All My Sons Previews - Page 2

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 11:24pm

^I fully agree with this assessment, Whizzer. Would you agree with me that this seems to make Waverly Gallery the frontrunner for Best Revival?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 11:32pm

bjh, I’ve always enjoyed reading your thoughts. Too bad we didn’t meet up tonight to say hello! It seems like we are on the same page with our thoughts on this one.

Holmes certainly wasn’t up to the task in the last revival, but the supporting cast featuring the likes of Becky Ann Baker was strong, and I enjoyed Lithgow and Wiest; both revivals were flawed in their own way.

I think revival will be between Waverly Gallery and Burn/This. Personally, I would vote for the latter although I wasn’t 100% head over heels (forgive me) about any of the revivals this season.

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 11:52pm

I was there also and reading the two comments above seem to ring true to me. Nice set, decent acting but missing something. Good to see Annette Bening on stage once again.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 12:07am

Admittedly, I'm not an Arthur Miller fan, but I keep trying to see his work and learn what I'm missing. All My Sons, tonight, was a mixed bag....a bland production with a lot of unrealized potential.

Jack O'Brien does not get in the way of the production, but that's part of the problem. He needs to. This play desperately calls out for a director with a vision for the play....something for the actors and the audience to latch onto. Several times, I thought to myself that the poor actors could have used a director, any director, even me (and I don't direct).

Fully 1/2 the play is bland....mildly interesting, but rather dull. Bening gets better as the play proceeds into Acts 2&3, although none of the cast earn the ending, especially Letts, who sort of starts at bluster and hasn't really anywhere to go.

Maybe his choices will adjust as time goes on. He's talented enough, that I think he will get there and Bening will find something in Act 1 to hang her hat on, as well.

Benjamin Walker overacted a little, but I think he'll be very good as the first preview jitters subside.

The set is quite nice. Roundabout usually does well with their sets and this doesn't disappoint. I agree with Whizzer that the memorial tree is rather lacking.

The supporting cast remembered their lines.. Other than that, the less said, the better. I hope they find their way. They certainly don't lack talent. They lack a director with vision and the ability to overcome some of Miller's 'preachiness' that diminish what should be an emotional build-up in Act 3, but just sort of sits there.

This is not terrible, by any stretch, but it's not the emotionally resonant piece I had hoped for.

[Skip23]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 2:07am

Nice to have some solid reviewers on this site. Whizzer and bjh included. one may or may not agree with them but they state their cases clearly without pedantics. Bravo/a.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 8:47am

As others have said, great and thoughtful reviews as always, its appreciated! As someone who has never seen or read All My Sons, would this be a good production to experience it for the first time? The play sounds sooooo intriguing to me. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 9:21am

If you rush it or use hiptix then it’s fine to see. As has been noted, it’s a straightforward and bland production, but professional and watchable; bland, but watchable- the pull quote of one’s dreams! 

[NJGUY]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 1:00pm

Went last night as well.  Been going to the theater for over 50 years and I would say that this is a solid production of a well-structured mid-twentieth century play. Is it innovative? Not at all. I thought Annette Bening was the highlight, maybe because I like her film work and I did see her in Coastal Disturbances a few decades ago.  Not a fan of the guy who played George and interesting seeing Michael Hayden who played Chris about 30 years ago, now play the doctor next door. Tracy Letts was fine, yet not overly subtle in his line delivery.  Agree that Benjamin Walker gave a solid performance, yet I have never seen him do bad work.  To me (and to the three other who I attended with), we all thought it was GOOD theater.  Hats off to Natasha Katz's lighting (could give spoilers, yet wont)  Was in the mezzanine and it got a standing ovation.  Many people were giving it positive comments as we were leaving.  If you have not seen this play before, then you wouldn't go wrong seeing this production.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 1:18pm

I’m excited to see it, as I’ve never seen a production or read the text.

Did anyone happen to go to the stage door? Curious if Bening comes out.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 7:53am

ct2nyc - I just saw your message but for some reason this dumb app doesn’t let me reply to messages! I would love to say hello! Do you have Instagram? If so, my username is n2nbaby on there, shoot me a message! :)

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 9:28am

I would go only for Bening. I've seen countless productions, including a muted but stellar one in London with Rosemary Harris. I would return more readily if I learned something new was excavated rather than just a solid rendering. That sounds negative, but we all have only so many theater dollars, and revisiting well-known material generally requires some anticipated artistic factor.   

