CLYDE'S Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/2/21 at 12:03am

I hope all of you are getting hungry.

One of two new works this season from playwright Lynn Nottage, Clyde’s begins previews at the Helen Hayes Theatre tomorrow night, with an official opening currently set for November 23. The five-person play – directed by Kate Whoriskey – is led by Emmy winners Uzo Aduba (from "Orange Is the New Black" and Ron Cephas Jones (known for "This Is Us".

Yesterday, Second Stage Theatre announced a series of social justice initiatives in conjunction with the production. These include a paid apprenticeship program with Second Stage for justice system-impacted youth and weekly talkbacks hosted by advocates in the social justice field, among other initiatives.

“In this stirring new play from the team of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey, a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at reclaiming their lives. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staff members are given purpose and permission to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich.”

Who’s going?

Updated On: 11/2/21 at 12:03 AM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 11/2/21 at 12:50am

Heading to see this on Saturday, but interested to hear other people's early thoughts!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 7:36pm

Is anyone at the Hayes tonight?

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 8:42pm

So looking forward to this...RUINED and SWEAT are amongst my favorite plays in the past decade.  

and i loooooove Uzo

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 9:06pm

I was there tonight! Still forming my thoughts about the show, the performances were great!

I will say of the almost 20 shows I’ve seen this year (NY and DC), this one had the absolute worst mask adherence. I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable at another second stage production. I know it’s not the ushers jobs to keep an eye out, but this was bad.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 9:26pm

Love Nottage so curious to hear your thoughts!!

[smidge]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 10:00pm

If anyone could give the running time I would appreciate it.

[curiousincident]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 10:09pm

it is 100 minutes with no intermission! and even for a first preview it didn't run long! 

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 11/3/21 at 10:18pm

Lynn Nottage has to be the best living playwright this side of Tony Kushner. What a gift to theatergoers this play is. Maybe not as strong as Vera Stark or Intimate Apparel, but confident, funny, and moving. The dramatic structure is sophisticated, and the text is a sustained piece of writing. Ultimately, it's a parable about the creative process — like so many plays — but it works beautifully as drama too. Only a great author could write Clyde's.

Don't want to spoil too much since you should see it yourself, but I think the cast is still getting into shape with the material, particularly Uzo Aduba, who has the makings of a great lead but probably isn't there yet. Kara Young is a total star, and the whole cast is excellent overall, but still figuring it out. I look forward to seeing it again later in the run.

Updated On: 11/3/21 at 10:18 PM

[swoboda]

Posted: 11/4/21 at 3:28pm

....Immensely enjoyable on different levels. The comic timing is spot on, whilst the issues of oppression, freedom of expression and independence, and what garnish is appropriate for a tuna sandwich are all there. Clyde reminded me of the lead actress in "Ruined" in her strength and dynamism. She not only terrified her employees but me as well, 6th row balcony.
Love Clyde's wardrobe choices.

Great acting, physicality, and overall just a well crafted look at people under pressure and the choices forced upon them. Also, I love food related entertainment and this .... Fits the bill.

 

Side note: Did Cephas-Jones' teeth come flying out towards the end of the play? If so, he made one helluva recovery in getting em back in.

Updated On: 11/4/21 at 03:28 PM

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 10:02am

All I can say is, this was IMMENSELY enjoyable and I thoroughly recommend it.

The cast was incredible. I had to keep reminding myself that this woman playing a strong yet b*tchy boss was also the same person from Orange Is The New Black. Talk about versatility!

Also, I’m in love with Ron Cephas-Jones, and the other performers are stars. Truly no flaws.

Only one thing-don’t go to the show hungry. About halfway through I was already thinking about what I wanted to get to eat afterwards.

[Damiensta]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 6:52pm

Wow, another winner, last nite Trouble in mind was great. And now this play. I would say this is ready for opening. Great cast all around. 
I have to say Uzo must have one of the most costume changes on stage of a play. She is constantly changing her look.

Uzo is great in this.; something I never seen her like. However, I believe she has the least time on stage. This is more an ensemble piece  highlight for me was Kara Young. I hope she has a great career ahead. 
im also curious if they really used real food for the preps. Apart from what they eat.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 10:34pm

enjoyed this, especially the second half of it as it picked up steam, but unlike Nottage's other brilliant works, I'm not sure I understand what she's ultimately trying to say, and the ending makes little sense. Alot of nodding in understanding by the audience as if a very powerful point had been made, but we talked to a couple of those nodders and they admitted to not really have any idea what the hell they had just seen. 

that said, until that silly ending, Nottage keeps us engaged and her writing is, as always, nothing short of brilliant. Each character has their own unique tone/perspective, and it never feels forced. 

