdramatic about the Lyceum balcony. I saw the show from the second to last row in the center balcony and enjoyed myself thoroughly and was able to follow and understand the entire thing. I've sat in way worse in other Broadway houses. Just pointing this out for anyone who would like to see this play on a budget or not spend too much :)

Updated On: 10/2/14 at 04:19 PM

[MusicAndPassion]

Posted: 10/3/14 at 11:18pm

Caught the show tonight. Thought it was good, but not great. I loved the pacing, the fact it's one act that truly flies by because of its tightly written dialogue, but that's it.

I can't seem to enjoy plays that leave me disliking every character. *SPOILER* Except for Jory, in this case, I could care less about the others. Especially Amir. *END SPOILER* So many moments where I thought, "I get it. I get it already!"

My honest opinion is that this play seems more to be one that is better when read rather than better on the stage. I feel that in 10, 20 years from now this is play can serve as an academic commentary on the US in the early 2010s. Other than that, I question its Pulitzer win.

It's worth a visit for those interested. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea.

[mike_ant]

Posted: 10/4/14 at 12:01am

Just came back from this show! Absolutely loved it!!! As an "alien" to this country, the central issue of identity crisis and the dangers of it hit the right cord with me.

By the way, I managed to score the rush ticket! I came to box office around 4pm earlier, asked for the rush ticket and they still had it. Orchestra, second row, last seat on the left. Not too bad, I can see about 70-80% of the stage. I was warned when I bought the rush ticket that it would be partial view. Indeed, there were scenes on the right-side of the stage that I couldn't see, but it didn't affect me much.

Great start for my weekend trip!

[Mystic Pasta]

Posted: 10/4/14 at 2:24pm

I admit to preferring to see a musical anytime over a play. But, my friend had an extra ticket and we both loved the show. We sat in the balcony in the 3rd row on the side and had no issues seeing anything. It felt intimate and we could hear every word. I didn't know anything about this story or that it won a Pulitzer. All I knew it had Josh Radnor. Josh did a fantastic job and the other stand out was Karen Pitman. For a show set in Manhattan in 2014, the author nailed the way people really speak. It could not make for a more timely discussion about race and Islam. The lead actor was also excellent. I didn't love Gretchen Mol, but I think her part is the least well written of the leads. Definitely worth your time and not a star vehicle.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/4/14 at 2:42pm

I think it's a brilliant script that will be remembered during awards season.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/5/14 at 1:05pm

MILD SPOILER. I was there last night. I love the play on the page (MusicandPassion: we may agree), and have read it a few times over the past year. Last night's performance was a crushing let-down for me, not because I knew what takes place and how horrific the turns are (the verbal ones the most unsettling to me, and they are shocking and brutal), but because I find this production so lacking in needed fire and focus. Pittman and Radnor are the most vivid and compelling, and each scores the most points in the set piece dinner scene that defines the play. They each make the lobbed accusations wounding and deeply personal, setting forth the highest stakes. But Mol and Dhillon are disappointing. Dhillon's take on Amir is very sitcom superficial, which initially I believed a provocative sleight of hand strategy, so that the devastating turns land with great unexpected power. But he merely gets louder and jumpier; the tightly coiled man who enters the party ready to detonate is only indicated, not fully embodied. I won't dissect or spoil the much discussed denouement, except to say it is rendered with too much obvious choreography and not enough unleashed fury. Less would be more, if less was twice as intense. We should gasp. I have a lot more to say, but don't want to bash a powerful play I so admire. My opinion is already the minority. I hope it does well. I am sorry the original cast didn't come to B'way intact.

Updated On: 10/5/14 at 01:05 PM

[hanabana]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:10pm

Does anyone know if the front row in the orchestra would offer a decent view for this show? I am considering buying LincTix, and see that a front row seat is available for one of my available dates. I am only 5'1', so I am wondering if I would miss a lot of action if I sit in the first row. The other available tickets are in the boxes, and I really don't like sitting in boxes... Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:16pm

Hanabana, I sat in the front row via LincTix. It was a little close for my preference but you won't miss anything. It's just really close.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:18pm

I saw it from the front row with LincTix, which I think added to thrill of feeling like I was in the apartment with them going at it.

I'm 6'1" though so that might have helped.

