ARCADIA - First Preview
ARCADIA - First Preview
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
ARCADIA - First Preview#1
Posted: 2/26/11 at 12:28pmTo cast, crew and creatives - break a leg, and express it as an iterated algorithm! Anyone attending tonight?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
ARCADIA - First Preview#2
Posted: 2/26/11 at 6:33pmIt's not until 8.
ARCADIA - First Preview#3
Posted: 2/26/11 at 6:36pmIt was amazing. The cast was on fire. The show is fantastic. Everyone had a great time up there on the stage. The stage door was crazy. The show curtain was red. The house was about 70% filled. I got a discount. Someone texted during Act Two. An Usher said the show was 2 hours 45 minutes but it ran more like 3. Twizzlers were sold at intermission. Raul Esparza got entrance applause. Billy Crudup got entrance applause, too. I saw a semi-Broadway celebrity in the theater. The show got a standing ovation.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
ARCADIA - First Preview#5
Posted: 2/26/11 at 7:50pmDoes anyone know who the understudies are?
ARCADIA - First Preview#6
Posted: 2/26/11 at 8:03pmI'm SO grateful to know there will be Twizzlers. I couldn't have gone otherwise.
ARCADIA - First Preview#7
Posted: 2/26/11 at 8:09pmWhat about the show curtain??
ARCADIA - First Preview#9
Posted: 2/26/11 at 8:40pm
My bad. 
I guess I was laughing so hard I missed that line.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
ARCADIA - First Preview#10
Posted: 2/26/11 at 8:51pmWhat was the stage door like? Who signs?
ARCADIA - First Preview#11
Posted: 2/26/11 at 9:04pmAt the stage door, Billy spat in my face, Raul punched me in the gut, and Margaret Colin gave me her number and told me to call for a good time. No one else came out.
ARCADIA - First Preview#12
Posted: 2/26/11 at 9:28pmThat Raul Esparza, what a bitch.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
ARCADIA - First Preview#13
Posted: 2/26/11 at 9:42pmWhat's the merch like?
ARCADIA - First Preview#14
Posted: 2/26/11 at 9:54pmOk, that, I actually want to know. Not that I have free wall space.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
ARCADIA - First Preview#15
Posted: 2/26/11 at 10:00pm
Someone told me that they're selling books of Byron's poetry--personally autographed by the author. Don't know for sure.
ARCADIA - First Preview#16
Posted: 2/26/11 at 10:07pmIs anyone nude in the show?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
ARCADIA - First Preview#18
Posted: 2/26/11 at 10:23pm
Did John Gallagher Jr. come out?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
ARCADIA - First Preview#19
Posted: 2/26/11 at 10:34pmDoes the tortoise have an understudy? Is the tortoise above the title?
ARCADIA - First Preview#20
Posted: 2/26/11 at 11:21pm
There were a LOT of people who wanted refunds tonight. I heard that a ton of complaints were made from people (of all ages) that they couldn't hear a single word. I was in the mezz and didn't have this problem but I heard someone say that they were going to have to let all these people come back for another show.
The show itself is ok. Honestly, I'm not a big Stoppard fan and was hoping that this play which everyone calls his masterpiece would change my mind about him. What it did was remind me of one of my favorite films POSESSION if it were combined with PROOF, both of which I enjoyed a lot more. I'm sure a lot of people will absolutely love this production (because they genuinely do or because they want to appear "smart") so I'm not counting on anyone really agreeing with me on this but what the hell. On my way to the loo during the interval though, I heard a lot of people either complaining they couldn't hear anything or saying they had no idea what was going on. The latter is my common experience during a Stoppard intermission.
ARCADIA - First Preview#21
Posted: 2/26/11 at 11:37pmHow are the performances?
ARCADIA - First Preview#22
Posted: 2/26/11 at 11:46pm
I saw it tonight and think I'll be letting it sink in for a bit. I really liked the structure of the play going back and forth between the two time periods, and how you got to put together what was happening with the characters. The second act really locked into place, especially (spoiler?) as the two sets of characters began to share the stage. Definitely a slow burn, but a worth while one if you have the patience for it.
Billy Crudup made the strongest impression as Nightingale, and watching him blunder in act 2 was a lot of fun. Raul was a little more subdued than I'm used to seeing him, but he had some nice moments too. His accent seemed a little vague at times, but he can work that out during previews. David Turner was fun as the scorned poet and Tom Riley was a dashing Septimus.
Lia Williams had to grow on me a little bit as Hannah, but by the end I really liked her. I think she just had to get comfortable with the audience and find her rhythm, but hey it's a first preview!
The production is sparse, almost reminding me of the set to the recent Sunday in the Park revival. In fact when the show curtain went up (yes there is one for all you who need to know) that's what came to mind. Everything is white except the table and two chairs, and an easel in the back holding the prospectus drawing of the new garden.
For as much as some people complain about Stoppard being too dense, boring or hard to follow, I thought the actors found many laughs in the material and I never got lost with the action. I went tonight on a whim when I heard they had rush seats, but I already had tickets for Wednesday and I'm kind of glad I'm seeing it again so soon. For me it was like a movie I watch once, think about for a few days, and then want to rewatch because it keeps bouncing around inside my head.
ARCADIA - First Preview#23
Posted: 2/26/11 at 11:49pmI wish the best for this production, but I'd much rather see another revival of THE REAL THING. THAT is Stoppard's masterpiece.
ARCADIA - First Preview#24
Posted: 2/26/11 at 11:56pmI agree IdinaBellFoster. Arcadia is actually my LEAST favorite Stoppard play (next to Rock 'n' Roll at least). Nothing can touch The Real Thing.
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