APPROPRIATE Previews

Sarah Paulson returns to Broadway in the new play Appropriate, beginning previews tomorrow night (November 29) at the Helen Hayes Theatre, before a December 18 opening. Joining her are Elle Fanning (in her Broadway debut), Corey Stoll, Graham Campbell, Lincoln Cohen, Michael Esper, Natalie Gold, Alyssa Emily Marvin, and Everett Sobers. Appropriate — written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Lila Neugebauer — plays a limited run through February 11.

“It’s summer, the cicadas are singing, and the Lafayette family has returned to their late patriarch’s Arkansas home to deal with the remains of his estate. Toni, the eldest daughter, hopes they’ll spend the weekend remembering and reconnecting over their beloved father. Bo, her brother, wants to recoup some of the funds he spent caring for Dad at the end of his life. But things take a turn when their estranged brother, Franz, appears late one night, and mysterious objects are discovered among the clutter. Suddenly, long-hidden secrets and buried resentments can’t be contained, and the family is forced to face the ghosts of their past.”

Who’s going?

Purposely haven't read reviews from the Off-Broadway production but super curious about this.  Break a leg tonight

I saw a semi-professional production of this play a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to hearing reports from this production.

Brought this play with me to read on vacation after seeing Signature’s fab The Comeuppance this past summer. Read two pages, and my friend said “Oh isn’t that about to go to Broadway?” And immediately put it down knowing I’d see it in person.

Love me some BJJ. Can’t wait for this. 

Dan6 said: "Has anyone seen this? Previews started on Wednesday and I’m eagerly awaiting reactions from the reliable usual suspects."

There are a few reports on Show-Score, trending extremely positive.

I saw this in previews this week. Paulson is terrific. It also mostly did not feel like an early preview.

I thought the text and pacing are fine. The problem is it's a 3 act play and they removed one of the intermissions. It's (as of now) only a few mins short of 3 hours long and yet the only intermission is after a 55min Act One. They need to put the second intermission back in the show. It is too much information at once and Act Two is not able to fully make an impact because we head straight into Act Three. The mind starts to wander after too long.

Thought this was outstanding overall, and am very excited to go back later in the run. It's sort of a demented parody of Foote's Dividing the Estate or Letts' August: Osage County, with BJJ's typical snarling nastiness upping the stakes to truly absurd degrees of cruelty. There's almost a Real Housewives or Jerry Springer quality to the amount of debasement we have to watch these characters go through: it's both delicious and genuinely upsetting.

The second act is a long sit, but I think the way the payoff happens is satisfying and I was never bored. There is no actual act 3 in the play, for the record, only additional scenes in act 2. Definitely expect this in heavy competition come awards season, particularly for Paulson and Natalie Gold. The set is excellent, and the whole production feels higher budget than most of the 2nd Stage offerings we've had at the Hayes.

Updated On: 12/4/23 at 12:25 PM

Ticket sold.

Updated On: 12/10/23 at 02:13 PM

For anyone who has seen it in the past few days about how long is the show running now? Has it tightened past the 2:55 mentioned earlier?

Yes.  Tuesday show started at 7:05.  Was walking out by 9:45.   1 intermission.  Act 2  (Acts 2  & 3) longer than 1st.   The second act drags until last 30 minutes.

Don't sit on left side of the theater.  Director/designers lack of forethought have created viewing issues of set/actors.. Sit center/right or right to see whole set and action.

Show has too many endings.  Director hasn't figured out how to present & time last 3 minutes of the show well yet.  

Updated On: 12/10/23 at 05:03 PM

CoffeeBreak said: "Don't sit on left side of the theater. Director/designers lack of forethought have created viewing issues of set/actors.. Sit center/right or right to see whole set and action."

Good to know! Would you recommend orchestra or mezzanine?

Saw it last night. Runtime was about 2:40. Really powerful performances here from the whole cast. Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll absolutely deserve nominations. I'd love to see Natalie Gold snag a nom too as she brings some FIRE. And I expect Alyssa Emily Marvin to be a strong leading actress in a few years as well.

As a whole, the show is richly layered and I imagine will land differently depending on one's perspective, age, and background. It could have easily become a heavy-handed "woke" show but instead allows the characters to interact organically while addressing the issues within the show. It allows the audience to discuss the issues of the show with one another using the content as a starting point and not the conclusion.

If you're a fan of high-caliber human drama then this is a must-see.

Too on the nose because it’s true?

Strange question:

So how do you pronounce the title of this play?

With a long a sound in the last syllable, like the verb? As in "Please do not appropriate my culture."

Or like the adjective? As in "That is not an appropriate outfit for this occasion."

Every time I go to say the title of this play out loud, I stumble and second guess myself...