I was not such a fan of of the casting. I'll start by saying that everyone eventually has their moment- Edmund Donovan and Reza Salazar both clearly have the ability but are directed to enter screaming at full volume, and never really modulate from there. (Salazar is at a 10 from the start in terms of intensity, which makes some sense, but Donovan enters literally yelling. Can't tell if they are mic'd). Cephas Jones will eventually get into his groove, but I think Nottage wrote his character to have some humor; Cephas Jones does not. 

The absolute standout without question is Kara Young; I hope she is remembered come awards season. She was hilarious and incredibly moving, and most of all genuine in a way the other characters were simply not. I think the play suffers from the emphasis on Uzo Aduba's character, not because she isnt great (she is!) but because her character isn't nearly as interesting (Nottage doesn't really allow her to be), and certainly not sympathetic. I thought Young walked away with the show. 

couldnt see the mezz, but the orchestra was mostly full (back few rows were totally empty). Nottage was in the back taking notes and then accepting congratulations. We sat on the aisle of Row J, and noted that with the high stage at the Hayes, they have the whole show (its one set) raised even higher on a platform. I wonder if those first few rows might not be the best idea for this show; front mezz is prob perfect.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:41pm

This was a bit of a miss for me.  I agree with Zion where I'm not quite sure what the point was, or what the ending was doing.  I feel like I can see hints of the overarching theme of oppression vs freedom that other posters have mentioned but I think it's a bit lost in all the other stuff that's happening.  I could understand if it was meant to be a slice of life kind of play, but it doesn't seem like that was its goal either.

I really thought we'd see more of Clyde, that she'd have some monologue at the end that would give everything more heft, and while she does appear more in the second half, she only really brushed the surface of what I expected her to talk about.

For the ending:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

My best guess at interpreting this is that it's the workers of Clyde's "getting out" and leaving the job that they were stuck with, finally escaping the system, as it were.  I can only assume it's the straw that broke the camel's back and that we're purposely left with the uncertainty of their futures in trying to make a life for themselves.  But Clyde at the end was even more abstract, like the fire effect was cool but I couldn't really tell what it was for?  Did her losing all her employees mean in a sense that she was also "escaping" her rut of being stuck in this shop that she created but never allowed to flourish?

Also was there some significance to her finally eating the sandwich?  I had thought earlier that she might've had some eating disorder based on the way she acted around food, but that never seemed to resolve into anything.

 

[Damiensta]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:51pm

Completely agree not knowing about what was author trying to say ; but I still enjoyed it as just a slice of life.  Edmund did start out screaming at performance I saw; however he modulated as show went on or I just got used to it.  
i found the play very enjoyable even without knowing point.

I do have to say that I expect some type of revelation from Clyde towards end that would tie everything up n it didn’t. This would be a great show to hear a post show conversation with cast to see what deeper meaning was

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:52pm

yeah, it wasnt as much of a "miss" for me in that I still enjoyed it- but it definitely felt like Nottage didn't know how to end this (or maybe theyre playing around with endings in previews??) so the production just throws its hands up in the air at the end. the more I think about it, the less sense it all makes. Was it meant to be a supernatural thing? After an entire play centered on how trapped and dependent on Clyde these characters are, the ending I saw tonight was nonsensical. 

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:56pm

Damiensta said: "Completely agree not knowing about what was author trying to say ; but I still enjoyed it as just a slice of life. Edmund did start out screaming at performance I saw; however he modulated as show went on or I just got used to it.
i found the play very enjoyable even without knowing point.

I do have to say that I expect some type of revelation from Clyde towards end that would tie everything up n it didn’t. This would be a great show to hear a post show conversation with cast to see what deeper meaning was"

Yeah as both you and @chrishuyen said, when Clyde is alone at the end, I was fully expecting some monologue, even a corny one that breaks the fourth wall, to tie it together. The ending tonight was... not that. But i do want to emphasize that I enjoyed watching it unfold, and I would recommend seeing it for Kara Young and Uzo Aduba's few-and-far-between moments alone.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 1:25am

What’s the fire moment ?

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 9:30pm

Happy to discuss but not 100% sure how to use the spoiler tech on this board (is it like discord?)