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 11:04pm

Just got out of the show and it was good. I didn't read this thread until after Act I was done and while I agree with it overall, other details I didn't think were that bad. I would also like to note that I have not seen All My Sons (or any Miller play) before so I might miss some stuff.


Obviously, Benjamn Walker is the highlight of shows, giving a fantastic performance. He definitely has that country charm down and is great to watch.


Most of the rest of the cast, while having their moments, were just fine. I've heard of Annette Bening before, but I don't know, I just expected more from her being such a praised actor. She got an ovation from the first time she walked in and while I thought she was good (and had a few great moments, especially in Act II and III), I wasn't wowed. Same with Tracy Letts and the rest of the cast, nothing wrong just nothing remarkable. Well minus Hampton Fluker as George.


I totally agree he made some odd choices for the role, like I'm not familiar with this show, but a lot of his acting feels so different from how he's set up. He gradually gets better over Act II, but his entrance seriously felt like he was acting the role as if played by a nervous high school actor who's never been on stage. From his mannerisms, to his suit looking a size too big, to even mumbling his first few lines. That's just odd because he's had other roles before, so I don't think he's nervous. I get maybe he was trying to act neurotic, but the choices he made for that did not work for me.


Still overall, I liked the show. I got to see it thanks to Access10 so even as I couldn't see the whole stage (which was only the garden on the left, which nothing happens there, thank god), this show was totally worth $10. Maybe not full Broadway price, maybe if you are dying to see these big names, but yeah that's just me.

Updated On: 4/7/19 at 11:04 PM

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 4/7/19 at 2:24pm

Also question for anyone familiar with the play (which is a spoiler for Act III)

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

After Ann hands Joe the letter she got from Larry before he killed himself, how long is Joe suppose to look at it? When Tracy Letts read it last night, he seem to read it for awhile, like around a solid minute. It felt like someone was suppose to say something, but someone forgot their line. Seriously, I was getting second hand embarrassment because I felt someone massively screwed up (I mean it's still in previews so it's not horrible, but still). The next person to say something was Chris so is that how the play goes? Is it in the script to hold for that long?

 

[3NU]

Posted: 4/7/19 at 8:02pm

I saw this afternoon's matinee. For context: This is the first live performance I've seen of any Arthur Miller play. I was introduced to Miller's writing in high school, when I read The Crucible, but I absolutely fell in love with his plays when I started reading more of them while serving on a play reading committee a couple of years back. While I consider All My Sons to be among his most approachable works, I never quite found it to be up to the level of his other plays, writing-wise. I was hoping, though, that a good cast could really elevate the material.

That is not the case (at least for now) with this production. The biggest problem I found was that -- with the exception of Annette Bening (and perhaps also Jenni Barber) -- none of the characters truly inhabited their roles. I felt very aware the whole time that I was watching a group of actors perform a story rather than live that story out. Most of the actors' characterizations felt either inconsistent or unconvincing. I really hope the cast can gel more into their roles because not being able to connect with so many of them really took me out of the narrative.

Nevertheless, this production was not "bad" by any means. As others have mentioned, it's a solid professional production of a piece that is not particularly easy to do. And there were definitely powerful moments. I just wish I could have inhabited more the world of the characters than I actually did.

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 4/8/19 at 2:27pm

The actor playing George didn't fit the part. All six people who have seen this play totally agree. Enough said.

[Samanthacq]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 11:16am

Has anyone tried the todaytix rush for this show? I always find the hiptix seats are too far back, so am wondering if I can get better seat through rush. 

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 1:49pm

Got my seats to this today thru HipTix. Im in the last row, hopefully it isn't too far back. Any reports on rear mezz for this show would be great! Also not sure if todaytix rush has started, do they do rush for previews? Seems to vary from show to show. 

[Samanthacq]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 1:58pm

Mike Barrett said: "Got my seats to this today thru HipTix. Im in the last row, hopefully it isn't too far back. Any reports on rear mezz for this show would be great! Also not sure if todaytix rush has started, do they do rush for previews? Seems to vary from show to show."

Rush is already offered through todaytix. 

[Gypsy_Mamma<3]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 2:32pm

where are TodayTix rush seats typically located for American Airlines theatre? 