A slight issue might be that almost the entire show is staged far downstage, so even though the stage itself wasn't too high, I was nonetheless looking up at the actors because of the blocking. It certainly didn't affect my enjoyment though; Disgraced slightly edged out Curious Incident as my favorite show so far this season.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:25pm

I agree with Auggie. I was at yesterday's matinee, and while I liked the play I found the acting of the 2 leads to be incredibly stilted, as though they were doing a table read for the first time. I thought Dhillon was the most guilty of this, especially in the first scene. The 3 supporting actors fared much better. To me, the fire that's necessary in the third scene felt very staged and very forced. It didn't have the natural sizzle of, say, the recent Virginia Woolf revival. I was missing that spark for most of it.

[mpd4165]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:25pm

I also have a front row center seat via LincTix, so I'm glad to hear the closeness doesn't seem to hinder the view. Really the play I'm looking forward to the most this season.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:31pm

I kept getting "box seats" through LincTix, but eventually found a front row seat. I'm excited!

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:42pm

Good thing-the boxes in that theater are horrible. When I was in one for another show there, I was able to move to a different seat (the theater wasn't full so the usher re-seated me).

[hanabana]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 2:52pm

neonlight and WhizzerMarvin, thank you for your replies. I just booked the front row seat for a bit later this month! I am usually more of a musical person, but I've heard great things about this show, and I'm so glad to have found out about Linctix (wish I knew about it before). Very excited!

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/6/14 at 4:07pm

Saw this over the weekend and while I found it interesting, I agree with the idea that it might be a play that comes off better on the page than on the stage. There's not much here to enjoy, and Amir is such an unlikeable character. I did like Radnor and Ellison a lot though.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 8:37am

BJH nailed it: it (still) feels like a table read. The performance has inherent intelligence, and the actors find the pockets of wit. Yet the emotional underbelly is absent. This is a story with the highest of stakes: cultural/religious identity, life-altering office politics, and immigration/homeland security run amok. Reducing its weight to serve a kind of facile, all-too-breezy "style" undermines its very core and minimizes its uniqueness. The famous third scene should be so packed with ready-to-detonate moments. Yet it feels rushed, not lived in, merely indicated. I would love the director to simply allow some deadly silence to permeate the proceedings after some of the toxic remarks land. Everything is played with the same sort of sit com rhythm. You come away feeling as if you heard it played at twice the speed. I say this having read the script. And the play has been presented on the page with a kind of free verse format for many of the speeches. The playwright clearly "hears" some of these arias of revelation as very special pronouncements. But they are sped through, sometimes with increased volume, often with a kind of tossed off brio, that does nothing to involve us. I don't think the two leads are quite up to it. But director Senior could help them simply by asking everyone to slow down and listen. Only Radnor really takes the time to hear everything said. And listen to what this play is saying! I've disturbed by how off this production feels. It's a reminder of how any text on the stage is in the hands of the interpretation.

[broadwayrocks2]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 9:16am

I have noticed they are in previews a little longer than some plays . Perhaps they are still getting comfortable in the theater and need some time to evolve . They were not in the theater very long before the first preview .



Updated On: 10/7/14 at 09:16 AM

[LarryD2]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 9:55am

Good thing-the boxes in that theater are horrible. When I was in one for another show there, I was able to move to a different seat (the theater wasn't full so the usher re-seated me).

Actually, I saw this production from a box and the view was surprisingly fine. I would say that 98% of the production is unobstructed. Like Whizzer said, so much of the production is performed downstage center, so no obstructions there. A box wouldn't have been my first choice, but for this production, it's not that bad.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 11:59am

My issues with the interpretation, staging, and casting have nothing to do with the preview period. This concern isn't tentativeness or comfort with the demands of text or direction, but the directorial style and character work tied to casting decisions. Yes, it will likely grow. But worth noting: the leading actor, Dhillon, played this role for two months in London. This part has been fully explored. What startled me is how little depth he brings to the characterization, how he relies on technique and indeed trickery (i.e. increased volume) to suggest mood changes. I'd hate to judge an actor's overall worth based on one play. Yet he doesn't quite seem up to the challenges here. This is a bravura role, one that requires lightning changes, charisma, and a certain slowly simmering rage underneath a very civil public self. Dhillon is truly effective only in the last scene. Even there, it seems as if he's indicating an emotional state, not fully inhabiting it.

[Jyn326]

Posted: 10/7/14 at 3:20pm

Thank you to those who mentioned LincTix! I had never heard of that before. I got a front row seat for December.