Amy and the Orphans - Debra Monk returns to the stage...- Page 2

[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?)

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/3/18 at 8:37pm

SempreLiberal said: "The character Amy has a boyfriend (never seen) with a memorable name (I’m curious what the female equivalent might be)."

 

Why would they need to switch the gender of the boyfriend?

[SempreLiberal]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 12:01am

JBroadway said: "SempreLiberal said: "The character Amy has a boyfriend (never seen) with a memorable name (I’m curious what the female equivalent might be)."



Why would they need to switch the gender of the boyfriend?"

True; they could keep the gender of the boyfriend of Amy/Andy as male. 

One could argue that if Amy had a boyfriend then Andy might have a girlfriend, but I also realize how hetero-centric that might sound. Sorry about that. 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 6:32pm

I saw today’s matinee. It’s far from perfect, but I definitely fell more on the positive side.

The dialogue often felt trite and forced, which I regret to say is my most frequent criticism with naturalistic plays these days. But the content was poignant enough that I was able to get over it after a little while.

Regarding the time jumps: Maybe it’s because I knew they were coming (having read this thread beforehand), but I didn’t find them jarring. I agree with Whizzer that the play would certainly have worked without them, but for me the payoff was worth it. I should mention that I often enjoy plays that mess around with time in emotionally resonant ways, so this fell into that category for me. I teared up in the end, and all in all the impact of the story made up for the slightly messy, over-ambitious structure and blend of themes.

Debra Monk and Jamie Brewer were definitely the performance highlights for me. Monk is of course a joy, and IMO she far outshined Mark Blum. Brewer’s role is more supporting than I was expecting, but she was very enjoyable to watch every second she’s onstage. The role was literally written for her, so the genuine positive response to her performance should not be surprising or seem dubious to anyone.

The rest of the cast was solid but not memorable. Mark Blum overacted a bit for my taste.

Regarding the understudy situation: In the program notes, Ferrantino pretty much admits that it was, indeed, an afterthought. She wrote the play in honor of her grandmother, Amy - who had Downs Syndrome, which explains why she wouldn’t want to pick a different name. She says she had already written the play when she met Barbanell, and she was so utterly charmed by him as a person and performer that she felt she had to include him in the project somehow. One cast member told me after the show that he will likely do matinees starting in a couple weeks, but the way she said it didn’t make it seem like a set-in-stone kind of situation.

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 2/18/18 at 9:03am

I saw "Andy and the Orphans" yesterday, and aside from a couple small glitches (a few times, Debra Monk would refer to "Amy" when Eddie Barbanell was offstage), I would never have guessed that the play hadn't been conceived that way.  For those wondering, in the "Andy" version, his girlfriend is named Tina Turner.  Can anybody tell me the name of Amy's boyfriend?

There seem to have been some cuts, as the show yesterday ran about 95 minutes with no intermission.  I assume this applies to all performances rather than just the "Andy" version.

[The Other One]

Posted: 2/18/18 at 10:47am

"Can anybody tell me the name of Amy's boyfriend?"

Yes, her boyfriend's name is Nick Nolte.

[the.hard.part]

Posted: 2/24/18 at 4:47pm

The director at the talk back today said Eddie will be playing Wednesday and Saturday matinees starting next week.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/24/18 at 10:13pm

I enjoyed the play a lot, but I found it tonally uneven. I thought Monk and Blum were the least interesting characters and I didn't care for them, yet they were the leads. Honestly, I thought it was a beautiful relationship between Kathy and Amy and highlighted the strength of the people who care for those we don't want to deal with. Kathy was the strongest one in the play. She could look unflinchingly at anything and was honest. She had no tolerance for any BS. Monk's character was so shrill I had no empathy for her. Monk did the best with what she was given. I didn't care what happened to her or her brother. I cared about Amy and Kathy, as well as the parents. 

SPOILER ALERT!!! The last scene with Amy and Dad was very effective and underscored both the love and the confusion of having a child with developmental disabilities in the 60s or 70s. I liked the scenes with the parents who went to couples counseling to deal with their issues, then realizing it was having a special needs child with no support or resources that was  tearing them apart. I grew up with a family in my neighborhood in the 70s who had an aunt who was sent away in a similar fashion. There was no education or support for families. 

Overall, I enjoyed this play. Jamie Brewer was very impressive and touching. I found the actress who played Kathy stole the show for many reasons. Mainly because as brash as she was, she was also the most intelligent, compassionate and grounded oddly enough.