MERCURY FUR at The New Group- Page 2

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 7:31am

I was seated in the second row of the main floor (right behind the "on stage" seating) on the side of the theater where the audience entered. From where I was sitting, the mezzanine seats didn't look terribly partial view -- and I was told by a friend who sat in the seats that are directly above the stage area that he didn't miss anything -- but I wasn't sitting up there, so I really can't say.

As Hogan said, this play won't be for everyone. I found it fascinating and I wouldn't categorize the acting as amateur in any way. Revolori, Paul Iacono as Lola, and actor who played Darren (I don't have my playbill in front of me) were particularly strong.

There were no walkouts that I could discern at the Saturday matinee. One woman got up and left, but returned. (I'm assuming it was a trip to the bathroom). The play was not 2 hours and 20 minutes. At the performance I attended, the show started late (around 10 after) but the actual running time was only a little over 2 hours.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:11am

Debating on seeing this  or not, I am a bit curious.  Since you never know what it is going to be like in that theatre, is the stage elevated or floor level, the same as the seats? Also, can some one tell me what exactly are non traditional seats? Row C & D on the even side mention that it is a non-traditional seat such as an armchair or straight-back, so what are they bench seats?  

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:44am

There are two types of Mezzanine seats. And no, I was not comped - I BOUGHT my ticket. If I'm comped, I shut up and suck it up. 

The side mezzanine seats are fine. (One long row.) It's the ones that have three rows on risers that are the problem. Maybe someone much taller than me would have been fine but as soon as I sat down in my chair, Row E, Seat 7, more than half the stage disappeared from view. The bar was NOT the problem. 

Had I been on the side mezz seats, there would have been a bar and I would have been fine. Maybe you could've seen where I sat, but I couldn't and at least 75% of the stage DID disappear from view. Not just the offstage section, but the majority of the main stage area too. And I don't care if the ticket was only $25, that's absurd.

But hey. Go ahead and accuse me of being a liar. 

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 10:22am

I must say it was not a good show weekend for me. First I had to suffer through Taye Diggs as Hedwig and then I had the displeasure of seeing MERCURY FUR. The show was just not good. It was probably the most intense piece of theatre I've ever seen but it had about zero emotional impact. I have no problem with hyper violence if there is a reason for it but that does not exist here. After seeing the show and doing some quick Wiki research I found a review from the original London production saying that Ridley was 'turned on by his own sick fantasies' and I completely agree with that.

The plot just seemed to meander around giving you the status of this dystopian world and how it has changed. You never really understand why these things happened and whether or not they were government or nature made. There are some revelations made throughout about the characters but they don't ever go anywhere. I didn't hate the beginning as much but once The Duchess is introduced the entire tone of the piece changes and becomes pretty silly. The climactic scene was just too much and seemed to try and be shocking just for the sake of just being hyper violent.

I didn't mind the acting but it definitely ran the gamut from great (Tony Revolori and Paul Iacono) to pretty bad (almost everyone else).

There have been numerous comments about the seating. I was in the mezzanine in the single rows which I guess is preferably but you're going to miss one wall of the set based on which side you're on. I can't say anything to iluv's view but it seemed like the people seated on the mezz ends were not pleased and mostly all moved. The onstage seating seems more of a gimmick than anything because it's just pieces of furniture that are flat to the set. Behind that there are a few levels on risers made up of primarily regular seating with some non-traditional chairs throughout. 

At the performance I saw at least 7 people walked out (a few of which didn't even get there until maybe 20 mins in). One exit was extremely awkward because the woman had to leave the floor seating area through the main door where the actors enter and exit.

This is definitely a love it or hate it show that won't have anyone with opinions in between. I was very much looking forward to it but really disliked it.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 10:25am

There are people on the other board who sat in my section also complaining.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 10:30am

@Luv2go, so far as I saw, the nontraditional seats were upholstered seats like one might find in a shabby living room in the front row plus a few scatter chairs that were like those one might find at a kitchen table. 

