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

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.

Lengthy NYT profile on Chastain (gift link):

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

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.

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.

where are the rush tix seating for this?

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.

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 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 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).

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.

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

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.

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.