Anyone seeing Helen Hunt in OUR TOWN tonight?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/6/10 at 3:46pm

I am! Can't wait! Say hi?

[Mimi2]

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.

[iluvtheatertrash]

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.

[Dollypop]

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.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:57am

I so want to hear the music to "Grover's Corners!"

[dramamama611]

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?

[Mandi Moo]

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?

[wonkit]

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?

[iluvtheatertrash]

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.

[Musiquer]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 12:41pm

I'm seeing it tomorrow night! More excited now after reading your review!

[AC126748]

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?

[wonkit]

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.

[iluvtheatertrash]

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.

[wonkit]

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!]

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 12:08am

Her's is stunning. Blew me away.

[Mildred Plotka]

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.

[AC126748]

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.

[itsahopi]

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

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 9:09pm

I would have loved to see Geraldine Fitzgerald in the role. That's a lovely fit.