ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
#1ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 2:47amToday is Wednesday, April the 29th, marking the official opening night performance of MTC's production of ACCENT ON YOUTH. Let us welcome TONY Award winner, David Hyde Pierece back to the boards, along with the rest of the ensemble, back to Broadway! This production, playing the Friedman, began previews on the 7th. Here's my best to the cast and crew!
nearthestage
Stand-by Joined: 1/19/09
#2re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:21am
Mike, your enthusiasm for theatre is infectious - keep it up!
Best of luck to cast and crew. Probably a silly question with the reviews I've read on the boards but; is anybody going to opening night.
#2re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 10:50ami'll be there. i got a comp and had nothing else to do and am already going to be in the city seeing Norman Conquests. i know nothing about the show so this should be fun.
BROADWAY IMPACT!
TAKE ACTION! EQUALITY!
http://www.broadwayimpact.com/
#3re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:12pmNo reviews for this yet? I can't imagine them being very good when they do start trickling in...
nearthestage
Stand-by Joined: 1/19/09
#4re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:48pm
Variety praises Pierce, seems mixed on the show itself. I'll let you folks decide.
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940157.html?categoryid=33&cs=1ide.
#5re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:49pm
Variety seems Mixed:
The Associated Press is Mixed-to-Positive:
"Older man. Younger woman. Boy, have playwrights been here before.
Yet it's amazing how much mileage playwright Samson Raphaelson got out of this well-worn plot device in "Accent on Youth," a mild comedy of manners initially seen on Broadway in 1934.
Not that Raphaelson's play is a lost masterpiece, but the revival that Manhattan Theatre Club opened Thursday at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is an amiable, minor-league diversion."
http://www.canadaeast.com/entertainment/article/651444
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#6re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:52pm
Backstage is Very Negative:
"Samuel Raphaelson's Accent on Youth is the kind of play for which the word chestnut was appropriated. No doubt titillating and somewhat sophisticated in its day, in 2009 it just creaks, groans, and lumbers its way across the stage of the former Biltmore Theatre despite the best efforts of a talented company. Manhattan Theatre Club's production proves the danger of indiscriminate archeology and engenders incredulity at the resources lavished upon it. What's next, a revival of Glad Tidings?"
http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-ny-theatre-broadway/accent-on-youth-1003967805.story
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#7re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 7:58pm
The Bergen Record is Positive:
""Accent on Youth," which opened in a revival Wednesday night at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, has something going for it that it didn?t have when it debuted on Broadway in 1934: It?s exotic.
They haven?t written debonair romantic comedies like Samson Raphaelson?s bonbon in a very long time.
The play is imperfect ? the characters? motivations don?t always make sense, and the plot takes a dubious turn ? but it?s amusing and charming, and effortlessly pushes our nostalgia buttons."
http://www.northjersey.com/entertainment/stage/accent042909.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
nearthestage
Stand-by Joined: 1/19/09
#8re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 8:12pm
AMNY gives it 2 of 4 stars...
http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/stage/blog/2009/04/theater_review_of_accent_on_yo.html
#9re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 10:09pm
The Hollywood Reporter is Negative:
"While it might play perfectly well in a nice summer stock production on Cape Cod, "Youth" lacks the comic punch to make much of an impact in a high-profile Broadway revival such as this. There are some laughs, mostly provided by Charles Kimbrough's hilarious performance as a loyal manservant who will happily resort to fisticuffs when necessary. And the supporting cast, especially Byron Jennings and Lisa Banes as Gaye's stalwart resident actors, are perfectly fine. But it's not enough to salvage a sleepy period comedy that is very likely to leave the matinee ladies dozing contentedly."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/theater-review-accent-on-youth-1003967803.story
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#10re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 10:11pm
Charles Isherwood's preview:
"Age has not exactly withered ?Accent on Youth,? a 1934 comedy by Samson Raphaelson about the storms besetting a May-December romance in the theater world. But it has not done this personable but minor play any great favors either. The dramatic question the play poses ? can a man of such advanced years reasonably and respectably hope to find love with a woman half his age? ? seems preposterous. Still, the Manhattan Theater Club revival, under the direction of Daniel Sullivan, offers cozy comforts understandably prized by a significant subset of Broadway theatergoers. Namely those for whom a couple of hours of light laughs in the presence of a likable star and some ogle-worthy period scenery will suffice for an afternoon of diversion."
