THE FRONT PAGE Previews- Page 2

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 9:13pm

The "black and white" that a show opts to save money has a black and white playbill.com logo at the bottom of its playbill, which clearly isn't the case here.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 9:24pm

Dancingthrulife2 said: "The "black and white" that a show opts to save money has a black and white playbill.com logo at the bottom of its playbill, which clearly isn't the case here.

 

"

Not on the new Playbill designs. 

[PianoMann]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 9:25pm

Dancingthrulife2 said: "The "black and white" that a show opts to save money has a black and white playbill.com logo at the bottom of its playbill, which clearly isn't the case here."

 

I don't believe this is the case: I'm currently looking at both my Cherry Orchard playbill from Saturday night and my black and white Fiddler on the Roof playbill from July, and they both have the yellow "Playbill.com" logos.

 

[10086sunset]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 9:26pm

For better or worse, the Playbill certainly grabs your attention...

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 10:10pm

The PlaybillVault image is up and it is indeed B/W. 

But nevertheless, eagerly awaiting some reviews from tonight! 

[bct14972]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 11:15pm

Saw the invited dress last night and it was in wonderful shape. Some of the most fun I've had in a Broadway theatre in a long time. Just well paced, well acted, well written fluff. The cast is all on the same page comedically, and especial praise has to go to Nathan Lane (as always) and Micah Stock, who could very well get another Tony nom for this. Won't go into too much more detail because it was the dress, but it really is ALOT of fun.

 

ALSO, Bette was in the audience!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 11:44pm

I was at the first preview tonight. I've always loved His Girl Friday- that rat-a-tat dialogue is perfection- but this was my first exposure to The Front Page. 

First off, this production looks like a million bucks. The gorgeous set is very impressive, the Ann Roth suits are fashionable and the enormous cast is double the size of past four Roundabout musical orchestras put together. 

The play is in three acts and we are lovingly treated to two intermissions. The first act is mostly dull set up, and although the pacing was already pretty snappy, especially for a first preview, they really could put it on Alvin and the Chipmunks speed so we could get to the good stuff. 

The biggest disappointment is that this is being billed as a Nathan Lane vehicle; indeed he receives the final bow, and yet Lane doesn't make an appearance until about 10 minutes are left before the second intermission. The play doesn't truly click into high gear until he arrives and that's an awfully long time for the audience to be patient for their star. It's like going to a concert and having an opening act play for hours as the restless crowd begins to wonder if there will be any time left for the main attraction. 

Lane is, of course, sublime. Hysterical to the max. I chuckled a few times before he entered, but joke, grunt, facial expression and bit of physical comedy had me guffawing in my seat. Is there a greater comedian working in the theater today? Probably not. 

Slattery is very confident and giving a strong performance. He has great chemistry with Lane. Jefferson Mays is the other standout in the cast. 

I wasn't so taken with Micah Stock's shtick. Everyone else is fine, but the parts are all quite small- almost like a parade of cameos. 

I think His Girl Friday actually improved upon the play quite a bit, and those two leading performances are some of the best in the screwball comedy catalogue. Watching The Front Page is like watching The Matchmaker after you have discovered the joys of Hello, Dolly. It's still solid, but sometimes you're left pining for the newer model. 

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 11:47pm

Hm. Guess I need to buy an actual ticket for this.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 11:56pm

Thanks for your review, Whizzer! A few questions: where did you sit/how was your seat and what was the running time, roughly? 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/20/16 at 11:59pm

I sat in the rear mezz. Great seat for the cheapest price. You really don't feel removed from the action up there. 

We got out a few minutes shy of 11pm. The first intermission was a little long and I'm sure the pacing will pick up a tad, I'd guess the runtime will settle in around 2:45/2:50. 

[mikem]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 2:09am

I was also there tonight and agree with Whizzer's assessment.  Slattery, who is the main character, doesn't show up until about 20 minutes into the play, and the beginning is very slow going.  Yes, it was the first preview, but the cast is made up of a bunch of old pros, and I think they have a handle on the material.  For the first two-thirds of the evening, there are some amusing moments, but to continue Whizzer's analogy, the evening seems stuck in 1st gear.

Then Nathan Lane finally appears an hour and forty-five minutes into the play, and all is right with the world.  The energy level bumps up tremendously, and the audience eats up his every word and gesture.  It felt a little bit like It's Only a Play in that sense, except fortunately there is no Matthew Broderick to deflate things every time he opens his mouth. The rest of the cast seemed to step up their game, too.  The last hour is really fun, but I agree with Whizzer that it's a solid evening but I don't think this production is likely to be remembered when awards season rolls around.

