BEHANDING IN SPOKANE Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 3:53am

Today is Thursday, March 4th, marking the official opening of the world-premiere Broadway production of Martin McDonagh's "A Behanding in Spokane". A welcomed return to to the stage for lead Christopher Walken, who is joined by Zoe Kazan, Anthony Mackie and Sam Rockwel. Preview performances began on February 15th, housed at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 W. 45th Street).

"The title is just the starting point," begin press notes. "Take a man searching for his missing hand (Walken), two con artists out to make a few hundred bucks (Mackie and Kazan), and an overly curious hotel clerk (Rockwell), and the rest is up for grabs. 'A Behanding in Spokane' is Martin McDonagh's hilariously black comedy, a world premiere which marks McDonagh's first American-set play."

The production is a strictly limited 16-week engagement.
Performances are slated through Sunday, June the 6th.

Break lega, all!

My best to all involved,
- M


Updated On: 3/5/10 at 03:53 AM

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 9:18am

Going tonight, looking forward to it!

Last weekend they offered tickets to the public at a discount (41.50), mezz seating, there may be some still available, use code BSTX434 either at box office or broadwayoffers.com, may be able to call telecharge too.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 7:51pm

NY TIMES is up again at El Paso Inc.
Brantley gives RAVE to Walken, NEGATIVE on McDonaghâ??s Play.


NY TIMES Review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 07:51 PM

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 7:53pm

The AP is mixed, with a rave for Walken.

"McDonagh, author of such fine plays as "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" and "The Pillowman," does have a swift, sure way with words, as well as one of the darkest senses of humor around. His profanity-laced dialogue ricochets with an off-kilter fascination, a quality Walken brilliantly taps into here.

And the actor doesn't even need the other performers to pull off what is the funniest moment currently on a Broadway stage: Carmichael's extended telephone conversation with his mother, an unseen but very present force in this play. Walken, his scraggly hair complementing his cadaverous features, is a master of timing in these few phone minutes as he becomes the strangest mama's boy on record.

But Walken does have an advantage over the three other performers in "Behanding." Carmichael is the play's only fully developed character. The others are cartoons, plot devices for McDonagh's slender tale, which never quite moves beyond its sketchlike qualities. Even director John Crowley, a veteran of other McDonagh plays, can't disguise the thinness of the story."


AP review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 07:53 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 7:58pm

David Sheward for BACKSTAGE is Mixed to Negative for the play, and he likes Walken.


BACKSTAGE Review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 07:58 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:02pm

Frank Scheck at The Hollywood Reporter thinks "'Behanding' pales in comparison to McDonagh classics" - but thinks the cast elevates the material.


THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 08:02 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:06pm

Of course, the always on his own Mr. Teachout from the Wall Street Journal gives it a RAVE and thinks its the best play he's since since writing for the WSJ.


ps...I'd really love to know what this man smokes and where I could get some.

WALL STREET JOURNAL Review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 08:06 PM

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:22pm

The Chicago Tribune is positive.

"The latest Broadway play from Martin McDonagh lands somewhere between â??Pulp Fictionâ?? and an extended star-driven sketch from â??Saturday Night Live.â?? We already knew that McDonagh (â??The Beauty Queen of Leenane,â?? â??Pillowmanâ??) writes with remarkable facility in the self-aware, neo-gothic, Tarantino-esque style. But the formative devil has become more formatively devilish. â??A Behanding in Spokaneâ?? reveals a more comic and happily anarchic side of this irreverent Irish writer, who consumed American noir as a youth in far greater quantity than Kerrygold butter.

And if that sounds reductive, please be advised, before you wring your hands, that this is a play, minimally a play, about a severed hand and the difficulty of finding out the fate of that missing appendage. Freed-up mitts have a pesky habit of all looking alike."

Chicago Tribune review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 08:22 PM

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:03pm

Slant Magazine (Lauren Wissot) is NEGATIVE, with a rave for Rockwell:

"A Behanding in Spokane is enfant terrible Martin McDonagh's first play to be set in America, and stars Christopher Walken, the one celebrity who would seem the perfect fit for the Tarantino-of-the-stage's mix of startling menace and hilarious absurdity. But the multiple Tony-nominated and Academy Award-winning Irishman's latest projectâ??despite the presence of always finely tuned Walken and a nothing less than revelatory Sam Rockwellâ??is minor McDonagh. And that's being generous. Without those two tent-pole presences holding it up, Behanding would fold like a cheap house of cards....

