Bug

I watched Bug on DVD last night. I thought it was great, but I honestly cannot see this on the stage. Ashley Judd was great (but she never did a stage version) and Michael Shannon (who I believe was in all incarnations) was as well amazing! Did anyone see this on stage? How did it work? I would be very interested in seeing this if it ever comes back. Sorry for all these questions, but, is it likely there will be any revivals off-broadway? Thanks guys! Tjis was my first post.

Updated On: 8/28/12 at 06:20 PM

I appreciated the movie for what Friedkin was able to do with it, but it's probably more exciting when it's happening right in front of you.

Definitely one of my favorite Ashley Judd performances, along with Ruby in Paradise, Normal Life and Come Early Morning.

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I saw it twice at the Barrow Street with Michael Shannon.

The movie has its good qualities, but it was an astonishing, galvanizing play onstage. The sense of encroaching dread was unbearable, the tooth-pulling scene horribly cringe-inducing, and the ending took my breath away both times. When that final sound effect played, it felt as though the theater was going to rumble itself to bits.

It remains one of my favorite theatrical experiences.

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It was a deafining, enveloping, bass-y WHOOSH.

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I would loved to have seen Michael Shannon in the stage version. It was produced as a student show at my college and it was an absolute mess. I think it could definitely be terrifying, our production was just awful.

I read the play prior to seeing a production in 2011 at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago. I really liked the script (although I was a Letts fan prior to reading it) and the leads were good while the supporting actors were great. Their raw and visceral moments were benefited by a very small theater that made it sort of an atmospheric production. Redtwist Theatre has a small storefront theater and the audience entered the performance space as though you were entering the motel and one would find your seat after crossing through the motel room itself. For this script, the performance space and this production made the material horrifically engaging. I sat in the front row and had teeth pulled and wounds dug feet away from me and it was realistic and thrilling. They were moments in the script that really heightened the paranoia theme engagingly in print but I wasn't sure how they would play. In performance with a good cast, well executed production elements and effects, and a director who has a vision and understanding, the show is chilling and more realistic (for lack of a better description) than how it read. The end simply overcomes and envelops you.

The more I hear these reviews I really want to see a production! I would recommend you see this movie Leadingplayer. It seems that Lincoln Center did record this, so I might be there soon! I have to make an appointment.

Updated On: 8/28/12 at 10:10 PM

I love the movie, but I have no idea how one could NOT see this playing on stage. I think the movie is maybe a little too stagey at time. At the very least, its stage roots seem evident to me.

And if you loved Bug, yes, you MUST see Friedkin's film adaptation of Killer Joe.