@iluv, my apology. I assumed you were referring to the side seats that cannot see the set wall on the same side or the column walls on the side by the door out onto the terrace. What you are saying then is that the rake of the seats in your section were such that, at least at a certain height, the rail wall was blocking the view. I agree that's unacceptable and I now understand it isn't a comment on the set design at all, but simply on the inadequate elevation of at least some of those rows. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 10:48am

I was seated in a "non-traditional seat" which was like a dining room chair with arms. The on stage seating included several couches and living room chairs, as Hogan said, in addition to other furniture. The seat was perfectly fine and comfortable enough -- certainly no less comfortable than your average theater seat.

BTW, The New Group is running a discount through their Facebook page where all seats (except the on-stage seating) is $25 for performances through 8/18. This is a good way to see the show and avoid a potentially partial-view mezzanine seat. The code is MFBOOK.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 10:58am

Thanks for your reply, Hogan. Yes, the rake is TERRIBLE. I even tried moving back to the third raked row and it was STILL quite bad. 

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 12:30pm

I LOVED IT... though I am completely disturbed by it. Not sure how anyone can be surprised the New Group would produce this... it seems to me that their one and only goal is to produce theatre that is controversial. 

Anyway, I saw this last night and found it fascinating, intense, and groundbreaking. The sets, the staging, the lighting, the acting were all brilliant!!! There are a few plot holes that leave you wondering how the apocalypse happened... but I felt like the piece was much more about the depths that people will go to when they have no other choices, and whether it is better to kill yourself or those you love or go on in living in horrendous situations. I think it's an important question that people have been asking more and more lately. If the apocalypse actually happened, would you kill your loved ones or let them be raped and tortured? The play is primal and seeks to study the primal aspects of man.

About twenty people walked out of the theatre thirty minutes into the piece when one of the boys asks another boy if they can jack each other off. Within a second or two a bunch of people just got up and left. Same thing used to happen at Spring Awakening during the jack off scene so that's no surprise to me. 

I think this is a courageous production and you need to form your own opinion on it, so I recommend NOT missing it, though like many have mentioned above it is not for the faint. It's not for those people that like to pretend that the horrors of the world don't exist because you'll be asked to face them head on in this play.

 

[Pippin]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 12:58pm

Saw the Sunday matinee (August. 9) in the mezz right by the tech table. It was a better view, I would imagine, than where theatretrash was seated, which I assume was the section above the two doors, seated across from the windows on the set. I could see almost everything, though floor seating would have been preferred. 

 

 

I'm in the mixed camp. I was captivated and wanted to know how everything was going to end. The acting was pretty uneven, and screwed young. I didn't buy any of the stakes that were being presented. I also was entertained at first with the entrance of the Duchess, but after a few moments, did not understand the point of her character. 

 

 

The play certainly seemed to have shock value for the sake of shock value, and I would've appreciated a little bit more exposition being fit in there, but I didn't hate it. 

 

 

I actually think it would be much better as a film, a'la "Children of Men", or "The Road" - something to show the real grittiness of the world. In the film, we could also be taken into the minds of the characters while they are on the drugs, and expercience their flashbacks. 

 

 

If you are on the fence, still go see it. It's destined to be the most polarizing show of the season, and it certainly is different. 

[artifact11]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 5:03pm

I had a seat in what I thought would be on the aisle in the second row in a non-traditional seat, and it was physically one of the worst experiences in a theatre I have ever had- it was a flat seat you might find in an elementary school with one side against a wall which partially obstructed my view of one part of the stage.  I felt like virtually a prisoner, surrounded by other seats which made legroom sparse, and my rear end wept from the non-existence of padding.  I was desperate for the play to end and it simply would not.  And this was a $75 seat- not the matinee of good theatre I had hoped for.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 5:08pm

"A prisoner" is exactly how I'd explain it. Absolutely EXCRUCIATING. 

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 8:17pm

Many orchestra seats are wooden chairs with hard backs, the kind of chair I couldn't sit on for more than 15 minutes without developing aches/pains.  The mezzanine seats are even worse, with either a bar or the wall obstructing your view unless you contort your body to lean over the railing.  Many people walked out of the performance. It runs about 2 hours 18 minutes. 

Excruciatingly bad.  I wasn't shocked at anything they showed - these were things we've all seen 100 times before, done so much better in other shows.  This is simply a boring show that tries to be shocking, and fails miserably.  Save your time and money unless you want to be subjected to 2 hours 18 minutes of sitting in a hard wooden chair or a mezzanine seat with little to no view.

