Chastain stars in A DOLL'S HOUSE On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 4

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/21/23 at 11:41pm

So what’s the final word on where to sit? How many rows back gives you a full view of the stage due to the height but is the closest?

Someone posted a pic from the front row on A View From My Seat. Jessica Chastain was right in front of them in view. But I assume they can’t see the back of the stage at all. 
 

Id like to be close but with no obstructions. Thanks for any input. 

[dan94]

Posted: 2/22/23 at 4:52pm

AP1979 said: "I attended the preview on 2/14. I'm here just to fill everyone in on seating info. I was row O seats 12 and 14. For being on the side I found them to be great seats, especially for only $99 each on today tix. It is definitely a high stage so you definitely don't want to be super close up.
"

Did you miss the door slam/her walking out at the end in those seats?

[JasonC3]

Posted: 2/22/23 at 5:54pm

Lengthy NYT profile on Chastain (gift link):

"Jessica Chastain Returns to the Stage With Nothing to Prove"

[NoItAll]

Posted: 2/22/23 at 6:26pm

dan94 said: "Did you miss the door slam/her walking out at the end in those seats?"

Why should anyone hear a door slam? Such a sound would completely misrepresent Nora’s state of mind. All I’d want is a sharp click.

[Jimmyb1969]

Posted: 2/23/23 at 5:46pm

The Show is in great shape acting wise. They need to tighten the pre show—some obnoxious fellas behind me starting making references to Jessica being in a microwave oven after about 10 minutes and they thought they were so clever and kept laughing. I kinda hated them and was afraid they were going to ruin the show for me but they finally quieted down. I still hate them for being so obnoxious and not self aware but they were not wrong exactly. And if it’s tightened you can still be effective without being indulgent if that makes sense. Besides that note  the build to the finale is very slow for me. It should be a runaway train to the final moment which I thought was quite effective but the last 30 minutes needs some work and tightening. They can easily tighten throughout the play and pull 10 mins out. 
Oh and it should’ve been in a smaller house - it would have been electric in St. Ann’s. 

[All So Ozmopolitan]

Posted: 2/23/23 at 10:48pm

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but I'd strongly recommend purchasing a ticket for house RIGHT (no matter which level). At the end of the play, there is a moment far upstage right that could be partly (or even fully) obstructed from a far left seating location. It's a climactic moment that you definitely do not want to miss. If you're looking for a cheap seat, I'd go with center/right balcony instead of TodayTix Rush (which might be partial view).

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 11:03pm

Easily one of the best nights of theatre I’ve ever had. Just gifted actors and the text. I was transfixed the entire time. Chastain never leaves the stage and she is completely committed and connected. Blown away. I sat pretty close and I do think that may affect how people experience this piece. 
 

She’s grown tremendously as an actress since The Heiress and it shows. She is firing on all cylinders. 

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 11:28pm

Is there any chance this might tour? (Presumably without Jessica Chastain.) Or are regional theatres likely to produce this soon with the new Amy Herzog translation? I love the new translation so much that I really want to see it again, but I'm heading home from NYC this weekend and won't have time on this trip, and it will be closed by the next time I come to NYC. 

[yyys]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 9:15am

where are the rush tix seating for this?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 9:34am

forfivemoreminutes said: "Is there any chance this might tour? (Presumably without Jessica Chastain.) Or are regional theatres likely to produce this soon with the new Amy Herzog translation? I love the new translation so much that I really want to see it again, but I'm heading home from NYC this weekend and won't have time on this trip, and it will be closed by the next time I come to NYC."

I highly doubt this will tour either with or without Chastain. It's very much a "prestige" New York theatre/ Broadway event. Of course, stranger things have happened, but I would be surprised if this toured.

I let curiosity get the best of me and bought a ticket for March - very much looking forward to seeing this.

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 11:28am

Based on the prestige casting, I figured that the early weeks would be well sold out. Was happily surprised to snag an amazing seat in the front dress circle, stage right, on TodayTix for $109 for last night!

A tremendous night of theatre. The cast fires on all cylinders. I was especially tickled by the comedy they managed to find in lines that are rather flat in the text. The new translation will be a tome for the next 40 years, very much how the “Bobbie-Company” will surely be the dominate regional theatre preference of that show. 

I imagine that there will be an audio recording of this show.  

The last moment is a coup de théâtre. I was even more impressed that the staging of it was hiding in plain sight. 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I did wonder if there will eventually be paparazzi or fans who wait on the street for this moment each night? There does seem to be some risk involved once the word gets out  

 

 

[yyys]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 5:09pm

I'm sorry but it's dumb that 30% of the whole theater can't see the ending.

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 6:00pm

yyys said: "I'm sorry but it's dumb that 30% of the whole theater can't see the ending."

Asking so those that book are 100% certain of their seats: can someone confirm that far-left seats have NO visibility into the ending, or is it visible but only slightly?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 6:33pm

Poster #27 said they were second row mezzanine left and couldn't see what happened.

Here's one who said they were house left, row H on the aisle, and they didn't know what happened.

Another who said they were house left (without specifying where) who couldn't see it.

[kennin]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 6:41pm

MemorableUserName said: "Poster #27 said they were second row mezzanine left and couldn't see what happened.

Here's one who said they were house left, row H on the aisle, and they didn't know what happened.

Another who said they were house left (without specifying where) who couldn't see it."

We were front row Meze left and totally could not see it at the first preview. 
There was no merch at first preview.   Has that changed?

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 6:54pm

kennin said: "MemorableUserName said: "Poster #27 said they were second row mezzanine left and couldn't see what happened.

Here's one who said they were house left, row H on the aisle, and they didn't know what happened.

Another who said they were house left (without specifying where) who couldn't see it."

