Am I the only one who really disliked VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE?- Page 2

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 3:32pm

Don't you think the movie "My Man Godfrey" is a teensy-weensy hobo-phobic?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 3:40pm

Not to mention Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

I wouldlike to know if the original poster has liked pat Durang plays. Ionly know this from the clips I've managed to see, but I'm a huge fan and have read most of his other work, and would agree with the comment that it seems to be in many ways one of his most "mainstream" shows and easy to grasp (compared to the aforementioned Betty's Summer Vacation, etc.) But I guess that wasn't the question.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 3:50pm

After reading the review, I'm of the opinion he didn't "get" it.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 3:56pm

Yeah the fact that he considers it a parody on the level of the Scary Movie franchise says a lot IMHO... (I'm not sure I'd agree that parody never dates well, regardless.)

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 4:10pm

I would say this is his most mainstream work in a very long time. I was in LAUGHING WILD, FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS and BETTY'S SUMMER VACATION (you should have seen my Mrs. Seizmagraff. No...I'm not kidding), and I directed BEYOND THERAPY and 'DENTITY CRISIS.

I'm a fan. A big fan. And this work is the most mature, embracing and emotionally satisfying piece he's written.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 4:16pm

It's his most sincere and human piece, too. It's not a parody of Chekhov. It's not a parody of anything. It's a comedy- a madcap, often ridiculous comedy- about how fear imprisons us.

[Sauja]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 5:26pm

Oddly, while I hated Peter and the Starcatcher, I find the accusation of homophobia there patently ridiculous.

But while I ADORED Vanya and Sonia... I think it's much easier to read racism into it. I was profoundly uncomfortable with her character for the first scene or two. But then I was able to really giving myself over to a) how funny she was, and b) how intentional and warm that humor was.

[aaronb]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 7:50pm

Wow, did not expect this kind of response. Let me try to address what's been said:

-Wayman_Wong, I probably should have posted this in the main thread. My bad.

-I am somewhat familiar with Christopher Durang, though it's been a while since I've seen anything he's written. I remember finding THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE quite funny and SISTER MARY EXPLAINS IT ALL pointless.

-The "Magical Negro" trope has been around for quite some time, and it bothers me that one of the few Black characters I have seen on Broadway in quite some time is there to have visions, cast voodoo spells, and help white characters solve their problems. This strikes me in no way as an hysterical or over the top response.

-As for the homophobia in PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, I have no problem with cross dressing humor, as that would eliminate many of Shakespeare's comedies, but it did strike me as more alone the lines of gay panic--this was more of a gut response, though, and I understand if others didn't feel the same way.

-PalJoey, you'll have to remind me of the homophobia in MY MAN GODFREY, which I only remember as a masterpiece. Then again, contextualization is important, and homophobia on the contemporary New York stage is quite different from homophobia in a 'thirties Hollywood movie.

Anyway, I apologize if this came across as trollish. I sincerely didn't mean it that way. Thanks for your responses. I, anyway, think some of this was a discussion worth having.

Updated On: 3/21/13 at 07:50 PM

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 7:57pm

Gee, PalJoey, you sure like to fling the word troll around a lot, don't you? Have you tried looking in a mirror lately?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 10:50pm

Did you read the reviews? Not one critic panned Vanya! Take it from them and reflect on your lack of ability in recognizing great theatre works.



Updated On: 3/22/13 at 10:50 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:11pm

If you look closely, PalJoey--who is many things, but a troll ain't one of 'em--was making a joke. He said "hobophobic."

[jnb9872]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 11:18pm

Apologies to any hobophobes.

Updated On: 3/21/13 at 11:18 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:35am

Aaron,

I like your reviews. You're insightful and write well. I particularly admire your refusal to mouth party lines or bow and scrape before critics' darlings.

That said, I wonder, do you read the threads on this board? If you do, and read my comments the night of the first preview, you would know that indeed, you are not the only one. That evening, and several times since, I have stated that the play is nearly insufferable--- stupid, unfunny, witless, sophomoric, and long.

I also hated Peter and the Starcatcher.

It's hard to say which was more unbearable.

[aaronb]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 5:58am

Ah, hobophobic.

Thanks, After Eight. I try to avoid the threads until I've written my own review of a show and somehow missed your comment along with JayG's.

I think VANYA is a worse show but I had more trouble sitting through STARCATCHER.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:17am

Aaron
I always enjoy reading your reviews.
As it happens, I too was bothered by 1. the character who does the voodoo, which yes struck me as "vaguely racist" and 2. Sigourney Weaver's deliberate overacting, although I think it was toned down a bit from the Lincoln Center run.
But that didn't stop me from loving this show, even more on second viewing. I thought it was Durang's most mature work to date, both funny and feeling. Were you not moved by Sonia's telephone call from the prospective suitor?

[JayG 2]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 6:47am

Durang's play is silly, uninvolving, and manipulative. It's been overhyped because a man with muscles is in it and performances are not so hot. Weaver gave a bland performance the night I saw it; Johnson did her usual schtick; Pierce hardly registers. Meh.

[billis2]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 8:01am

I think you should change the subject of your first posting to, "Am I the only one who thinks PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is homophobic?"

[aaronb]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 8:52am

@NewYorkTheater--I'm sorry to say I was not moved by the telephone call.

@JayG 2--Who is Johnson?

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 11:31pm

Well I for one loved Vanya and Sonia..and I dont like let alone love many things. I thought it had a lot to say about the human condition, dissapointment and being middle aged. I think people under 30 may not get is as much of us who are experiencing disillusionment, disappoinment and life's lessons of middle age.....

Then Again. I seem to be the only one who really disliked. Matilda. Maybe because I'm not 11.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 11:45pm

^

I disliked Matilda as well.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 11:48pm

I'm sorry to say I was not moved by the telephone call.






Then, clearly, you have no heart. And no taste. You probably don't like puppies, either. Or ice cream. Or Downton Abbey.

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT BE MOVED BY KRISTINE NIELSEN'S MONOLOGUE?!? IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO BE MOVED BY THAT PHONE CALL!!! I SPONTANEOUSLY EJACULATED AT THE END OF THAT PHONE CALL--BOTH TIMES I SAW IT!!!

Sheesh.

And I put a goddamn muthafugging HYPHEN in the middle of "hobo-phobic." Have you never seen a HYPHEN before?

Sorry. Stupidity and lack of taste frequently make me irritable.

Updated On: 3/22/13 at 11:48 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/13 at 11:52pm

^

I wasn't moved by it either.

The whole thing struck me as stagey and phony.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/23/13 at 12:00am

I wasn't moved by it either

As Clarence Darrow used to say, I rest my case.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 3/23/13 at 12:16am

Oh please, that phone call was totally manipulative and phony. Was it supposed to be moving? It wasn't. It was schlock writing at its best (or worst).

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/23/13 at 12:31am

Pal Joey.. you spontaneously ejaculated in your seat both times?
I want to go to the theatre with you!!!
But I will bring an umbrella and some paper towels.