Dead Poets Society @CSC

Going next Saturday. I'm interested in people's thoughts on this as well.

I was there tonight and should start with a confession that I'm not really a fan of the film. I always found it to be so corny and filled with such hokum. The stage show follows the same plot and has many of the same speeches, but Doyle has stripped away much of eyeroll inducing varnish and left us with a minimalistic presentation of the story. I think it's all the better for it. I still don't love the material, but the Doyle approach greatly enchanced my appreciation of it.

The other thing this production has going for it is the acting. All the boys are excellent and Sudeikis is making a strong stage debut.

The runtime is a nice 100/105 minutes with no intermission. The set is simply a floor to ceiling backwall of books which the students remove from the shelves in stacks to make piles that will constitute the desks/tables/stones etc. No frills, but not cheap looking either, and it's hard to get the combo right.

@Whizzer where did you sit? Curious about the sight lines for this show. I know Classic Stage has that three-sided house.

Where is the stage door at CSC ? Did Jason stage door ?

CSC doesn't have an official stage door. Actors enter and exit through the lobby, the same as audience members.

I caught the matinee today and enjoyed the show. I have not seen the movie. I thought Jason Sudeikis was excellent in a central but not showy role. He held the stage and sounded great. In fact, I thought the whole cast was good. Quite a few of them are recent grads doing their first roles in New York City.

They double as ushers, so when you come in, they help you find your seat and give you the program. I thought, "Those are snazzy jackets for volunteer ushers! And they're all so cute!" So I guess I should not have been shocked when they assembled on stage and started singing.

As a play, I think it's on the slight side. You kind of see as you go along that things are not going to end well. Still, it's wonderful to see the students bloom in various ways.

I like Doyle's direction very much. I'm not always a fan of his, but between Color Purple and this, I am coming around. (I really disliked Allegro though.) I sat in one of the side areas, and the view was fine. Chris Rock was in the audience too.

Updated On: 10/30/16 at 06:26 PM

Has anyone seen this lately? What is the current run time? Going Sunday and trying to plan out the train. Thanks!!

Play opens tonight!!!! I was fortunate to be able to see the play last night and found it intimate, moving, and nostalgic. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and recall watching the movie with Robin Williams back in the day. For those who have seen the movie, you'll know the plot. This production is slightly different with minimal casting and I thought Jason Sudeikis commanded the role of Keating very well. I hope it gets extended though not sure if that's possible.

After Eight said: "Appalling rubbish. We're to believe this jackass/fraud/disgrace of a "teacher" actually ever read a poem in his life? A flat, smug, smirking performance by the lead.

Its offense is rank.



Two negative reviews within 3 minutes of each other this morning, huh?

After Eight said: "Appalling rubbish. We're to believe this jackass/fraud/disgrace of a "teacher" actually ever read a poem in his life? A flat, smug, smirking performance by the lead.

Its offense is rank."

In this time of frightening upheaval, AE's predictability is oddly comforting.

Saw this on Saturday and I think it has a ton of potential. It was fun getting to chat with the actors handing out the Playbills before the show:

me: "Does Sudeikis do this, too"

him: "Who?"

The show was fine, the problem is it's not long enough to establish the characters and make the ending really make sense. Plenty of shows can tell their stories in 90 minutes, this just isn't one of them. If they could extend it to 2:15 or 2:30 + an intermission I think it would be much better.



The work they've done to the space there was amazing, with the big wall of books and the scuffed floor. Sudeikis definitely channels himself and Robin Williams in the role. The students all do a pretty good job, just need more fleshing out.

Any updates on Rush? Trying to figure out what time to maybe try to show up this weekend to see if I can get tickets.

JVJ93 said: "Has anyone had success with rush for this lately? Or is it pretty much down to the TodayTix lottery for tickets that aren't premium price? Do we know if they reserve tickets for rush/lotto? Word of a further extension? Really would love to see this before it leaves.



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