Casa Valentina Previews — Page 4

Possible spoiler...nothing really story-related

I don't have much new to add. I was surprised by how low-key Fierstein could be after having only been exposed to his musicals, and this play possesses the best cast on Broadway.

I would like to know what people thought of the ending. I agree with WiCkEDrOcKS that it felt abrupt. I had not looked at my watch during Act Two, so I assumed there might be another scene to wrap things up. When the lights started going out, I thought, "This can't be it, can it?" I don't think I expected Patrick Page and Mare Winningham to be the last two people onstage since I think there were more scenes with/about the group than with/about the couple. I think if Fierstein trimmed a little out of the overlong argument scene that ends Act One and put a little more into Page & Winningham's story, this ending might have been more satisfying.

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Wonderful show. Funny, insightful, and inspiring. Cannot wait to return (missed some of the jokes because we were laughing so hard). The cast is a tour de force. Everyone was out standing. This is must see theater. I do think the ending is a little abrupt but works IMHO.

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As far as the ending goes, I think it was a bit abrupt, and maybe a minor change in the staging could help. But I think Page's acting in the very last scene was superb. As I remember it, he rips off his male attire as George to reveal a slip underneath. Then he sits down at the vanity and looks in the mirror, and I could tell from the look on his face that Valentina was definitely coming into the foreground of his personality. His look and the sigh of relief--he couldn't wait to become Valentina again--was stunning to behold.

As far as the rest of the play is concerned, all of the performances were excellent, but my favorites were Nick Westrate and Reed Birney. Those two I really bought as women, and complex women at that.

I thought the middle of the play got too talky, and I wish some of that could be trimmed. Also (and I know I have this problem), I got confused as to the envelope and the blackmail. Page (as George) related what happened when he was called in to the police station, but I would have liked it if I could have seen it acted out somehow. I'm still confused as to what George was shown, how much was hidden by the police, and what the judge's role was.

Updated On: 4/23/14 at 02:19 PM

Thanks, Tom, for the explanation!

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Earlier in the play, when Valentina asked the judge for advice about the legal situation, I got the impression that Valentina didn't realize that the judge was involved. Is that correct? I think Valentina/George mentioned that he wasn't seeing everything that was in the envelope, that it was damaged in the mail somehow? Otherwise he would have known the other man's identity (the man with the erection).

Did we as the audience find out who the other man is? Was it Nick Westrate's character? It couldn't have been Gabriel Ebert's character, who is the person the judge kissed, because she was new to Casa Valentina. Thanks for any info!

Hi guys,

So I must have deleted my MTC 30 Under 30 email by accident as I don't have any in my inbox since the one for Outside Mullingar. Could someone please PM me the code for CASA VALENTINA and WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID? It would be appreciated. Thanks so much!