For those interested in the stage door:  Virtually everyone came out within half an hour, although Nathan Lane, John Goodman, and Robert Morse didn't sign at all.  Lane and Morse waved to the waiting fans, though.  I think John Slattery was the only person who came out expecting to sign for people.  Everyone else was very nice and very happy to sign, but very few people asked them to.   

Updated On: 9/21/16 at 02:09 AM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 2:24am

How was Sherie?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 7:28am

Excepting Lane, I was most excited for Sherie's return to the Great White Way. She's fine, but the role is tiny. Sherie in Front Page is the Alice Ripley in American Psycho of this season. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 7:31am

I'm so excited for this. I don't have a ticket until October 26, but now I want to go sooner!

[After Eight]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 7:56am

Slow going. The first act is interminable in its dullness, with laughter noticeable only by its absence. The second act is more of the same until Nathan Lane arrivés on the scene to inject sorely-needed vitality into the proceedings. His performance is sharp and crisp, and he brings the play to a measure of life. The third act is more animated. 

Overall, it's a long evening.

[newintown]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 8:31am

How odd, these reports that Act I is getting few laughs - The Front Page is no star vehicle; the original leads, Lee Tracy and Osgood Perkins are mostly forgotten today, and weren't particularly big names at the time of the original production - each had only one successful Broadway show to their names at the time (Tracy is seen in some very old films on TCM occasionally, and Perkins is remembered only as the father of Anthony Perkins).

The ensemble should be kicking it up - that opening scene should be a riot of rapid fire tough guy reporter tough talk. However, plays like these (including that soporific Dinner At Eight revival at Lincoln Center a while ago) seem to be very difficult for contemporary actors and directors to pull off completely. If these tales of a bland first act are true, I'd suggest that O'Brian and his boys need to really get to work during the day.

As to the comment that this cast is "double the size of past four Roundabout musical orchestras put together," I understand it's joyful hyperbole, but it's only a cast of 19; the play is actually written for a cast of 24.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 8:42am

I'm really hoping this is good. I was in the play in high school (a star turn as a kvetchy Herman Pincus) and have loved it ever since. But His Girl Friday improves on the play, giving it an unconventional love story and Howard Hawks's screwball energy.

I'm not sure the play can work as well in 2016.

[After Eight]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 9:12am

"that opening scene should be a riot of rapid fire tough guy reporter tough talk."

 

Personally, I think the whole "tough guy reporter" stereotype is one that should be laid to rest, unmourned. It was never too appealing to begin with, and I found it even more unpalatable last night. In this instance, not only is their "banter" unfunny, it's often obnoxious.

I frankly found little to enjoy in this play. I much preferred recent revivals of charming/delightful/funny plays such as The Fatal Weakness, Gigi, and Happy Birthday. I wish we could see more of those.

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 10:02am

Any news on a rush, lottery or standing room policy?

 

[Mumford67]

Posted: 9/21/16 at 9:39pm

Wish the book of the 2003 John Guare adaptation of His Girl Friday was readily available.  There have been some productions since it first premiered (for instance, in 2013 at the La Jolla in L.A.), so rights must be available. 

Interesting to note given the discussion in this thread, however,  that Guare nixed Hawk's quick intro of both Hildy and Walter and instead used The Front Page's slow intro of both.

 

 

Updated On: 9/21/16 at 09:39 PM

[Sam52]

Posted: 9/22/16 at 12:44pm

I saw the show last night.  Thought it was very well done.  It is true that Nathan Lane doesn't come on until about 9:50 but he is worth the wait as he shines like he always does!  It was a quick 3 hours in my opinion.  John Goodman is very good.  John Slattery is excellent.  The whole cast is great.  Micha Stock's accent was annoying though and I never really understood what the purpose of his character was.  Other than that it was enjoyable night and I'm glad I went to see it.

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 9/22/16 at 10:04pm

Has anyone rushed yet?

Updated On: 9/22/16 at 10:04 PM

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 9/23/16 at 12:04am

Have they announced a rush policy?

[Alex10]

Posted: 9/23/16 at 10:04am

broadwaydevil said: "Have they announced a rush policy?

 

"

A friend of mine rushed on the second day of previews. $50, subject to availability. Not sure if it's one or two tickets per person, as she got the last one they had.

[somechrysanthemumtea]

Posted: 9/23/16 at 10:47am

50$??? I'm not complaining about shows offering rush options, but there's a point where the price of rush tickets eliminates the purpose of them (cheap ways for fans to get to shows)