ENRON Reviews- Page 3

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/28/10 at 9:24am

Sounds to me like the timing is too late for a play that relied heavily on inducing a visceral reaction to its subject matter, as many of you have mentioned. The two sets of reviews (London and NY) show the passage of time. We've had a year of Obama, the beginning of healthcare reform, crazy Teabaggers, and most importantly the effects of the Wall Street bailout.

True or not, Enron already seems like a snapshot of a bygone era. In just one year. The country has moved on. And even if general interest remains, the immediate emotional reaction has waned.

So people just stare at the machinations, unmoved or mildly fascinated. And they are more aware than ever now of the play's faults.

Updated On: 4/28/10 at 09:24 AM

[Brick]

Posted: 4/28/10 at 12:28pm

I find it fascinating that the response in NY is so different. Not only was it a huge, huge hit in the West End, but Broadway producers launched a big bidding war over who'd get to take it over.

Then, it comes, and half the critics shrug.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 4/28/10 at 12:44pm

Are all of your forgetting about RED, or do you just think it has no shot? In my opinion, it's easily the best new play of the season, and I'm pretty certain it got the best reviews overall.
Updated On: 4/28/10 at 12:44 PM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 4/28/10 at 5:17pm

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that critics are using the excuse that the play is not longer 'timely' as a reason to deride it. Yes, scandals have happened since that may make Enron pale in comparison... but the fundamental issue at stake here is greed, and I don't believe that greed will ever not be an issue anytime soon. I don't know if the play did an ineffective job of conveying this, or the critics don't know enough about white collar crime to pick up on it, but... something is amiss.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/28/10 at 5:54pm

I don't see many of the reviews deriding it for its timeliness (or lack thereof) at all. The biggest complaint is that it's all show with no depth. The 'greed is bad' moral is hardly new ground to tread- having velociraptors onstage doesn't make it new, just unsubtle.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 5/2/10 at 8:29pm

Sorry, Brantley, I was at yesterday's matinee and found it to be a well-executed piece of theatre that didn't have me groping to keep awake -- and I've seen all the others, less Time Stands Still. I went fully prepared expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe not the greatest play ever written, per se, but a great afternoon of theatre. Highly recommended.

Sidebar: Yesterday, at the point where they're enacting the power failture in California, the theatre did experience an actual power failure. At first, everyone thought it was part of the play, but as the wait continued, the announcement was made that the play Enron would resume momentarily. After another five minutes or so, it picked up several lines before it had originally left off. Talk about coincidence.

Updated On: 5/2/10 at 08:29 PM

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/3/10 at 12:02am

Saw it tonight and was pleasantly surprised after the mixed reviews to find that overall, I really did like it as well. Yes, Enron is old news, but it was the first to fall and a lot of the ideas put forth in the second act made me think on the way home. Then again, I'd probably be happy listening to Norbert Butz recite--or even sing!--the phone book. But I'd give Enron a good review.