Breakfast At Tiffany's Previews- Page 3

[JayG]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 9:00am

Greenberg has this one and another new play opening at MTC in three weeks. Perhaps the guy overextended himself. Too bad because he can be an excellent writer - certainly more interesting then that silly skit writ wowing (Why?) audiences with his old college pal on 45th Street

[ArtMan]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 9:20am

I bought the cheap seats in the balcony for May. Anybody know what the view is like? I guess with many people leaving at intermission, I may be able to move down to a better seat.

Updated On: 3/6/13 at 09:20 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 9:25am

The balcony at The Cort is awesome. At least last night you would have had no problem picking any seat you like up there.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 9:30am

Thanks, Whizzer. I'm not sure if I've ever been there. I may have seen a Mathew Broderick and Parker Posey play in there. The view was great in that theatre. And great air conditioning. Edit: That was the Longacre.

Updated On: 3/6/13 at 09:30 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:02am

"Because you'd have a hard time convincing anyone with a semblance of a brain in their head that the narration in The Glass Menagerie isn't a) necessary, and b) perfection."

I think there's a big difference between lazy narration and gorgeous soliloquy/monologue. Tom's speeches from Glass Menagerie are definitely the latter.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/6/13 at 11:53pm

Don't feel bad for the actors. While Greenberg's script does lay there like a dead fish, the two leads have no chemistry and are quite uninteresting. The accent on Fred- quite annoyingly fake. Yawn. The sets are nice. Yawn. I left at intermission as did about 50 other people.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 12:01am

Yeah, I was gonna pipe in that I'm not sure I'd call Tom's monologues in Glass Menagerie as narration, exactly...

I'm trying to think of cases where narration has worked on stage. Would the bits in Ragtime count? not sure...

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 9:37am

Ripped Man,

I agree with you. Narration is often just lazy playwriting, and deadly as drama. That's the case here and in Lucky Guy.

But sometimes it can work, if done right, as in Our Town.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 9:53am

I was there last night. Like many here, I found it endless and uninvolving. Emilia Clarke has such a natural, easy presence; I wish she were in a different show.

[Up In One]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 10:10am

Too bad, great marketing, love the poster. Maybe they can scrap the script put a piano on stage and re-try the musical version. Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Chamberlain, Sally Kellerman, can you imagine? Did anyone see that version?
Edward Albee Bob Merrill Musical Version

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 10:55am

Up In One,

The musicals (both versions) are interesting, but very flawed. Have you heard audios of the original or the studio recording with Faith Prince?

Out of town the book was written by Abe Burrows, who was also directing, and the show was called Holly Golightly. The audience wasn't responding well.

Albee was brought in to rewrite the book, but really it was a completely different show. Albee had a City of Angels type thing where "Jeff" was writing a story about Lulamae, but he couldn't get it to work. He decided to change her name to Holly and the story then unfolded as he was writing it. Holly spoke with Jeff and even criticized him when the story didn't go the way she wanted it to. Act One could easily have contained "You're Nothing Without Me," had it been written yet!

I do like "The Home for Wayward Girls," a duet for Holly and Mag, "Who Needs Her?," a lament for Jeff, "You've Never Kissed Her," a beautiful ballad for Doc, and "Same Mistakes," Holly's 11 O'Clock number where she vows she's gonna make the same mistakes all over again. The orchestrations are lush and downright thrilling at times.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:31am

I hope this hits Theatermania Gold Club.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:34am

For the actor's sakes, I hope this show does not have the opportunity to be reviewed by critics. (aka it should close in previews to save face)

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:37am

macnyc...I actually got the first preview from another similar type of service. Someone told me they wanted to do a sound test with a full house

[Patash]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:53am

"macnyc...I actually got the first preview from another similar type of service. Someone told me they wanted to do a sound test with a full house"

Hmmm. That seems kind of pointless. Why not do the sound check with half a house since apparently that will be the way it more commonly plays? And will they change the sound levels at intermission when the house empties out even more?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 1:45pm

I love Emilia Clarke and am really sad to learn the show is in huge trouble.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 2:06pm

So now they're hyping the nude scene to get people in the seats

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 2:11pm

"So now they're hyping the nude scene to get people in the seats"

Yes, it's called desperation!

[suestorm]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 2:11pm

quickest way to get rich, exploit the horniness of men!

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 2:39pm

The nudity made me want to see "Take Me Out". Exploiting everyone's horniness is a great way to sell tickets!

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 3:58pm

Where have the TDF seats been?

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 6:26pm

My TDF was in the last row of the orchestra but I would have been better off in the balcony for almost anything else.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 8:15pm

This sounds awful. How disappointing.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 8:57pm

Narration has been used very often in well known plays: off the top of my head in most classical plays (the chorus), Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Richard III, Our Town, Brecht, A View From the Bridge

The technique is used often by Lanford Wilson: Lemon Sky, Tally's Folly, The Mound Builders (modified, August ostensibly speaks into a tape recorder with instructions for his secretary), and Peter Shaffer: Amadeus, Equus, The Royal Hunt of the Sun.





Updated On: 3/8/13 at 08:57 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 9:11pm

"For the actor's sakes, I hope this show does not have the opportunity to be reviewed by critics. (aka it should close in previews to save face) "

Emilia Clarke doesn't have much to worry--she'll be on Game of Thrones till the end (unless something happens to her character within the yet-to-be-written books,) and it can easily be written as a footnote to her young career. Corey Michael Smith might not come off as well, which would be too bad as it's his Broadway debut, but I think, judging from the reaction, the critics won't focus much on the actors when reviewing what doesn't work.

Henrik--great list! I guess this is where my question about whether something counts as narration or rather as commentary. Out of the more modern plays you mention, I'm very familiar with Lemon Sky (one of my favorites) but I wouldn't describe that as narration, the same way I wouldn't describe Tom in Glass Menagerie as narration... But I can see a definite case *for* describing it as such (and certainly with Shaffer's plays.) One thing about those examples is in those cases the audience is aware that the narration is meant to show a very biased point of view. Maybe it's the same with Tiffany's?