Posted: 12/3/15 at 10:23pm
Reviews for China Doll are already coming out... (Show opens tomorrow - I double checked)
Here's the Times. When ever the Times twitter says to "Get ready for it" you can only imagine what comes next.
Updated On: 12/3/15 at 10:23 PM
Posted: 12/3/15 at 10:25pm
To quote from the remake of The Fly
" Be afraid - Be very afraid"
Posted: 12/3/15 at 10:29pm
Ouch!
Posted: 12/3/15 at 11:12pm
AP Review: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=4FEkj9c8
Vulture: http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/theater-review-pacino-in-mamets-china-doll.html
Variety: http://variety.com/2015/legit/reviews/china-doll-review-al-pacino-1201653205/
Updated On: 12/3/15 at 11:12 PM
Posted: 12/3/15 at 11:30pm
I had no idea that the reviews were being published online today!
Honestly, Brantley could have been much crueler. His review of Fish in the Dark from last season was actually much more harsh than for China Doll. He is unfavorable toward Pacino's performance and thinks Mamet's text is convoluted, but I expected worse. I actually feel for Denham, who Brantley frames as a saintly figure who puts up with the insanity and mediocrity around him and hope it doesn't cause animosity between him and Pacino. Otherwise, they could miraculously actually find a pull quote or two.
Posted: 12/3/15 at 11:31pm
Shocked they have been relatively kind. Maybe the rewrites helped.
Posted: 12/3/15 at 11:37pm
From one read-through, here are some pull quotes they could and will no doubt use from NYT:
"a classic Mametian study of competitive, clumsy men"
"Mamet-style scrappy urban warrior in winter"
"Pacino is a bona fide genius"
That last one is woefully out of context, but they'd be damn foolish not to flaunt it to push those unsold January tickets!
Posted: 12/4/15 at 12:09am
Posted: 12/4/15 at 7:44am
I saw this last night, completely awful. My biggest disappointment of the season so far.
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:21pm
RippedMan said: "Surely they'll make some money off this. "
They did 5 straight weeks over 1 Mil, then went down to 693K last week (only on four shows though).
They seem to be doing pretty well.
Updated On: 12/4/15 at 04:21 PM
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:24pm
asmith0307 said: "RippedMan said: "Surely they'll make some money off this. "
They did 5 straight weeks over 1 Mil, then went down to 693K last week.
"
They only had 4 performances last week.
Posted: 12/4/15 at 4:47pm
I forgot to include that, didn't I? Why not to post while you are eating a messy taco.... Still they seem to be doing fairly well financially despite the mostly negative WOM
Posted: 12/5/15 at 3:14pm
Well, overall, I think China Doll fared pretty well overall when it comes to reviews. It must be the changes made since we all took it in, or the fact that people give Pacino a break just because of who he is, but not everyone trashed the show as expected.
Posted: 12/5/15 at 4:07pm
Overall though it did seem to get pretty negative reviews, though. Especially from the Times and the Post. But at least Pacino got some good notices. I still plan on seeing the show next month. They lowered some front mezzanne tickets (Rows D-F) to $92 on weeknights and it's been on TKTS for 40% off for about a week.
Posted: 12/5/15 at 10:47pm
I still think if you offered me a $20 rush ticket I'd probably turn it down. So many other shows I want to see.
Posted: 12/14/15 at 8:21pm
I saw China Doll this weekend. I went in expecting the absolute worst, but ended up not hating it as much as I thought I would. I was never bored at any point during the play, though the script is meandering and repetitive, and some parts made no sense. It still seemed like Al Pacino didn't know his lines that well. Lots of "uhhs" and pauses, which could have also been a character choice, but it came across as him not knowing his lines. Christopher Denham is easily the best part about this play. He was terrific as Carson. The ending came out of nowhere and resolved nothing. While I didn't find this play to be dreadfully awful by any means, it was still pretty bad, just not as bad as I anticipated.
Posted: 12/15/15 at 4:30pm
Christopher Denham is easily the best part about this play. He was terrific as Carson.
Seriously? What did he do in Act I other than stand there silently (for the most part)?
"
Posted: 12/15/15 at 4:32pm
Remembered his lines?
Riedel is still having fun with this show, btw: http://nypost.com/2015/12/13/tantrums-terror-b12-shots-inside-al-pacinos-broadway-bomb/
Posted: 12/15/15 at 4:37pm
Why does Reidel have such a vendetta against this show? It's bad. We get it. His musings were interesting at first but now it's just the same old tired thing that he keeps saying and saying every week, and will possibly continue to until it closes.
Posted: 12/15/15 at 4:39pm
I heard Riedel speaking on the radio. He said that Pacino has lost it and no longer has the ability to command a stage, and that he can't remember his lines. People are probably buying tickets to see what they expect to be a train wreck.
Posted: 12/15/15 at 4:48pm
bfreak said: "Why does Reidel have such a vendetta against this show? It's bad. We get it. His musings were interesting at first but now it's just the same old tired thing that he keeps saying and saying every week, and will possibly continue to until it closes."
"Vendetta" is the exact word I used when talking about the latest article with my friend. At this point, he's coming off even more shallow than usual, beating a dead horse for really no purpose whatsoever - he even copies some of the same sentences from his first article about China Doll verbatim.
Posted: 1/9/16 at 9:10am
Well guys, I finally saw China Doll last night and I really have to say I overall enjoyed it and didn't think it was as bad as everyone's been saying. Yes, the plot isn't the greatest in the world and the story gets a little bit repetitive, but Al Pacino's performance was excellent last night. His intination, character development, and motivations within his character were all spot on. He was not fishing for any lines and he was not staring at teleprompters the whole time (even though he may have one). Christopher Denham was also very good in his part.
David Mamet was there in my row last night. And something happened that I've never seen before: not only did Al Pacino get an entrance applause at the beginning of Act One, but he also got an entrance applause at the beginning of Act Two. And for anyone curious, the stage door was mobbed but Al signed and took pictures with those at the front of the barricades (including myself). He was so personable with his fans. With the great experience I had last night, I feel really bad that this got such awful reviews. It may feel awful to some, but me and the person I went with both really enjoyed it.
