Brief thoughts on MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 5:38pm

It's not a good production; it's not even a hilariously bad one. It reduces one of O'Neill's best to "so what?" Updated On: 2/15/09 at 05:38 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 5:47pm

HAHAHA

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 5:49pm

I was about to say, "How could thoughts on MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA be brief?"

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 5:50pm

So, did it suck?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 5:58pm

Updated On: 2/15/09 at 05:58 PM

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 6:30pm

So what you're saying is that I should forget that I bought a ticket for this Friday on TDF and just go see something else? Or should I stick it out through the first two acts and then bail?
Updated On: 2/14/09 at 06:30 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/14/09 at 7:08pm

I really don't like Joseph Cross for some reason. I dunno...it seems to be just me but I am not a fan of his. At least on screen.

And Pheobe Strole is a very...well...interesting actress to say the least.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 12:50am

As someone who has never seen the show, is it worth seeing just so I know the play?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 1:21am

I'm so glad I decided to skip this one...

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 1:24am

I'm sorry to say that I agree with pretty much everything Yankeefan007 wrote. I actually thought the guys playing Seth and the Chantyman gave the best performances, which shows how messed up the production is, followed by Joseph Cross, who was always interesting and who really was terrific in the last sections of the play. He wasn't quite right in the earlier parts but he was still the best of the principals.

RentBoy86, I'd guess I'd say that if you can get a ticket for a low-enough price, sure, go, as long as you know that this is not a good production of the play and that you shouldn't judge the play (a problematic play, to be sure) by this production.

And as long as you're prepared to stay for the full four hours and change. Especially since it's not till the last play that there are sections when you actually think (thanks to Joseph Cross), 'Oh, maybe this play could work in a good production." Though it's also in that play (since MBE actually consists of three plays) that Jena Malone is most wrong.

Updated On: 2/15/09 at 01:24 AM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 1:36am

I can get a ticket for $14, its just a matter of if I want to spend 4 hours at a play that has gotten universally bad reviews.

[stephen3]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 1:52am

Sitting through this was awful.
This director (as previously noted) should NOT BE ALLOWED within 50 feet of a great period piece . Where was the mid 19th century manner? Where were the directing 101 rules which define beats within each of the characters and scenes? What was with the daughter's haircut...where was the play set?...Seattle circa 2001? The whole thing looks like it was directed by a first year directing student. Lili Taylor is an embarrassment in this role. Her staple line delivery is just...spew. Her acting is among the worst I have EVER seen on ANY stage (not just New York). Who thought this was a good fit??????? Some of the actors fair better, but by the time they arrive to make their contributions you are such in wide eyed jaw dropping shock at the completely misguided performances that it dilutes the rest of the performances (unfair to them) All told it was like watching a community theatre production. What was this theatre company thinking? I don't care about the money I spent on the tickets, I just wish I could get my time back. Never again will I patronize this company. They should know better. This is 4 hours+ that, trust me my friends, should be missed.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 3:17am

I agree, I kept feeling like I was watching a community theatre production or a college production (with the students supplemented by a couple of faculty members or people from the local community theatre), except that I've seen community theatre and college productions that were much better than this.

As for the period element, I do think it's tough to get behavior right. You don't want some phony idea of how people behaved in the 19th century. But in this play, right at the beginning, Seth says that all of the Mannons look as if they're wearing masks. Obviously, this tells us something about their behavior, that they hide their emotions. Yet in this production everyone's emotions couldn't have been more transparent, there was no sense at all of repression. It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder if Scott Elliot has ever read the play or even listened to it as it was rehearsed.

[bwayboy976]

Posted: 2/15/09 at 12:27pm

I saw it the other night and hated, hated, hated it. All of the performances were terrible in my mind especially Cross. I really did not like it one bit.