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 2:35pm

I'm curious about this production, since I saw the 2008 revival with John Lithgow, Diane Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes, and remember really enjoying it back then.  Curious if anyone who has seen that previous revival and this one about which they thought was better, and why. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 4:03pm

I’ve always loved the mezz at the American Airlines. The Hiptix seats are great and you can still always see facial expressions and you feel close. It’s a very small house and also quite comfy. The same cannot be said about the Hiptix seats at Studio 54 (which I do still use when I can get an aisle seat).

Saw this on Saturday night and it was my first exposure to the piece. I do agree that the supporting players seem like they need more direction, though I didn’t find anyone “bad.” Benjamin Walker walks away with the production, he was sensational and deserves a Tony nod, if not a win. It was a treat to see Bening, who is one of my favorite actresses. She seemed a bit nervous in act one but really brought it home for the rest of the play. The same can be said about Letts, who also gives a very, very good performance. Set was beautiful to look at.

I agree it seems a bit like a community theatre production and is missing something, though I can’t figure out what. I did enjoy myself and for my $10 access10 seat, I certainly cannot complain. I would give it a solid B+. I’m excited to see the Sally Field production broadcast next month.

Also, since nobody has posted about the stage door yet, Bening and Letts both come out, are very friendly and sign and pose for pictures. The night I went Benjamin Walker came out a different door, walked around the barricade and asked the crowd “did you guys just see that play? Was it good?” And a few said yes and he went on his way. I was the only one that even noticed him.

[52889j]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 4:38pm

Gypsy_Mamma said: "where are TodayTix rush seats typically located for American Airlines theatre?"

I had a phenomenal seat for True West: Orchestra row c, house right section on the aisle closer to the center. Absolutely no obstructions, very up close and personal.

I've seen six or seven shows from Hiptix in the American Airlines and I've grown a little tired of those back two mezzanine rows, house right. 

I'm also curious if anyone has done TodayTix rush for All My Sons and where the seats were. I've held off on Hiptix in order to roll the dice for better seats through the TodayTix rush.

[macnyc]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 4:38pm

Also, since nobody has posted about the stage door yet, Bening and Letts both come out, are very friendly and sign and pose for pictures. The night I went Benjamin Walker came out a different door, walked around the barricade and asked the crowd “did you guys just see that play? Was it good?” And a few said yes and he went on his way. I was the only one that even noticed him."

This is hilarious! It just goes to show you how many good-looking "actor types" are wandering around Manhattan at any given moment!

I saw All My Sons at the Sunday matinee and really enjoyed it. I too loved Walker. I think he has gotten his character already. I liked Bening and Letts, but to tell you the truth, I don't think they're 100% there yet. I saw an early preview, so there's time. I know what Letts is capable of, but I've never been Bening live before. I bet both of them will be splendid.

I agree the scenic design is beautiful! It reminded me of the Picnic set at Roundabout a couple of years ago, but this one was even nicer.

 

Updated On: 4/9/19 at 04:38 PM

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 4/9/19 at 5:39pm

The night I went Benjamin Walker came out a different door, walked around the barricade and asked the crowd “did you guys just see that play? Was it good?” And a few said yes and he went on his way. I was the only one that even noticed him."

hilarious

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 12:24am

Saw it this evening. (Thursday)

So much swirling in my head about the direction of this production. I think I can actually see what he was going for but it was poorly executed.

Prior to the show I attended a reception with a dramaturg who addressed the dismissal of the original director over differences with the estate about color blind casting and how O'Brian stepped in.

This was my first Arthur Miller play. It is beautifully written. I sensed that directed currently this cast would have been incredible all the way through. They all had their moments. I couldn't help but feel that near the end of act III they all felt relief that they could shift gears as the direction up till then felt mechanical. To the cazt's credit, they kept my attention. I enjoyed both Benning and Letts. Fluker and Oghuagu were a breath of fresh air.

I also agree that the memory tree seemed rather small. I ultimately suspected the leaves and branches were from other bigger trees but initially I though they were supposed to be from the memory tree. And why did he need to take off his shirt to saw such a small tree?!

With all the uneveness in the direction, for me, the cast still built the tension and mystery up to the final scene. Although  I saw a few things coming right before they happened.

All in all, glad i saw it. Definitely not the worst. Sat in Row C Mezz, 12 seats in, and the view was perfect.

Beautiful set. The strobes were not really needed. I think that could have been done onstage behind the scrim.