Amy and the Orphans - Debra Monk returns to the stage...

[Miss Jezebel DuPree2]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 1:16pm

Debra Monk returns to the stage.... any early buzz?

Updated On: 1/11/18 at 01:16 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 1:29pm

Returns? I didn't realize she'd left.

I'm excited for the stage debut of Jamie Brewer. The accurate representation of people with disabilities has lagged so far behind other underrepresented groups, so it's refreshing to see an actual person with disabilities hired to portray a character with disabilities.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 1:59pm

AC126748 said: "Returns? I didn't realize she'd left.

I'm excited for the stage debut of Jamie Brewer. The accurate representation of people with disabilities has lagged so far behind other underrepresented groups, so it's refreshing to see an actual person with disabilities hired to portray a character with disabilities."

Yes! I've also always enjoyed her work on American Horror Story.

[east side story]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:01pm

Jamie Brewer is wonderful in this play. I saw it when it was being performed at Yale School of Drama. As a whole, the play is quite well written. 

[newintown]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:03pm

Hasn't Monk been doing a good amount of TV work in the last 5 years or so? I haven't seen her live since 2013's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (and I think her prior gig in theatre was Curtains, about 7 years before that, wasn't it?).

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:27pm

She was quite remarkable in Steppenwolf's Visiting Edna just a year or so ago. So. She's been around. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:42pm

Monk has done two high-profile regional productions in the past year: David Rabe's Visiting Edna  at Steppenwolf and James Lapine's  Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing at Signature in the DC area. But I guess this is a fairly NYC-centric board, so those gigs probably flew under the radar for most.

[newintown]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:52pm

It does seem that, living in NYC, one has to pretty actively search out press about regional theatre.

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 3:07pm

Yes, she was in Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing last year. She was absolutely wonderful!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 3:36pm

AC126748 said: "Returns? I didn't realize she'd left.

I'm excited for the stage debut of Jamie Brewer. The accurate representation of people with disabilities has lagged so far behind other underrepresented groups, so it's refreshing to see an actual person with disabilities hired to portray a character with disabilities."

I can not imagine Roundabout would have been so tone-deaf as to not hire an actor with Down Syndrome for the role. I've read a draft of the script and the playwright specifically states that finding a capable actor isn't difficult, and gives contact info for an agent who represents many actors with Down Syndrome.

From my reading I think the script has a great amount of potential for a very strong production and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 6:45pm

First preview tonight. Interested to hear thoughts; there are PLENTY of seats still available. The Pels hasn’t had anything hot in a while...

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 8:58pm

AC126748 said: "Returns? I didn't realize she'd left.

I'm excited for the stage debut of Jamie Brewer. The accurate representation of people with disabilities has lagged so far behind other underrepresented groups, so it's refreshing to see an actual person with disabilities hired to portray a character with disabilities."

I really loved her in the pilot of Love You More. She played an Annie Edison (Community)/Rachel Berry (Glee) style type-A character and she nailed the comedy. I'm not optimistic but I would love it if someone else picked the show up.

I'm interested to hear reports as she's the only intriguing thing about what sounds like another fairly standard Roundabout family play.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 9:58pm

I was there tonight and I found the play to be hit or miss, with miss being achieved more than hit, but the one aspect that always hit for me was Jamie Brewer. It took way too long for her character to entire the play, but when she did things finally started clicking.

The play takes place in two different time periods and the stuff in the present (with Brewer, Monk, Blum and Aspillaga) goes over much better than the material set in the past. The biggest problem with the old material is you have two characters worrying and arguing over situations that you know the outcome to based on the scenes in the present. There's no tension when you already know what happens.

There's one sweet short scene in the past near the end, but it's a lot of effort getting there for not much payoff. I'd junk that entire plotline personally and just give us the story in the present.

The dialogue is, well, there's a lot of bicker bicker squabble squabble. It's like "bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, funny, funny, funny, funny," but two of the funnys were replaced with extra bitches.

Part of me feels like an assh0le to dump on a play that's giving differently abled actors work and bringing to light injustices they face, to praise a work solely on those positions is the very definition of patronizing.

[Alfie6]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 11:16pm

I was there tonight and the show runs a little under two hours with a 15 minute intermission (which I thought was pointless). The first half flew by so quickly and without any real conflict I was shocked when the lights suddenly came on. 

I liked certain parts of the show very much, some scenes were absolutely hysterical and others were heart wrenching but the dual storyline was just so jarring that I didn't love the show as a whole. It seemed like she was almost trying to copy a certain TV show that is extremely popular now (I won't say which but after you see the show you will know). Debra Monk was perfection and I could have sat through another hour of just her. This is definitely not the worst thing I have seen at the Laura Pels and is a major step from The Last Match but nothing that is a must see. 

[SempreLiberal]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 11:49pm

I saw it tonight. Jamie Brewer is superb.

The play feels a bit slow as you get to know the characters, but the buildup is worth it, for the final two scenes are surely worth it. (And don’t call me Shirley.)

The time shifts confuse a bit, but the mental work involved in watching this is worth it.
Debra Monk and Mark Blum are hilarious as the orphans. .

