CHICKEN & BISCUITS Previews — Page 5

Any fun merch?

Sutton Ross said: "Any fun merch?"

Nothing much right now. There are some t shirts and magnets, as well as a cardboard church fan, but nothing beyond that. Maybe more will come after previews - I really wanted a poster

Loved LOVED this theatrical experience as well, and have to say it’s a must see. My mask was soaked with tears (and snot) when the show was over. Got TodayTix $41 (with fees) for today’s matinee and sat in row A center which was such a treat to witness this truly wonderful cast - everyone was perfect. So many Broadway debuts for acting, and the genius writing of Douglas Lyons.

Sutton Ross said: "Glad you enjoyed it. Row A is the first or second row?"

It’s second row, babe.

saw tonight's performance. did not love this as much as everyone else here (womp womp womp) BUT very glad this is on Broadway!

This is a broad strokes sitcom. Whenever it leans into humor, it shines (see, Michael Urie, who is over the top chewing scenery in the best way). But it drags when it leans into the schmaltzy saccharine moments which pander to the Broadway audience and it does that a whole bunch. And you can see the "revelation" that comes 2/3 of the way through coming a mile away.

THAT SAID: the audience was looooving this, and it is an ORIGINAL work by a new playwright making people LAUGH and APPLAUD, and it tells the kind of unabashedly Black story that we need more of on stage (and especially in on a big high profile stage like CITS). Even if I didnt love it, im THRILLED that its on Broadway and I want it to find its audience and have a healthy run. Ebony Marshall-Oliver was fantastic, and Norm Lewis had his moments, too. (Natasha Yvette Williams has a pretty thankless role, but did fine work with it, though I found myself hoping she'd have a chance to break into song).

as an aside, the audience felt very evenly divided between young gay men (and quite a few very well dressed drag queens) and Black couples/families. The inside-baseball theater references delighted the former group, and the very many inside-baseball Black church references delighted the other. (My childhood experiences in Black churches made me chuckle a bunch but my friends were lost at many of the jokes, for example). I did cringe at how many times Michael Urie's character is referred to as "White" or sort of painted as "White" with very broad strokes when he is pointedly Jewish. And without spoiling anything, I thought the deceased character (thats not a spoiler, it kicks off at a funeral) is given a bit of a pass by the script...

anyway, go see this because it should be seen and not everyone's a curmudgeon like me. Our TDF seats were great (Row A), but there isnt a bad seat in this house for this show except for those small sections on the very end of the two legs of the "U" that seem to me to be quite uncomfortably situated.

well, nothing, because the writer wrote what he wanted to authentically write, but i know alot of Jews would admit they've benefitted from being "White" in American culture, but are very cognizant that they aren't "White" according to many White folk. Lumping a Jewish person in with the regular ole White culture (which is what this play does- innocently!) raises some flags for some people. I wouldn't want the writer to change a thing but I would have appreciated some acknowledgment that Logan himself is his own minority (twice over).

another classically ignorant pronouncement from Sutton Ross, complete with a trademark spell check and an insecure note re my career. i genuinely cant understand how some people survive in real life with such exhausting sourness, but hang in there.

As a Jew, I've always been white. Pretty sure the only people that consider white Jews as not being white are anti-semites.

(And yes, there are Jews that are of color.)

Updated On: 10/3/21 at 06:34 PM

dramamama611 said: "As a Jew, I've always been white. Pretty sure the only people that consider white Jews as not being white are anti-semites.

(And yes, there are Jews that are of color.)"

I'm only half-Jewish and only half-White, but yes thats the point: if many sectors of White society view you as not-White, are you White? Most of my non-Jewish ancestors would never in a million years have considered my Jewish ancestors "White." But in American society, for the most part over the past five decades, they were decidedly "White" in terms of avoiding many (but not all) of the ills of our bigoted society.

I didn't make this up- there is considerable back/forth on this issue all over the place (Alfred Uhry gave a lecture on this that comes to mind given this is a Broadway board, but just google Are Jews White and pick the author/publication that jumps out at you). I in no way thought Lynch wrote anything offensive or wrong, per se, but it jumped out at me that the only White character in the play is pointedly referred to as Jewish, and is obviously gay, but then takes on the dual role of That White Guy. I was noticing it and have repeatedly stated i wasn't offended or angered by it. (Some others' deranged hostility towards the very concept is way more troubling than anything in the play, which i also recommend everyone go see!)

and of course there are Jews of color! I am one.

Zion24 said: "well, nothing, because the writer wrote what he wanted to authentically write, but i know alot of Jews would admit they've benefitted from being "White" in American culture, but are very cognizant that they aren't "White" according to many White folk. Lumping a Jewish person in with the regular ole White culture (which is what this play does- innocently!) raises some flags for some people. I wouldn't want the writer to change a thing but I would have appreciated some acknowledgment that Logan himself is his own minority (twice over)."

Sorry, but Urie (Jewish or not) is as white as they come dahling, and I think that was the whole point of the character - the stereotypical gay white boi.

Updated On: 10/3/21 at 07:53 PM

Sutton Ross said: " "I wouldn't want the writer to change a thing but I would have appreciated some acknowledgment that Logan himself is his own minority (twice over)."

That's a contradiction. You don't want him to change a thing but actually do. In a black church, if Micheal walked in, he would be considered a white guy. And in society, regardless of your religion or sexual orientation, white men will always be more accepted. By police. By a retail store employee. By society. Period."

fwiw, i think you're raising a good point in there re how Logan would be seen by the family, and i think you're confusing "contradiction" with "conflict" but you're so incredibly toxic and nasty (and ignorant about how White Jews were treated by police in this country historically, not to mention the current situation re hate crimes against Jewish people-- in both instances, i'm giving you the benefit of the doubt re your lack of awareness as opposed to pointed apathy- you have lots to learn, apparently) its not worth engaging/correcting. Read a book and keep up the great spellcheck work,

@dramamama if you are interested, the article I was thinking of is by Emma Green in the Atlantic from around the time Trump was elected. I also am almost sure that I read a long-form analysis of it that came about from some controversy re Gal Gadot being too White, or not White, etc. etc, but I can't seem to find that one. If someone can find the Uhry lecture, id be thrilled, because he has discussed many times (and wrote whole shows about) what it meant to be White But Jewish in the South.