Posted: 3/26/19 at 3:46pm
Geez, sorry. Perhaps I should have said I USUALLY find his direction to strongly hit (American Idiot) or badly miss (You're A Good Man...) but this time it had some good moments and some bad. I hope that is acceptable for you.
Posted: 3/27/19 at 1:30am
TonightsMarquee said: "And for lotto winners, where were your seats? Thank you in advance!"
Won tonight and my seat was B 17 in the balcony. Partial view. I was not able to see any of the action in the kitchen. Loved the show though so not mad at all!!
Posted: 3/27/19 at 5:57am
This is actually the second revival of the play in New York. Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Dallas Roberts and Ty Burrell starred at the late Union Square Theater in the fall of 2002. It was quite a hot ticket, with Norton still a major film star at the time.
I saw the original cast on Broadway and I saw the 2002 revival. In my opinion, it's a play that tries too hard but in the end doesn't leave much of an impression. I like every member of its current cast, but I have no desire at all to see another production. Adam Driver has been particularly strong in the plays I have seen him in (Major Barbara, Man and Boy, Angels In America), and strikes me as a better choice for Pale than Jake Gyllenhaal, who was originally attached to this revival, but this is just not a play I would pay to see a third time.
For what it's worth, I always felt Joan Allen lost the Tony for The Heidi Chronicles because she had won a lucky Tony only a year before for her work in Burn This.
Since others have made this observation about Joan Allen and Keri Russell, let me just add that Catherine Keener did not move at all like a dancer of any kind either.
Posted: 3/27/19 at 6:33am
Mike Barrett said: "magictodo123 said: "Mike Barrett said: "Glad to hear the esrly reviews for this are strong. Any recommendation on seating for people who have seen the show?"
Have you ever taken a look at viewfrommyseat.com? That might give you an idea on the view from most of the seats in the theater. I'm not sure if it shows for Burn This yet since they just started, but it's worth checking out!"
I have actually, yes! Sometimes it depends on the show though for where to sit depending on the set or key action in the show, so I tend to ask incase there's something I can't see from a view from my seat but yes, it's my go to site!"
I'm just seeing this response...I definitely am using AVFMS for Hadestown! Definitely good to ask though too.
Posted: 3/27/19 at 10:42am
I won the lottery yesterday too. I was in the front row of the dress circle, last seat on the right. It was a great seat. I couldn't see the right side of the stage, which I believe was only the front door, so I didn't miss much. I could see straight back into the kitchen, so got a prime view of Brandon Uranowitz coming and going in the moment when he came out in his underwear, and...well, no complaints here, heh.
I enjoyed the show and thought it was very entertaining, especially because it was so funny, though it was very firmly in the good, not great, category. Driver was excellent (and reading the Playbill I realized I'd seen him in three other plays early in his career, and remember I wasn't that impressed. I never really understood the hype about him, even before his mainstream breakthrough. This was the first time I was like, Okay, yeah, he's really good.) Russell's performance, as others have noted, struck me as uneven. I wasn't familiar with the play going in, and ultimately I'm not sure if my biggest issues were with Russell's performance or the play as written, or both. Anna is the main character, yet I left feeling like I had no idea who she was as a person (which wasn't the case with the other three) and had no psychological understanding of why she did a lot of the things she did. At the same time, everything she did was predictable, because they were firmly the actions of "woman in a romance who is supposed to fall for this guy," even if I had no idea why she did beyond that. So while it was entertaining, it was in a very surface way. (And while I know this wasn't Wilson's intention when he wrote it, 30 years later Larry feels a little too much like the gay character who only exists to serve the straight people's story, like the gay sidekick in a romcom, which I didn't love. Uranowitz was great, but the character was probably the most dated element.) Enjoyable for the 2 1/2 hours, if not much more than that. But sometimes that's enough, and I'd probably still recommend it.
Updated On: 3/27/19 at 10:42 AM
Posted: 3/28/19 at 9:20am
I really enjoyed this. Beautiful little play that gets at some real painful truths about grief and longing. Driver is amazing. He really nailed who this person was. There are a million shows I wish I could see him in (I know he was rumored to do a Sam Gold Streetcar which would be brilliant, I would love to see him and Michelle Williams as Blanche and Stanley.)