(link to come)
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#11re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/29/09 at 10:14pm
Entertainment Weekly gives the show a C-:
" Ironically, the one aspect of the production that hints of youth is the one character who least requires it. David Hyde Pierce (the Spamalot veteran returning to Broadway for the first time since his Tony-winning turn in the musical Curtains) gamely plays Steven Gaye, the ambivalent bachelor writer more attached to his work than any woman. But Hyde Pierce's preternatural boyishness distracts from his effort to play a weary 'man of the world.' There's good reason that previous cinematic adaptations of the play starred Clark Gable and Bing Crosby, men whose very countenance suggested a well-worn life. Hyde Pierce possesses other gifts ? his comic timing is as sharp as ever ? but he can't shake the aura of a younger brother."
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20275630,00.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#12re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:02am
Isherwood's full NY Times review. Loved Pierce, thought the play was dated but entertaining enough, didn't like some of the supporting actors. I'd call it Mixed-Positive.
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/theater/reviews/30acce.html
#13re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:42pm
Word of Mouth is Mixed-to-Negative (with Drunk Barbara!):
http://www.broadway.com/Broadway-com-VIDEO-ON-DEMAND-Word-Of-Mouth-Reviews/broadway_information_html/5015935
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
nearthestage
Stand-by Joined: 1/19/09
#14re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 2:31pm
What the heck is she doing out in public? I don't know if she's funny or frightening or both. 
Here's a link that contains 17 or 18 review links for ACCENT. It's easier to link to their site than to copy and paste all the links. You'll have to scroll down a bit - you guys know how Broadway Stars is set up so...
https://www.broadwaystars.com/news/2009/04/30/#008573
nearthestage
Stand-by Joined: 1/19/09
#15re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 3:45pm
USA Today is Positvie - gives it three stars.
"The conundrum facing Steven Gaye, the protagonist in Accent on Youth, isn't nearly so dire. Manhattan Theatre Club's new staging of this frothy but engaging comedy (* * *) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is primarily a vehicle for David Hyde Pierce, who stars as Gaye, a middle-aged playwright inspired, creatively and otherwise, by his twentysomething secretary.
The production also is a showcase for rising actress Mary Catherine Garrison. Pierce and Garrison are period-perfect in a play first (and last) produced on Broadway in 1934. His dapper but hardly goof-proof Gaye is as endearing for his roguish behavior as for his heart of gold, while as the secretary she blossoms from a sweetly funny mouse into a perky, witty babe.
Charles Kimbrough and Rosie Benton lend winning support as a spry butler and a siren from Gaye's past. The reliable Byron Jennings and Lisa Banes pop up as actors of a certain age, while the square-jawed David Furr plays a younger thespian who isn't quite as wholesome as he seems.
Mind you, none of the dastardly deeds committed or alluded to in Accent will haunt you after the curtain falls. But in a year crowded with ambitious revivals of weighty works, there should be room for a little light entertainment."
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#16re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 4:40pm
Yay! I heart drunk Barbara!
The New York Post is Very Negative with * out of ****:
"...Rarely have material, director and cast been as mismatched as they are in the leaden Manhattan Theatre Club production that opened last night.
...
Hyde Pierce is so dour throughout that his simultaneous lifelessness is almost a relief -- it takes out some of the sting -- while Garrison, an appealing supporting performer in "Top Girls" and "Assassins," can't convincingly handle either her first-act mousy secretary or her second-act stage actress. These two never look as if they're getting any pleasure out of delivering their witticisms.
..."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302009/entertainment/theater/youth_is_wasted_166906.htm
#17re: ACCENT ON YOUTH Reviews
Posted: 4/30/09 at 4:57pmBarbara is my favorite too! If you can actually pay attention to what she's saying, she hits the nail on the head with this one.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
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