The saving grace, of course, is Rockwell's snooping desk clerk Mervyn. Though song-and-dance man Walken, with his offbeat cadence, speaks with a musicality suited to McDonagh's Irish roots, it's Rockwell who is actually the performer perfectly molded to fit a McDonagh play. Even more so than Walken, Rockwell grounds the over-the-top hijinks of Behanding with his transparent vulnerability....

At its core, Behanding is a one-trick pony punchline, an extended SNL skit. The sight gags are laugh-out-loud, but the piece itself isn't rooted in any deep organic place. The saddest thing about Behanding is that it lacks the playwright's unique gift for the poignantly funny. Sure, McDonagh is still pushing the envelopeâ??but to where?"

Slant review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 10:03 PM

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:13pm

USA TODAY gives it 2.5 stars (out of 4).

"But Spokane, which opened Thursday at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, seems more like an homage to the iconically edgy playwrights who have long inspired McDonagh, or a parody of them. Laden with obscenity, menace and wry humor, this latest effort nods to Harold Pinter and David Mamet, though it doesn't approach the brutal brilliance of their work â?? or McDonagh's own previous outings....

Carmichael's plight would seem like fertile terrain for McDonagh, who has juggled dark comedy and pathos beautifully in the past. But here he seems more interested in absurdity for its own sake, providing Carmichael, played by a predictably and hilariously off-center Christopher Walken, with a motley crew of supporting characters and letting them have at each other...."

USA Today review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 10:13 PM

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:16pm

TheaterMania is mostly negative, with positive notices for the cast members.

"Christopher Walken has built a career of playing characters who look as if they're capable of doing almost anything with no remorse whatsoever. And audiences love him for it. They're also going to love him -- vociferously -- in Martin McDonagh's new play, A Behanding in Spokane, now at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

They may not love the play, however. Under John Crowley's direction, the work is little more than a not very resonant, occasionally macabre sketch that lapses and regains momentum."

TheaterMania review Updated On: 3/5/10 at 10:16 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:27pm

I was at the opening tonight. I don't really know what to think about it. I liked it, but didn't LOVE it. I really liked the entire cast, especially Walken. The play was entertaining enough, but there were definitely some slow moments. I agree with Brantley that some parts definitely came close to a SNL skit.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:04pm

The more I think about this show, the less I like it and the more I like Walken. Brantley hit the nail on the head with a lot of his comments.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:22pm

it's too difficult to read this thread, as someone has posted in a way that stretched the forum so much that you have to scroll left and right to read anything.

I wish they'd fix it.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:27pm

I saw the show tonight and I have to say...it is one of the weirdest plays I've ever seen. I'm not entirely sure what to think, other than I really loved Walken and Zoe Cazan. The play itself is wildly uneven. An interesting evening, though not something I would rush back and see again.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:58pm

The forum isn't stretched for me; can you change your settings or something? If my posts are stretched for you, I don't know how to fix that, sorry.

I agree with the raves for Walken and the comments that the play is a bit disappointing (and I'm a huge McDonagh fan).

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 12:14am

Page is normal for me too, Jane.

I still want to see this badly. Seems like the critiques wouldn't bother me as much as they do for some.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 12:16am

The page is stretched for me, too. It's annoying.

you can fix it by putting the link in the link box and giving it a title, as opposed to pasting it directly into the message.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 12:58am

Reading these reviews, I totally see their points, but I still totally unabashedly love the play. And I don't mean to play devil's advocate, but I really think Brantley is more mixed than negative.

He says he loves watching the play's leading performance and calls the play itself "erratically entertaining."

Clearly not a positive review, but those sentiments seem to tip the balance towards "mixed" at the least.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 9:48am

thank you for fixing the post, whomever did it! I appreciate it!

[Kad]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 10:13am

The play is not McDonagh's strongest, sure, but it is an incredibly entertaining night out and easily the funniest thing on Broadway right now. Also, Walken is brilliant.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 10:21am

Never mind-my screen is stretched again. I'll just avoid this thread.

[jeffmiele]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 11:32am

Though I'm sure it would be a rave there hasn't been a Word of Mouth Review yet

and my screen is stretched too

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 2:15pm

sorry everyone, i've fixed the posts!

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 2:24pm

StageGrade gives it a "C." That's not great.

I wonder how this will fare with Tony nominations.