Lindsey Ferrentino is a talented writer, and there are many wonderful turns of phrase that delight the ear. The characters are well developed, and while some scenes feel like slowed traffic on the Long Island Expresseay, the evening is not long, and the final two scenes are wonderful.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 12:39am

But is anyone really going to talk poorly of a different abeld actor?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 5:31am

Yes, people will ultimately tell the truth. Brewer was genuinely terrrfiic- that’s not a “let’s go easy on her” assessment. 

No one gave the actress who played Laura in the last Glass Menagerie revival a pass. I thought she straight-up stunk (as did the rest of that production) and it had nothing to do with her physical disability. 

[Alfie6]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 12:19pm

I forgot to mention this interesting piece of information, if you see this show you might not being seeing "Amy and the Orphans" rather "Andy and the Orphans" starring Edward Barbanell. There is a piece about this in the Playbill written by Lindsey Ferrantino and why she decided to have a male understudy to make the character gender neutral. It is unclear whether he will be doing certain prescheduled performances or just going on as an understudy. If you are going specifically to see Jamie Brewer it might not happen. 

[Theater3232]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 12:57pm

Great cast, but they can certainly make several cuts (including the unnecessary intermission).  The first scene goes on forever.  Towards the end things get poignant, but then the last scene is another bore.  Certainly didn't help that the show got out at 9:20pm, and the B/D trains shut down at 9:30pm, which meant a 2 hour subway ride home in massive congestion.  Maybe next time they'll think of the audience and start at 7pm instead.  

If they're going to make some bizarre understudy, they need to show BEFORE you purchase tickets what days the understudy will go on.  I guess they'll have to change the name of the show to be "Andy and the Orphans" that day too??

 

Updated On: 2/2/18 at 12:57 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 1:15pm

I like the idea of having a male understudy, and making the character's gender unimportant. But it seems to me that if that was Ferrentino's plan (a) why name the character Amy as apposed to a gender-neutral name? and (b) even if she insisted on having two different names for the two different versions of the character, why complicate matters further by putting the character's name in the play's title? 

I'm seeing the show this Sunday - I'll be very curious to read the piece she wrote in the program. 

Updated On: 2/2/18 at 01:15 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/2/18 at 1:16pm

Theater3232 said: "Great cast, but they can certainly make several cuts (including the unnecessary intermission). The first scene goes on forever. Towards the end things get poignant, but then the last scene is another bore. Certainly didn't help that the show got out at 9:20pm, and the B/D trains shut down at 9:30pm, which meant a 2 hour subway ride home in massive congestion. Maybe next time they'll think of the audience and start at 7pm instead.

If they're going to make some bizarre understudy, they need to show BEFORE you purchase tickets what days the understudy will go on. I guess they'll have to change the name of the show to be "Andy and the Orphans" that day too??

Summertheater is that you?  In any event --- were you aware that shows have matinees, as well as evening performances?  Also, the author's note in the Playbill makes it clear that if/when the "bizarre??" male  understudy goes on (he happened to be sitting in the row in front of me last night), then yes, the show will be called Andy and the Orphans for those performances.  Now please commence with yelling at the neighbor kids to stay off your lawn!

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/3/18 at 4:18pm

JBroadway said: "I like the idea of having a male understudy, and making the character's gender unimportant."

I'm not sure I agree. If the character isn't asexual and/or nonbinary it seems to suggest a lack of specificity in how the character is written. Unless there are two significantly different versions of the script based on whether the character is played by a man or woman.

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/3/18 at 6:08pm

VintageSnarker said: "I'm not sure I agree. If the character isn't asexual and/or nonbinary it seems to suggest a lack of specificity in how the character is written."

 

Maybe, but then again maybe not. I haven't seen the show yet so I can't speak to how the character is written, but I think it's possible to have three-dimensional characters with specific behavioral and character traits, without rooting them in the character's gender. I'm not saying we should do away with all gender-specificity, but I admire Ferrantino's willingness to play around with traditionally gendered casting expectations. Whether or not her attempt at pushing boundaries is well-executed is different question. 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/3/18 at 6:43pm

I commend the idea but then don’t have the character’s name in the title? Seems messy. And like an afterthought.

[SempreLiberal]

Posted: 2/3/18 at 8:32pm

VintageSnarker said: "I'm not sure I agree. If the character isn't asexual and/or nonbinary it seems to suggest a lack of specificity in how the character is written."

The character Amy has a boyfriend (never seen) with a memorable name (I’m curious what the female equivalent might be). She has a job with a backstory that explains it nicely, and this could apply equally to a man or woman. What’s revealed of her backstory is not gender specific.

Nonetheless, I’d love to see it with the male understudy, as I think the relationships with Andy and his brother and sister will have some interesting nuance differences, and his relationship with his guardian will have an added dimension (she talks about her loser boyfriend and treats Amy respectfully and warmly - having Andy in that role could invite audience to think about Andy in comparison to the boyfriend.)

One powerful line in the final monologue has an added charge when delivered by a woman, but i think it could work with a man.

I wonder if it would make sense to have a week where it’s just Andy so those who mostly will have seen Amy might selectively see Andy performance in comparison. (Maybe give a discount for repeats?)