Belleville at the New York Theater Workshop

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/17/13 at 10:39pm

I just got back from seeing Belleville, and while I'm still processing it, I'm disappointed overall. This is my first exposure to Amy Herzog, so I'm probably not the best one to be commenting. First, the good: Maria Dizzia's performance as Abby was amazing. I give her credit for letting it all hang out there. She's very intense. The bad: I didn't find the characters very interesting. We learn a bit about Abby's history, but nothing about her husband, Zack. Where is he from? What kind of relationship does he have with his family? Because I didn't find the characters well defined, their relationship didn't make any sense to me. Why are they together? Were they ever happy? Then, we are asked to accept a highly implausible plot point, which I won't reveal here, as it is a spoiler. Plus, the ending is very unsatisfying. Overall, there's more drama in five minutes of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf than in this entire show. I would be interested to hear what others think about Belleville.

Updated On: 2/17/13 at 10:39 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/17/13 at 11:14pm

I agree with you.

Endlessly talky, muddled, dramatically leaden, annoying, exasperating characters, implausibilities, a protracted, unnecessary final scene...

As one character states near the end of this miserable evening.... "incroyable!"

Boy, did she ever speak the truth.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/17/13 at 11:43pm

Funny how language has evolved. The was a time when the word "amazing" was reserved for God. Now it can be used freely in a negative review of a show.