CHINA DOLL Reviews- Page 2

[bfreak]

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.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 10:33am

I saw King Charles last night and at the height of the play we could hear screams for what I assumed was Pacino coming out of the stage door, and then the Color Purple ladies. So loud! 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 10:40am

"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."

 

Glad you had good time but honestly you are the only one I know that said anything positive about Mr. Pacino's performance.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 10:55am

Updated On: 1/9/16 at 10:55 AM

[bfreak]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 11:05am

I know I am. Maybe he just improved since then, because the audience seemed really engaged by him and the person I was with (who sees more theatre than I could even handle) and also agreed that he was very good.

Updated On: 1/9/16 at 11:05 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 11:41am

Updated On: 1/9/16 at 11:41 AM

[bfreak]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 11:48am

Not defending. Just saying. I could understand people who didn't like it. In my opinion though, I liked it overall. Not the best show ever, but with some interesting material and Al Pacino actually really giving an enjoyable and energetic performance it was worthwhile for me. Art is subjective, and I am happy about that.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 12:26pm

I've been one of the only supporters of China Doll on BWW since I saw it late in previews and I liked both the play overall and Pacino's performance. Certainly not the best show I saw in 2015, but certainly not the worst either and I actually enjoyed Pacino more in this than in the 2012 Glengarry Glen Ross revival.

[bunnie3]

Posted: 1/9/16 at 11:54pm

So, can the few people on here who liked it or understood it, please splain the gist of what they got out of this play. serious question.  I happen to really like some Mamet, so I did go in with an open mind....However.......

[jbird5]

Posted: 1/10/16 at 8:37am

I read it as a thinly disguised hit piece on the Cuomos.

[Tom-497]

Posted: 1/10/16 at 5:10pm

I also thought there were some real-life parallels with the play's fictional (and, if I remember, unnamed) father/son governors. 

 

As to why I liked the show overall:

 

1) Pacino gave a consistently interesting and sometimes very exciting performance. Also, I never got the sense that he was overly relying on prompts from any source.

 

 

SPOILERS

 

 

2) The general story was compelling, I thought. Mickey is a Lear-like character who is getting tired of the responsibilities of power. He somewhat pompously spouts what is nevertheless good advice on dealing with other powerful men, but then he almost immediately fails to follow his own advice, maybe partly due to a failing intellect and partly to insecurity regarding his relationship with a much younger, extremely attractive woman. Realizing just a few hours too late his huge mistake in tactics, he tries but fails to stop his entire life from very quickly falling apart.

 

To me, the biggest problem with the play was that this interesting set of events was unrealistically concentrated in far too brief a period (roughly 24 hours, if I remember correctly) and was concluded too melodramatically. Nonetheless, I did think that the last line -- something like "Can no one help a poor old man?" -- was extremely effective in the way it ironically mixed the character's manipulative bull**** and an accurate assessment of his failures with youth (the assistant, girlfriend, and governor).

 

Incidentally, in some ways this play struck me as an upper class variation on American Buffalo, in which Pacino's Teach acted like a know-it-all spouting advice but then overreacted to his fears and insecurities (and ultimately smacked somebody in the head with a heavy object).

 

And if I were to compare China Doll to a non-Mamet play, it sometimes made me think of Rattigan's Man and Boy (which also had relatively few fans when it was presented by Roundabout with Frank Langella).