Anyone going to OLEANNA tonight? (First preview)

I'm very excited for this show!

Whoever goes, be sure to let us know how it is. I'm curious to see if Stiles has stage-acting chops, because her screen-acting is questionable at best.

Good for her. I love this play; it's not perfect but (at least on the page) it's a scorcher. Can't wait to see it.

I'll be there tonight. I guess there's a talk back after all the preview performances too, so that should be interesting. I have a feeling this may end up being one of the stronger plays this fall.

Will report back tonight.

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I'm seeing it Friday via tdf and will report back. I think this time I'm going to stay away from threads about it until I see it. I want to see how it hits me fresh.

not that there really is a bad seat in the Golden but if anyone rushes, please let us know your seat locations.

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I hated Speed-the-Plow, but I haven't written Mamet off yet. I want to see this. It at least seems interesting enough.

Bumping to hear thoughts.

It's one of the very few Mamet plays I haven't read but my 17 year old sister loves Julia Stiles. Would she be bored?

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From what we could see, every seat appeared to be taken.

I certainly hope this has improved - I saw it opening night in LA and thought it was a mess. Stiles was shrill and one-note and seemed to have problems projecting. Pullman was ineffectual and didn't appear to connect very much with the material. Since the characters are more symbols than actual people, you'd think each actor could inflect their role with a bit of their own personality, but this was not the case. The costume choices for Stiles were inconsistent and neither the set nor lighting indicated what should be a college professor's stuffy office.

At the time, I chalked it up to lack of direction (Doug Hughes's snazzy production of FARRAGUT NORTH must have gotten more of his expertise), but maybe work has been done since LA.

*MILD SET SPOILER* Is there still a small bench a few feet in front of Pullman's desk? Being Doug Hughes, its placement was very Sister Aloysius.

It's one of the very few Mamet plays I haven't read but my 17 year old sister loves Julia Stiles. Would she be bored?

I'm sorry, but Mamet just can't write roles for women. This dusty play of his will always be the best example and I rather sit through BKLYN The Musical than through this lame attempt at writing a good role for a young woman.

Ok, maybe I would not sit not through BKLYN again, but you get the idea.

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I also saw it when it was playing in Los Angeles. And I absolutely loved it. I was already familiar with the play and like Mamet's style. That being said, I had no idea how much I would like it until the show was over. Miss Stiles gave the performance of a lifetime. Now remember, that's HER lifetime and with a resume including Save the Last Dance, The Omen (remake), A Guy Thing, and Down to You that isn't much. Basically she was better than in 10 Things I Hate About You. And that's saying a lot. Kat rocks.

As for her Carol, Stiles held her own up against both Bill Pullman and Mamet material, which is not an easy feat. Truth be told, she plays this insidious little manipulative character that is pretty hard to like. And she pulls it off in such a manner that leaves you shocked. Although Pullman wasn't as good as I had hoped, he still delivered rather well in the latter half of the play. His transformation from mild-mannered professor to someone whose life was becoming unhinged was believable, but I have to admit he lost me with (SPOILERS) that final scene.

Maybe it's just that I had so much expectation for the final scene, as it really is just so jaw-droppingly powerful. Although I liked the blocking (again, not sure if this remained the same for the Broadway production) with him pushing her against the wall as she tries to exit, it went down from there. He was just so quiet with his rage. While that alone is not necessarily a bad thing (some of the best lines in history can/have been said with a quiet intensity that is just as effective), there was just nothing behind it. It was as if Pullman were just tired by that point and had more or less given up on the material. I know this is not the case, but it just really felt weak. Even so, the audience seemed to eat it up. The girl I brought with me had never seen or heard of Oleanna, so had no idea what to expect. When that last scene occurred, she just gasped. The audience around us erupted in a mix of whoops and claps (someone actually yelled out, "F*CK yeah!", which kind of shocked me but oh well) when Pullman "erupted".

All in all I really enjoyed the production when it was on this side of the country and hope to see it again on Broadway sometime in the near future.

I didn't stay for the talk-back because I wanted to stagedoor. I assumed they weren't part of the talk back because there was a list in the program of the moderators and panelists, and there was no mention of Stiles and Pullman being there.

jeffmiele- I thought the final moments were thrilling and directed very effectively. I also found it be Pullman's strongest moment in the play.

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