We were front row Meze left and totally could not see it at the first preview.
There was no merch at first preview. Has that changed?"

I didn’t see a merci table last night, only cost check and the bar.

The ushers were all wearing A Doll’s House t-shirt that had the title of the show on it. I imagine those may be added at some point? 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 7:22pm

I am fifth row center mezzanine when I see it in May...am I going to be able to see the big ending?  Based on what I have read, I am guessing that Nora walks out onto 45th St. for the big ending.  Am I close?  (ref.  paparazzi, crowds, etc., once they become aware of it).

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 8:02pm

yyys said: "I'm sorry but it's dumb that 30% of the whole theater can't see the ending."

 

Dumb? Its outrageous.

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 8:07pm

I was at today's matinee. Did not see her walk into the street from house left. Merch is the T-shirt the ushers wear, a window card, and a mug.

I have to be honest, for most of the show I liked but didn't love it. The bare-bones Jamie Lloyd staging with the turntable was similar to Betrayal, though I'm glad he (like Sam Gold) is branching out to cast actors with disabilities like Michael Patrick Thornton, who's great. 

What made the show come alive for me was the final half hour. The extended scene with just Jessica and Arian featured some of the best acting either has ever done and should put them both in the Tony conversation. Her walk offstage was very powerful as well, even without seeing her go into the street.

To echo other posters, this was also the most well-organized stage door I've ever seen. Jessica, Arian, and Oak all came out in quick succession, and while Oak was pretty quick Jessica and Arian really took their time with each audience member. A guard was there to distribute masks for those who needed them, so it was also very well-run from a public health standpoint.

[NoItAll]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 8:53pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "yyys said: "I'm sorry but it's dumb that 30% of the whole theater can't see the ending."
Dumb? Its outrageous."

The ending, seen or not, is much worse than that. It’s a conceited, pointless stunt that diminishes the sense of Nora’s courage. Walking out into the limitless possibilities of 21st century New York is nothing like leaving for the restrictive life of a woman in 1879 Norway. And without sets, one doesn’t see the bourgeois comforts she’s giving up. The whole thing should have been done as a radio play on BBC3. Then the only obstructions might have been in some listeners’ minds.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 10:06pm

How do you see her walk out? Is it a camera/projection? Or is the stage door just visible? 

[yahyahyah]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 10:21pm

I respect your opinion, but I felt differently. I think the ending is stunning, even in its simplicity. The subtle visual shifts of isolation, claustrophobia, dysphoria throughout the play all paid off with that elementary bit of innovative theatricality. It had an impact on me, and that meant something to me as a theatergoer who sees a lot. I was in the first audience, so I hadn’t heard chatterati whispering of what was to come. It was genuinely surprising and beautiful. I personally didn’t need literal bric a brac littering the stage for her revolt to feel truer. No, a Norwegian 1800’s Nora isn’t literally walking out into Times Square. This production, and updated script, feels more universal than literal. And I think suggesting that Nora’s struggle and choices only have impact if set in an 1800’s world is short-sighted, and frankly, untrue. The play is bigger than that. And look closer at the world around you. If you think every woman today (even in NYC) lives in an unrestrictive existence, I’m not quite sure what to say to you. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 11:20pm

I haven't seen this production yet but I was out the other night, walking on 45th St and saw the sidewalk was blocked off with barricades so I moved to the street to walk and right as I did I saw the door open and Chastain walk out. I just kinda stood there in shock watching lol. A very cool moment. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 12:23am

NoItAll said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "yyys said: "I'm sorry but it's dumb that 30% of the whole theater can't see the ending."
Dumb? Its outrageous."

The ending, seen or not, is much worse than that. It’s a conceited, pointless stunt that diminishes the sense of Nora’s courage. Walking out into the limitless possibilities of 21st century New York is nothing like leaving for the restrictive life of a woman in 1879 Norway. And without sets, one doesn’t see the bourgeois comforts she’s giving up. The whole thing should have been done as a radio play on BBC3. Then the only obstructions might have been in some listeners’ minds."

I respectfully disagree with you on every level. A well written play can completely exist without the trappings of a set and props. Nora’s language in the beginning reflects her naïveté, her hubris and her belief that money and all the trappings it can buy will bring her happiness. Money solves problems.
 

As her world begins to splinter apart due to the stark realities she is facing she comes to understand her station in life is predetermined due to her gender. The lack of agency, choice, and her illusion of safety. There is no suck thing whether she plays the game or not. It’s not solely related to her creature comforts. She has been sheltered from having access to knowledge which might have protected her. So she leaves to seek that. I found the focus on the text absolutely riveting and I found the ending intensely moving especially as staged. There is a tentativeness to Chastain’s movement as she departs and looks around at the world for the first time through newly clear eyes with the blinders removed. 

[NoItAll]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 2:40am

There is nothing wrong in principle with an abstract staging. A problem here is that it doesn’t stay that way to the very end. There is nothing universal or timeless about 45th St. in 2023 NYC. You want to honor Nora’s courage in facing an unknown future, then have her walk through a portal into absolute blackness. (And for an honestly powerful ending, ask around about the off-Broadway production of “Wit.&rdquo Let’s face it, theater goers are far more likely to leave imagining her ultimately getting a Master’s degree in marriage counseling from CUNY than becoming a bag lady. Sympathetic audience members at the Copenhagen premiere would have been a lot more concerned about what lay in store. Emulate that, with or without the furniture.

What with crowds gathering at the rear of the theater to see Jessica emerge, it smacks of a director’s self-indulgent stunt. (I have no idea who that person is, and I’m too far away to ever see this production, so I’ll look forward to the audio book.) A film version can be streamed here (free, no ads) with Claire Bloom/Hopkins/Richardson, but Denholm Elliott as Krogstad steals the show.