Bucks County

[seymour krelborn]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:20am

So I'm seeing 'Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike' on Wednesday.I have never been there. Their website says there is limited parking and everything I have googled has mentioned what a nightmare parking there is. Any parking advice from those who have been there? Should I bite the bullet and pay the $15 for their lot?

[smodel11]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:30am

New Hope has fairly ample street parking, depending on the day and time that you are planning to go and whether or not you are willing to take a short walk. I frequently take day trips up there and have never had an issue finding parking. My suggestion to you would be to get there early enough to try to find street parking and then use the $15 parking as a backup plan. Enjoy your trip to New Hope-it's a gorgeous setting :)

[seymour krelborn]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:34am

Perfect! Thank You! I was planning on getting there early anyway to grab some lunch so I'll try to find street parking.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:51am

I grew up in the area. If you can, plan to stay for awhile. Great shops, cafes and people.

[seymour krelborn]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:56am

Thanks for the advice. I have to leave right after the matinee, but I plan on getting there in the morning so I have a couple hours to explore.

[JeffDaEgg2]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 12:06am

There's also the parking lot that has Triump Brewery, etc., up the road that is huge and only charges $1/hour. Takes cash and card.

[Patash]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 11:46am

I'm not sure if other messages were clear, but the street parking in New Hope is metered -- 20 minutes per quarter, so take a bag of quarters.

The Triumph Brewery lot is the best deal in town, but it's a pretty good walk away, just so you know.

The playhouse lot is a pain. During matiness, they'll also line up cars there so you may get stuck waiting and waiting if you want to leave when the show is over. The Logan Inn, very close across the street has paid parking -- which I think on Wednesday is $10 -- more on weekends.

By the way, the Logan Inn is a nice place for lunch outside. I'm not sure, but I think the parking will be free if you have lunch there. They tend to be pretty liberal during the week. New Hope is packed on weekends, not so much during the week.

Seeing the show today at 3. I'll report back here how we liked it (having seen it at McCarter and on Broadway).

Updated On: 7/19/14 at 11:46 AM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 1:37pm

The parking in New Hope/Bucks County is a zoo on the weekends. During the week you should be fine. The Triumph is the best bet if you don't mind walking a little, if not then stick with the Logan Inn. I'd advise against street parking, the parking police are all over the place in terms of handing out tickets and are typical on top of any meters when they go over.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 3:33pm

Was there on July 5 the and it was a nightmare as far as traffic. We didn' t even bother to try to find parking since it took so long to get down the main street. Used to go there in the early 80's and it never seemed that crowded.

[Patash]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 9:59pm

At the matinee intermission they were making announcements for the owner of a car in the lot which was blocking others who wanted to leave. No response. A reminder NOT to park in the theatre lot.

About the production. Well it seemed like it would be a good idea to have the playwright play the leading role.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 9:43pm

I saw this today. Had lunch at Triumph beforehand and decided to leave my car there. It is not a far walk as others said. 5-7 minutes total. And at $1/hour, a much better deal.

As for the production...wow, Durang is bad in this. Always seemed a second away from blowing his lines, and the big monologue was delivered with absolutely no passion or conviction. It seemed as if he wasn't invested in anything other than remembering what to say. Marilu Henner was good, but she lacked the star quality that Weaver (and even Julie White) brought to the role. The Sonia was fine, but her performance was very close to Kristine Nielsen's. Almost cribbing. The Spike, Nina, and Cassandra were all underwhelming.

Also--if anyone from BCP happens to read this--tell your staff to be quiet while the show is up. Throughout the second act, there was a ton of loud, sustained noise being made in the lobby that could easily be heard inside the auditorium. People who work in theatre should know to not make excessive noise during a performance, especially in an old theatre with paper-thin walls.

[brdway411]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 9:47pm

used to live and work across the street from here. Saw many shows there in the late 70's, 80's and 90's great town.

[Sheryl Baby]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 8:44am

Christopher Durang is a wonderful playwright, but why didn't they pull him from this production when it was clear the job was way beyond him? I saw the show last weekend and it's been running for a couple weeks. Durang called for lines at least 8 times (with an audible reply from the wings) but worse -- the other actors are constantly feeding him lines or correcting what he says. He wrote it but can't remember it?

Several reviews were honest, while a couple others danced around the "elephant in the room" that the playwright was simply horrible in the role. Here's one of the most on-the-mark reviews.

Review of Vanya at Bucks

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:33am

I doubt there was any talk of replacing Durang. First off, replacing a playwright who's acting in his own play is tricky. Add to that the fact that he's also a well-known local resident and you could have a problem of optics. Short of Durang resigning, it was probably never a question. Also, Bucks County Playhouse doesn't use understudies, so unless they were able to engage someone on very short notice who already knows the (fairly large) role and could join the production with little to no rehearsal, it wouldn't be practical.

Durang didn't call for any lines yesterday, but he was very shaky. That review's description of his delivery is accurate. It was uncomfortable for me to watch, but the audience (of mostly local seniors) laughed heartily at him throughout and gave him loud and long applause after the monologue.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:44pm

If anyone else is planning a trip by car to see this or anything else at the BCP, there is a municipal parking lot at the top of Mechanic Street, which is the one-way street diagonally across from the lake in front of the playhouses. It's only 75 cents an hour and cards are accepted. It's a closer walk than the lot at Triumph and a bit cheaper.