What's shocking is that someone actually decided to go through with this and put this on a New York stage.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 8:36pm

"Many orchestra seats are wooden chairs with hard backs, the kind of chair I couldn't sit on for more than 15 minutes without developing aches/pains.  The mezzanine seats are even worse, with either a bar or the wall obstructing your view unless you contort your body to lean over the railing."

It sounds so beautiful and immersive.

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:00pm

Thanks HogansHero & everyone else who responded in regards to the seating.  

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:02pm

gorgeous!  so immersive.  but not engaging.  maybe the actors will get their footing more.

 

I sat in the mezz and my seat was fine.  I was on the single aisle side of the mezz... so I completely lost the sliding glass door and windows side of the room.  but i didnt miss any action.

 

If you sat on the other mezz side too, i bet its fine.  Its the 3 row mezz section that sucks.  the divider wall is way to tall.  but i bet they fix it.

 

 

A photo posted by David Goldstein (@davidgoldsteindesigns) on Aug 9, 2015 at 11:14am PDT

Updated On: 8/10/15 at 09:02 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:11pm

stevennyc hated the show and has taken his hatred out on the facts.

The show was reported here to be 2:05. when i saw it, it started 11 minutes late and ended 2:04 later so I assume Steven counts a late start in computing the running time. 

Most of the seats in the orchestra are the signature's stock. There are a few dining room/kitchen type chairs plus the aforementioned upholstered chairs. 

3 people walked out of the performance I saw, one returned after presumably going to the restroom. 

Obviously, some of us liked the show more than steven, some a lot more. It's hard to say if everyone who didn't like the show didn't like the seating and vice versa so there is a chicken and egg issue. 

Bottom line:

If you are inclined to see the show, obviously you should see it. Although it could use some trimming in a few spots, I did not find it boring at all and I thought most of the performances exceptional. It is the sort of show haters are gonna hate. If you don't like feral post-apocalyse teens or general creepiness, stay away. If worried about seating and sight lines, sit in the orchestra even numbered  rows C and D. 

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:18pm

2 hours 6 minutes + a very unprofessional 12 minute late start = 2 hours 18 minutes total.

Updated On: 8/10/15 at 09:18 PM

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 9:45pm

Right, Steve, but the RUN TIME of the production is different from the amount of time before the time printed on the ticket and when it ended. 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 11:14pm

Don't get me wrong... I LOATHED it. But my run time was somewhere between 2:05 and 2:10. Not that it's all that much shorter. 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 11:15pm

Also, I really dig dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. And I don't mind gore or "general creepiness" at all. I don't think those are the elements that should keep people away, but rather the amateur writing and the uneven performances.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 11:16pm

I definitely sat in C6 I think... and it was probably the best seat in the house... I did think to myself that I would not want to be seating in some of the other uncomfortable seats. Also... some people had to sit in old dirty couches... which made me think of bed bugs and got me really scared... overall it really sets the mood but everyone knows that you don't mess with comfortable seating when you're audience is subscription based lol. 

I think a lot of the criticism above is valid, but I just didn't have time to consider any of that because I was so involved with the story. I thought it was fascinating!

Also... audience members have to LITERALLY cross the stage to get to their seats so holding for 12 minutes is probably a good option lest people try to cross the stage once the play starts... also the first five to ten minutes of the show take place in complete darkness... so that would be even worse... they definitely need to hold for 12. Holding for 7 minutes seems to be the standard... so what is 5 minutes more?

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 8/10/15 at 11:28pm

PS I've loved so many of recent shows by The New Group - The Spoils, Rasheeda Speaking, Burning and even Clive (which many people hated).  Rasheeda Speaking and Burning are still engraved in my mind, I loved them so much.  They've done such great work in the past, which is why this total misfire is especially disappointing.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:13am

@Madonna-good point about the latecomers. From a safety standpoint no one could be allowed in once the lights go down.

@steve-one of the givens is that sometimes we like, and sometimes we don't. As you recognize, some people hated shows you liked (and add Burning to that because we had plenty of hate here on that one too), and some like or even love this show that you hated. I think that makes everything more interesting. 

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 8/11/15 at 12:24am

"If you don't like feral post-apocalyse teens or general creepiness, stay away."

They should use that as a pull quote.