After Miss Julie- Page 2

[Sauja]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 12:51am

Count me among the impressed. And surprised. The first half sort of lulls you into a sense of comfort that proves quite false. The second half had enough hairpin turns to keep the performers on their toes. For me, that resulted in a surprising, disturbing, engaging night at the theater.

Sienna Miller had me nervous at first--all coy flirtation and affected mannerisms. I worried about what would happen when the going (inevitably) got tougher. But once she dug in, it was quite mesmerizing.

Have to agree with the person who called Marin Ireland the weak link. Another surprise. And she is still quite good overall, but her accent (Irish? British? Southern?) was incredibly distracting.

There are inconsistencies and some moments that really need to be adjusted so as not to land laughs, but for a first preview? Very good stuff. I expect opinion to be sharply divided. Some will find the first half insufferably boring. Others will find the second half overwraught and silly. But it held together for me. I'd call it three stars out of four. And a really wonderful debut for Sienna Miller.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 10:42am

In regard to posting this three times, I apologize. I just wanted to get my immediate thoughts out right after the show so I did it on my phone. And then it reloaded the page three times in error. Lo and behold, it was not in error at all. Again, my apologies. At least you all figured out that you should only post on one.

Now... the show. I thought it was excellently done. I was very surprised. Marber's adaptation focuses more on the effect that power has. What does power mean? Where does it stem from? How much can it be bent until it breaks? And what is that breaking point? It's shown beautifully in a scene where Miss Julie orders John to kiss her shoe immediately after toasting his class. However, because the focus is so firmly on power and class, it makes everything else addressed in the play seem rushed and muddled. It volleys back and forth with melodrama quite a few times and it seemed inconsistent. Brokaw's direction didn't mend this flaw.

Sienna Miller makes an exceptionally strong debut. She starts out a little rough in the beginning, not really knowing how to carry herself or say the lines without sounding forced. But once she gets into the meat of the role (about 15 minutes in), she is superb. A very subtly nuanced performance. That will need to be broadened, as it works for film but not so much for live theatre. From fourth row center orchestra, though, it was excellent. Her transition from the first half to the second was a little jarring, but it will be smoothed out in the preview period.

Jonny Lee Miller was also great. Having never seen him in anything, I had no expectations. But he was indeed great. What I loved about him was that he made the moments where he wasn't speaking just as imperative to pay attention to as the moments where he was. What I mean is that what he wasn't saying was just as important as what he was saying. He suffers the most in the sections where the writing and direction are wonky. Like Miss Julie, John switches so quickly from one emotion to another that it gets ridiculous. But that is not the fault of the actor. It is so clearly the playwright and the director.

Marin Ireland, as others have said, fares the worst. I have the same problem with her in this as I did in RTBP. She's cartoony. She just can't seem to make a realistic choice. This trait is particularly evident in her first scene where her and John are talking. Not only that, but her accent is... atrocious. It needs the most work of anything in this production. Someone buy her a dialect CD, please. But her performance got better in the second half. What she does well is anger. And I was one of the many who applauded her exit. Not because of what she said to the other two or because I was happy she was gone, but because she finally got it.

The pacing needs a lot of tightening. I enjoyed the long stretches of pause just because, without it, we wouldn't be able to see into the minds of the characters. It took a cue from its naturalistic roots and made us view life instead of listening to a character tell us what they were feeling. I liked that. But the pacing elsewhere is kind of like a rollercoaster. Right on one second and lagging the next. It should move at a breakneck pace. And it will. I'm sure of that. But, overall, a truly electric production and a wonderful Broadway debut.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 11:10am

I've got to disagree. I think Miller fares the best early on when she's playing the flouncy, sexy snob. When she "gets serious," it's an awful mess.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 12:53pm

I'm in no position to comment on this production, as I haven't seen it yet (if I see it at all). However, at least in the Strindberg original, I don't think Julie is meant to be certifiably crazy from the get go -- she's definitely a neurotic, at odds with her situation and particularly her sexuality and at the end, she has no choice but to kill herself. Both sadism and masochism are part of her twisted makeup. Somewhat akin to Hedda Gabler, although they're two totally different characters. IMO.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 11:38pm

I saw the matinee today and was really bored at first, but ended up actually enjoying it. I agree with most of the comments that have already been said...

The pacing was my biggest problem with this. They really have to do something about the first Act. Way too dull. The poor woman next to me was asleep from the first second, lol. And I didn't really get into it until the end of that scene / the end of the night. The rest I enjoyed.

Everyone gives fine performances. Jonny was solid throughout. Yes, Marin's accent sounds weird, but it didn't really bother me. Sienna was great. I've never seen her in an major film role before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but she impressed me a lot. She did seem to go over-the-top at the end (maybe the director's fault?), but I actually liked it. And I didn't mind the laughter either.

[vodkastinger]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 1:11am

I saw the show tonight, with admittedly low expectations. I have never really been a fan of Roundabout's productions I have seen (Sunday is an exception, but it also had very little creatively to do with RTC).

I was thoroughly impressed. I thought the show was fully engaging from beginning to end and was a gritty human drama that felt fresh, and relatable, despite the source material being 125 years old. The three cast members were each superb, and I will disagree with others on here, as I found Ireland to go scene-to-scene with her co-stars.

It certainly wasn't life-changing, nor among the top tier of shows I have seen. However, it is certainly better than most of the vapid material that makes it to Broadway.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 1:17am

I had no idea who Sienna Miller was going into this production, and I LOVED her.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 1:31am

I also saw it tonight. I was not expecting much. I actually enjoyed it for the most part, especially when the drama started taking off. The ending puzzled me though. The performances were overall strong. Certainly worth $10 !

[Blair]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 1:56am

I saw the matinee today (well, now yesterday) and I very much enjoyed it. I agree with vodkastinger...it's wasn't life changing, but I still had a great afternoon at the theatre.

I've always thought that Sienna Miller is an extremely underrated actress (watch Interview--she's wonderful opposite Steve Buscemi), and I'm glad that she might actually get the credit she deserves for a very strong Broadway debut. I absolutely loved her performance.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/20/09 at 2:00am

I agree with most of what's been said here. I thought the beginning was dreadfully slow- that first scene is very boring, but things do pick up. I did not enjoy the long pauses where nothing happened, either. Didn't mind the change in Sienna's performance in the last minutes, though the out of place laughter certainly made things awkward. Not a horrible show, but not great, either. Definitely worth the $10 I paid, but I'm not sure I need to go back and pay more.

[boonanas]

Posted: 9/21/09 at 4:40pm

I saw this on the Sunday matinee and it was better than expected. I can't recommend it but it was worth $10. Yes, there are a lot of weird moments where nothing is happening but I think it's necessary. Also, Sienna Miller was definitely a lot better than I thought she would be. She shines in the second half. I think this play should be called *Spoilers* Crazy Bitch

I stayed around afterwards and got a picture with Jonny Lee Miller who was really nice. Sienna came out for a second and signed a few things but that's it.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 9/21/09 at 4:56pm

I didn't really get why Marber felt like this needed updating. Much of the dialogue felt as if it had been lifted directly from the translation of Miss Julie that I read a few years back. Perhaps it makes more sense for a British audience. I loved Marin's performance, especially the extended sections without dialogue. She also had a more consistent accent than Sienna Miller.