Tonight is the opening night of the 5th Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the second production of a Arthur Miller classic this season brought to us by producer Scott Rudin and director Ivo van Hove! Starring Olivier nominee Ben Whishaw, Tony Award winner Sophie Okonedo, Ciaran Hinds, Two-Time Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, Tony Award winner Jim Norton, & more!
They have great pull quotes from The Hollywood Reporter:
"mesmerizingly acted new production"
"Saoirse Ronan, icy and commanding in her first stage appearance"
"Tavi Gevinson... continues to emerge as a remarkably instinctive actor"
"the wonderful Jim Norton"
"Ciaran Hinds' imperious Deputy Governor Danforth... sends a chill into the air from the moment he strides onto the stage"
"As strong as the ensemble is, the indispensable anchoring forces are Whishaw and Okonedo, both of them devastating... the actor brings stirring truth to Proctor"
"the original score by Philip Glass... contributes to the production's ever-tightening noose"
"Also tremendously effective is Versweyveld's unforgiving lighting and Tom Gibbons' creepy sound"
neonlightsxo said: "Pleased to see the critics came out on the right side on this. TotallyEffed, go spout your anti Van Hove nonsense somewhere else.
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Pretty sure TotallyEffed has been pretty even-handed about van Hove's work. He just didn't like this production. I didn't either. And neither did some other people. It's misguided, overblown, and inconsistently acted. There are things to appreciate about it, for me, but I'm honestly shocked it's been as well-received by the critics as it has.
I second the position that my largely negative reaction to this production does not represent my attitude to Van Hove. I thought VIEW was one of the most extraordinary experiences I have had in decades of theater going. CRUCIBLE simply wasn't. And I, too, am surprised that the critics loved it, only because I found so little in it that worked. For me.
Hove appears to be the new critics darling. He apparently can do no wrong in their eyes. For now, he is the flavor of the month. If you like something and the critics agree, they came out on the right side. If they do not agree with you than they did not. I have not paid attention to critics even when they were relevant. We see something and move on to the next show.
Ivo van Hove has been creating highly acclaimed productions in New York for 20 years; on the international theater scene, he's been working since the late 1970s. He is not a "flavor of the month." Just because he hasn't been on Broadway before doesn't mean he suddenly came out of nowhere.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
TotallyEffed said in the previews thread that Ivo didn't understand the play. That is the comment I am addressing. It's not fair to make such sweeping assertions or to call the direction "misguided" just because you didn't like it. You can say you didn't like it, that's fine, but to state your opinions as fact when many prominent critics disagree is actually what's misguided.
The strength of these reviews I think means the production is now in a position of being nominated for several Tony Awards. Whislaw? Okenado? Ronan? What else? A revival nom seems certain. Can Ivo Van Hove be nominated twice for director in the same category?
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
Thanks Jeffrey for pointing that out. I suspect we may see that happen again for Van Hove this season. I think he actually will win for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
Although Ivan Van Howe has been around a long time, it is only recently he has gained such attention and prominence.
Surprised this has got a Critic Pick, the New York Times seems to give everything a critic pick at the moment. Ben Brantley loved The Crucible which he saw it at the Old Vic, with Richard Armitage that played 2 years ago, thought this would come to New York, but didn't. Included the review, for your own delectation.