Am I the only one who found THE NORMAL HEART just okay?- Page 2

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 1:25pm

I thought the set was fine. I quite enjoyed the way it went from a stark white to a dark black. I appreciated the use of metal folding chairs, really giving in to simplicity and what they would've been sitting on.

Yes, I see what you're all saying about Barkin. I just was left a little cold. After her monologue, I thought -- Amen. She's right. But I didn't feel compelled to clap or cheer. Maybe it effected me on a deeper level that I'm not understanding quite yet, but something about it left me cold.

I don't mean to offend anyone. I just was so underwhelmed. It has been so hyped that I guess I was expecting something better than the Public's production...

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 1:26pm

Well, I was about to say yes, because thank God that everyone here (or at least so I thought) loved this. It was what convinced me to go back even though I'd already seen the staged reading.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Mine remains with the folks here who loved it and nearly all of the critics who said it was pretty damn sensational. To be moved like that in a theater is worth celebrating, and it's hard to imagine they will not win a host of Tonys as well.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 1:50pm

iluv, I can totally understand you feelings about that monolouge. As I watched it, I kind of felt the same way and then it hit me, hard, right when she threw the papers. At that moment you just knew why she was so angry for the whole play. At least that was the way I felt. So even with no "emotional buid-up", I feel that monolouge let you know why she was so angry all along. (Did that make sense?!)

Updated On: 5/9/11 at 01:50 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 2:05pm

It does, yeah. I actually loved the way the set was "destroyed" over the last half hour. I thought - please God, don't let them remove the papers. I thought - please God, leave the milk there. I was so glad that they did.

[751guy]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 2:24pm

Sorry you had a somewhat flat experience with THE NORMAL HEART. Could have been that particular performance or the audience. It was not at all my experience. It's one of the best ensemble acted shows on Broadway right now... and it IS about the words and performances, but I wonder if you would have had the same reaction if you'd heard nothing about this production?

For me, and maybe it's only me, I tend to shy away from hearing too much hype about any type of entertainment (and I don't mean reviews), especially stage or film. How many times has one heard something is 'phenomenal' and we go into that darkened space with those expectations and come out with 'It was good, but it didn't blow me away' and too often, it's about all those damn expectations.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 2:27pm

751guy, I agree about the expectations and hype thing. That's why I try to see things either before they get really hyped or just after.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 2:27pm

To the best of my recollection, Kathy Bates played opposite Richard Dreyfuss in the LA production in 1986.

Updated On: 5/9/11 at 02:27 PM

[pennydreadful]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 3:08pm

I saw it again yesterday. The first time I saw it, Barkin's monologue built and rose, she got angrier and angrier and took the audience with her, and when she finished, there was applause for a long, long, time, and calls of "bravo". Yesterday it was one-note hoarse screaming, and the applause lasted about 30 seconds. So, I think a lot depends on how the actors play it that day.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/9/11 at 3:19pm

"Then it isn't a play..."

Er, no. People wouldn't still be talking about Shakespeare if the only thing that mattered was Richard Burbage's "To be or not to be" monologue. The text is what matters long after set design and individual actors are forgotten.

I don't think everyone has to walk out of this show in tears, but I think it's ridiculous to question audience applause after a monologue just because you stopped listening and liked the one you saw on a bootleg better.