I have very different feelings on Russell -- I thought she did quite a nice job. She certainly had moments where she appeared stiff or uneven, more so in the beginning, but she definitely loosened up once Driver came on and I thought the two had fantastic chemistry. I don't think Anna is a poorly written role, but she also isn't an extreme tour-de-force, and she pales in comparison (excuse the pun) to Pale in terms of showiness. It's a role that requires lots of reacting and casual behavior, and I thought she did a pretty good job with it. I also don't think I've seen someone look as beautiful as she did on stage, she was absolutely luminous.
Loved Brandon and David. Soundtrack was great too.
Posted: 3/28/19 at 9:58am
Has it been confirmed by the box office that there is no rush? Has anyone stopped by recently? Thanks!
Posted: 3/30/19 at 11:07am
• excellent evening at the theater... electric show
• Adam Driver delivers a tour de force
• Keri delivers lumber... i am excited to see the show when her understudy is on
Posted: 3/30/19 at 8:45pm
I saw this last Saturday and had to search to see what other people were saying. I thought it was an amazing night at the theater. Adam and Brandon are obvious standouts because of how big their characters are (and they were great), but I thought Keri was fantastic too. I was in the third row and she emotes really well. She has great control of her emotions and knows how to be expressive, especially since a lot the role is her reacting to these larger than life characters. A real stunning presence on stage too. I thought she moved great. I'll definitely be seeing this show again in May or June. I've only been a lurker on these boards before, but I had to share my opinion on this one!
Posted: 3/30/19 at 8:53pm
ThreeSentencesOnly said: "
• excellent evening at the theater... electric show
• Adam Driver delivers a tour de force
• Keri delivers lumber... iam excited to see the show when her understudy is on"
Ooooh, how edgy. Your name lets us know you will ONLY be writing three sentences and in bold!
SO COOL BRO.
Posted: 3/30/19 at 9:02pm
ThreeSentencesOnly said: "
"Keri delivers lumber..."
Like, from Home Depot?
Posted: 3/30/19 at 9:26pm
petewk87 said: "Has it been confirmed by the box office that there is no rush? Has anyone stopped by recently? Thanks!"
This isn’t really helpful, but when I was picking up my ticket before the show tonight (~7:15), someone behind me asked the box office. They’re response was “We don’t have any available now.”
Posted: 3/30/19 at 10:36pm
EllieRose2 said:
Ooooh, how edgy. Your name lets us know you will ONLY be writing three sentences and in bold!
SO COOL BRO.
• THANK
• YOU
• !
Updated On: 3/30/19 at 10:36 PM
Posted: 3/31/19 at 3:09pm
ThreeSentencesOnly said: "
• excellent evening at the theater... electric show
• Adam Driver delivers a tour de force
• Keri delivers lumber... iam excited to see the show when her understudy is on"
If you only give three sentences, you don't have to explain your conclusions. How nice for you. How totally meaningless for everyone else.
Posted: 3/31/19 at 3:40pm
• thanks for your critique
• who are you, btw ?
• many have found meaning in my words here
Posted: 3/31/19 at 3:48pm
I saw the production on Thursday. I feel like Keri Russell is giving an excellent performance. She's underplaying it. She is the anchor of the show. Her role is complicated. And not as showy as the others. The other three actors are also excellent, I just don't get why some reviews seem so divided on her performance. If you've seen her work in the Americans, you expect this quiet intelligence from her, this steely strength. That really came through here. What I could do without, however, are the few fans that yelled out for Adam (one literally with an "ADAM!" during the middle of the show. I found this play very moving, and funny, too.
Updated On: 3/31/19 at 03:48 PM
Posted: 3/31/19 at 3:50pm
ThreeSentencesOnly said: "
• thanks for your critique
• who are you, btw ?
• many have found meaning in my words here
"
No, many have rolled their eyes.
Posted: 3/31/19 at 4:36pm
What I could do without, however, are the few fans that yelled out for Adam (one literally with an "ADAM!" during the middle of the show.
That is the one thing I'm worried about, I sincerely hope people stop doing crap like that. It's rude and distracting to everyone in the room. Ugh.
