#1
Posted: 7/6/10 at 3:46pm
I am! Can't wait! Say hi?
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
Anyone seeing Helen Hunt in OUR TOWN tonight?
#2
Posted: 7/6/10 at 4:10pm
I saw Michael McKean in this a few weeks ago. He was great. I wonder if Helen Hunt is the first female to do this role.
Let us know how she was! And enjoy the show.
Let us know how she was! And enjoy the show.
#3
Posted: 7/7/10 at 12:24am
Exhausted and a little overwhelmed to write a review, but I'll post more tomorrow.
She was breathtaking.
She was breathtaking.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#4
Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:06am
I don't think Helen Hunt is the first female in the role. I've heard that Pat Carroll did it many years ago and Mary Martin was set to play the role in the musical "Grover's Corners" but then she died.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#5
Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:57am
I so want to hear the music to "Grover's Corners!"
#6
Posted: 7/7/10 at 7:11am
I'm very disappointed that I won't be able to see her. I can't get into the city until after her contract expires.
Her last day is August 1, yes?
Her last day is August 1, yes?
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#7
Posted: 7/7/10 at 8:11am
I saw the show for the first time about 3 weeks ago with Michael McKean and loved it. Do you think it's worth me trying to see it again?
#8
Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:13pm
I thought Michael McKean was just about perfect as Stage Manager but I am intrigued by the thought of a woman playing the role. I may just drop by this month. Is it confirmed that Cromer is back in August?
#9
Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:29pm
Sorry for the late review, but...
Let's start with the ensemble. A few minor cast changes (Doc and Mrs. Gibbs for one, and a new Simon). But still one of the strongest ensembles working in New York. Jennifer Grace gets better and better as Emily - truly a beautiful performance.
Cromer's "surprise" for his audience at the end is just as breath-taking as it is the first time. And the play feels fresh, alive and NEW.
Now, onto Helen Hunt... You'd never know it was her first performance. It would seem she's been doing this for months. Her monologues, specifically the one at the top of Act 3, are extraordinarily well-done and breathtaking. And if you're worried about the womanly aspect, you hardly notice...
...except... Hunt brings a bit of a jaded critique to the description of women's roles in Grover's Corners, obviously judging her predecessors and how they lived their lives. It is an interesting choice, but the only one that I am unsure of. Otherwise, an extraordinary, moving evening of theater.
Definitely one of my favorite experiences in a theater.
Let's start with the ensemble. A few minor cast changes (Doc and Mrs. Gibbs for one, and a new Simon). But still one of the strongest ensembles working in New York. Jennifer Grace gets better and better as Emily - truly a beautiful performance.
Cromer's "surprise" for his audience at the end is just as breath-taking as it is the first time. And the play feels fresh, alive and NEW.
Now, onto Helen Hunt... You'd never know it was her first performance. It would seem she's been doing this for months. Her monologues, specifically the one at the top of Act 3, are extraordinarily well-done and breathtaking. And if you're worried about the womanly aspect, you hardly notice...
...except... Hunt brings a bit of a jaded critique to the description of women's roles in Grover's Corners, obviously judging her predecessors and how they lived their lives. It is an interesting choice, but the only one that I am unsure of. Otherwise, an extraordinary, moving evening of theater.
Definitely one of my favorite experiences in a theater.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#10
Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:41pm
I'm seeing it tomorrow night! More excited now after reading your review!
#11
Posted: 7/9/10 at 2:56pm
How is the show selling since Hunt joined the cast? I notice that it's no longer on TDF. Is rush still (fairly easily) obtainable at the box office?
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#12
Posted: 7/9/10 at 3:53pm
iluvtheatertrash - your comment reflects the one concern I have about Hunt as she has an "edge" and I think I prefer a Stage Manager who is non-judgmental and just lets the people of Grovers Corners be who they are. I will probably still make an effort to see her in the part, though, to judge for myself.
#13
Posted: 7/9/10 at 4:52pm
Wonkit, mine, too. Her as Mr. Morgan did not bother me at all. But this one critical moment did. Everything else was fine and dandy, but just this 45-second speech is a bit bumpy for a female SM.
She is definitely worth catching. Her monologues at the tops of One and Three are captivating.
She is definitely worth catching. Her monologues at the tops of One and Three are captivating.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#14
Posted: 7/9/10 at 5:45pm
I actually felt that McKean's one [very small] weakness was the early Act Three monologue. He seemed uncomfortable with it and rushed it a little bit. [I have some nerve sounding like an expert when this was my first experience with a live OUR TOWN!]
#15
Posted: 7/10/10 at 12:08am
Her's is stunning. Blew me away.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#16
Posted: 7/10/10 at 1:33am
My High School, more years ago than I'd care to mention, had a female Stage Manager. She's far from the first.
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
#17
Posted: 7/10/10 at 6:54am
A feature article that will run in tomorrow's Times mentions that the first major production to have a female Stage Manager was at Williamstown in 1971, with Geraldine Fitzgerald in the role.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#18
Posted: 7/10/10 at 8:22am
La Jolla Playhouse had an African American Woman in 2001.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/60830-La-Jolla-Closes-Down-Our-Town-June-17
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/60830-La-Jolla-Closes-Down-Our-Town-June-17
#19
Posted: 7/10/10 at 9:09pm
I would have loved to see Geraldine Fitzgerald in the role. That's a lovely fit.
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