Roundabout's new production YOU WILL GET SICK started previews this weekend. Anyone seen it yet? The premise sounds intriguing, and it's Linda Lavin's first appearance in a new play in nearly a decade. Curious to hear thoughts.
It is unlike the plays that Roundabout usually does, very experiemental and out there...I loved all of it, the less you know going in the better, I would also suggest maybe waiting until after it opens for it to settle in, there are alot of lets say "magical" moments throughout that still need a bit of time to gel
and Linda, every line out of her mouth, huge laughs
I very much recommend it , if only because their subscriber base is going to absolutely hate it
Sam Pinkleton came out and said it's a work in progress and an understudy (Bobby Roman for Nate Miller) was on for preview #2.
Agree Roundabout's older subscriber base will hate this - but we really liked it too. It does need more time... It's not perfect but creative, interesting & not your basic obvious (Roundabout) show -- a good thing.
Between this and Scottland, PA I am encouraged that Roundabout is starting to let some of the weird out on its bigger off-broadway space and not religate it to the basement
this very much feels like something you would see at Playwrights Horizons or Vineyard
also shoutout to Bobby Roman for seemingly being off-book as the understudy for just the second preview
This was quite bizarre. Definitely needs more fine-tuning with the script. I could’ve done with less narration, especially since that voice could put me to sleep.
I also was at the matinee today! I did really enjoy it, and Linda Lavin was excellent, though it was pretty weird and I’m not sure I really got what some things were supposed to mean. It was an enjoyable weird though.
Not to sound like Little Sally, but this is an awful title while we're still in the midst of a pandemic –– and almost reads like a threat to the audience & actors! (Does it have anything to do with covid?)
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "(Does it have anything to do with covid?)"
The play has nothing to do with covid. Add the weird title to the show's bizarreness. As you make your way down the escalators at the Laura Pels, you'll get the feeling that you're in for an interesting (or WTF) kind of show.
"It starts with your balance, but it begins to spread, as these things often do. Your legs numb, your grip-strength weakens, your arms go rigid and hard. Before long, you’re hiring a stranger to say aloud what you can't bear to say yourself: that you got sick. A recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, You Will Get Sick is a new play in second-person about learning how to live within your body as you find your way home."
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Not to sound like Little Sally, but this is an awful title while we're still in the midst of a pandemic –– and almost reads like a threat to the audience & actors! (Does it have anything to do with covid?)"
The last show I saw before the shutdown was We're Gonna Die. I agree that it's off-putting.
I saw this tonight (TDF, J10) and absolutely adored it. It took a minute for me to settle into the storytelling technique and get comfortable with some of the textual ambiguity. But by 1/3 of the way in, I was rapt. It's a beautiful metaphor for the acceptance of the inevitable, and the staging was gorgeous.
Open your mind and go and see this bizarre and beautiful piece of theatre.
Agree with Kurtal. I saw it earlier this week and it's strange and deeply beautiful. Some stage craft that took my breath away. I keep thinking about the play even days after.
kurtal said: "I saw this tonight (TDF, J10) and absolutely adored it. It took a minute for me to settle into the storytelling technique and get comfortable with some of the textual ambiguity. But by 1/3 of the way in, I was rapt. It's a beautiful metaphor for the acceptance of the inevitable, and the staging was gorgeou Open your mind and go and see this bizarre and beautiful piece of theatre."
What did I miss? I just left the theater, so confused. Feeing like I wasted a night of theater. I thought it felt like a low end high school production. Why would Linda Lavin get involved with this. She was great, while the other actors felt amateur.
Would love to know more about the staging and any pre show theater experiences? Did they do something special n the lobby? It all sounds very un-Roundabout
Saw this last night and loved it. I am so glad something this challenging and interesting is being produced by Roundabout. Linda and Daniel are just sublime. The other actors aren’t given a ton to do-it’s not their fault if they don’t shine.
It wasn’t what I expected, but surprised me in great ways. Me and my friends are still discussing it and exploring its meanings. It is staying with me for sure.
As far as staging I don’t want to give anything away but it is a spare stage that uses light, sound and some cool visual effects very effectively. It added to the fever dream quality that left us talking after.
I am thrilled that Linda Lavin is still doing experimental theatre at age 85. She is a masterclass. She was enamored with this play the moment she read it. She felt she needed to do it. Daniel is wonderful too-sweet, heartbreaking and sincere.
Just don’t see the show on Weds as Linda has an alternate.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
This is one of the more special new plays I've seen in many years. I think it's best to go in blind and just experience the dreamlike narration of the piece. If this were Tony eligible, I'd say Lavin would be a frontrunner for sure. What a treat to see a pro like her take a chance on an extraordinary role like this. I'm just getting home from the matinee and I'm sure over the next few days, I'll be processing it but I 1000% will be seeing this multiple times before it ends.
I also absolutely agree it's going to bitterly divide people. If you go into this expecting and/or wanting a "normal" play, you're going to be either confused or angry. But if you just allow yourself to experience it for what it is and go along with it I think you'll find the ethereal beauty of it will take you places you never expected.
Playwright Noah Diaz is a name I will now make a mental note to see literally anything his name is associated with.
Saw this again tonight, specifically to see Becca Lish (who is Linda Lavins alternate on Wednesday nights)
The play has gotten tighter and implimented a lot more visual elements since I first saw it
I think it is a testiment to the writing and the direction that Becca got the same amount of laughs as Linda, but has somewhat of a different take on the character so if you can only fit this in on a wednesday night I don't think you will be disappointed!
also please don't let the title put you off from seeing such a beautiful play
I love Linda Lavin! I have only seen her in two plays..."Last of the Red Hot Lovers" and "The Diary of Anne Frank". Great actress, I've seen her so often on TV over the years.
I really can't say enough good things about Linda Lavin. At 85 years old, when she could easily be resting on her laurels, to instead take on a daring role in a genre-defying new play is beyond commendable. And she is giving one of the most memorable and affecting performances I've seen since the theaters reopened. If this show was on Broadway, she'd be a shoo-in for the Tony.
Daniel K. Isaac is also superb.
"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
I agree that if this were Tony eligible, we probably wouldn’t even be having a discussion about any other actress winning an award. It would be Lavin’s.
I didn't realize she was 85. Remarkable. Both because her stamina in a very large part, but also how ambitious it is. It's a layered, nuanced, and deeply affecting performance. Wow.