Updated On: 3/31/19 at 04:36 PM
Posted: 3/31/19 at 7:39pm
I'm intrigued with the comments above about Larry now feeling like a gay best friend/"sidekick" role. He was charming and fresh in the 80s, because the play rather daringly for the times featured gay characters (one living, one dead) as fully integrated, having agency and full lives, if not the focus of the piece. Does Larry seem "dated" in terms of his sensibilities, or relative weight in the overall storytelling? It's an ensemble piece, to a point, and Larry's an interesting counterpoint to Anna*. But I am not trying to impose an impression that may be hindsight-based. Any other thoughts on this from others who've seen it? Especially those who don't remember the initial staging? Libertore was expert, charming, and had gravitas.
*This was in a pre "Will and Grace" universe, and the relationship itself was fresh story material for the stage. Now, we have seen this dynamic in W&G and countless other iterations. It may well be a new prism that cannot be avoided, and render that content of the play stale.
Updated On: 3/31/19 at 07:39 PM
Posted: 4/1/19 at 10:16pm
Posted: 4/1/19 at 10:19pm
Auggie27 said: "Any other thoughts on this from others who've seen it? Especially those who don't remember the initial staging? Libertore was expert, charming, and had gravitas.
I thought he was well rounded, but since the story mostly focuses on Anna’s life, I can see how he can come off as a gay best friend side character.
Posted: 4/3/19 at 1:00pm
I caught this last evening and was very impressed by this production. It's a fantastic two and a half hours of theatre! The physical production is nothing too flashy, but it is extremely grounded and the lighting is beautiful. The performances were great across the board, with Uranowitz and Driver as standouts. Russell seems to have improved since early previews, as I thought her nuanced performance was a very respectable debut!
The play itself is rather... thin? But, I did enjoy the characters and I was secretly rooting for the couple the entire time. I did read this play many years ago, but it did feel like I was seeing it fresh last evening and that was a lot of fun.
Also, something that frustrated me, a gay man: I brought along a colleague and their younger friend. Their friend is 22 and absolutely despised the play, which made them hate the production. They couldn't get over the use of homophobic slurs and thought they had "no place onstage or in the story". I couldn't believe they didn't understand why it was being used and the relevance it holds towards understanding Pale/American society in the 80s. That made me wonder what this young man wants to see on stage... a fabricated utopia I guess?
Updated On: 4/3/19 at 01:00 PM
Posted: 4/3/19 at 1:11pm
Also, something that frustrated me, a gay man: I brought along a colleague and their younger friend. Their friend is 22 and absolutely despised the play, which made them hate the production. They couldn't get over the use of homophobic slurs and thought they had "no place onstage or in the story". I couldn't believe they didn't understand why it was being used and the relevance it holds towards understanding Pale/American society in the 80s.That made me wonder what these younger audiences want to see on stage... a fabricated utopia I guess?"
I think that has to do more with the individual rather than an entire age group. As a 20 year old African American woman in no way did I enjoy Roy Cohn saying the N word in Angels, but I can understand why it was necessary.
Posted: 4/3/19 at 1:20pm
Bwaydreamer3 said: "I think that has to do more with the individual rather than an entire age group. As a 20 year old African American woman in no way did I enjoy Roy Cohn saying the N word in Angels, but I can understand why it was necessary."
I agree with you and have edited my post. (The Roy Cohn example is great, by the way!)
Updated On: 4/3/19 at 01:20 PM
Posted: 4/3/19 at 1:21pm
East Side of Broadway said: "I caught this last evening and was very impressed by this production. It's a fantastic two and a half hours of theatre! The physical production is nothing too flashy, but it is extremely grounded and the lighting is beautiful. The performances were great across the board, withUranowitzandDriveras standouts. Russell seems to have improved since early previews, as I thought her nuanced performance was a very respectable debut!
The play itself is rather... thin? But, I did enjoy the characters and I was secretly rooting for the couple the entire time. I did read this play many years ago, but it did feel like I was seeing it fresh last evening and that was a lot of fun.
Also, something that frustrated me, a gay man: I brought alonga colleague and theiryounger friend. Their friend is 22 and absolutely despised the play, which made them hate the production. They couldn't get over the use of homophobic slurs and thought they had "no place onstage or in the story". I couldn't believe they didn't understand why it was being used and the relevance it holds towards understanding Pale/American society in the 80s.That made me wonder what this young man wants to see on stage... a fabricated utopia I guess?"
Agreed sounds like the individual more than the age group. Im a 21 yo gay male and I don't mind if I hear the F word if its in the right context, which for this play it seems like it will be. Not a problem at all.
