EVERYBODY (previews)

[cjmclaughlin10]

Posted: 1/31/17 at 8:19pm

I am really curious about this new Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins play at Signsture Theatre Company (Loved an Octoroon, Appropriate and Gloria....  Could barely sit through The Neighbors)

Early reports are appreciated as always  

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 1/31/17 at 10:58pm

I was there tonight and have a mixed reaction. Thought the first third was pretty good, loved the second third, but then it kind of lost me during the final third. There was a whole dance sequence involving blacklights and skeleton puppets that was...strange, and it really started to drag after that.

That said, the run was incredibly smooth for a first preview, and kudos to the cast for diving into this entire thing with abandon. The role of "Everybody" is selected by lottery during each performance, which means that several of the cast members have nearly the entire play memorized and jump into whichever role they're assigned for the evening. They said there are 120 possible combinations, so the play will be different every night.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 6:44am

Who was selected to play the role last night?

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 2/1/17 at 10:45am

Louis Cancelmi played Everybody last night and was solid. I'd be interested to hear how the show plays with some of the other actors in the role.

[bandit964]

Posted: 2/3/17 at 8:03am

bump

[Chefcorvette]

Posted: 2/6/17 at 9:59am

Thanks PThespian~great  insider insight. I think the press review and opening night performance will be arranged~~I can't blame the Producers 

[little_sally]

Posted: 2/12/17 at 6:02pm

I was there this afternoon and found it a mixed bag. I'm a big fan of Jenkins' other work, and I admire what he's doing with Everybody but I didn't think it was a compelling piece of theater. The whole cast was excellent (it's always as joy to see Marylouise Burke on stage) and today, Lakisha Michelle May played Everybody.

I agree that the skeleton bit didn't work, and it took me out of the play. I also didn't care for the voice-over bits between scene changes. It reminded me of Antlia Pneumatica from last season. It didn't work there and it doesn't work here.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/13/17 at 10:53am

It felt so long for a play that's less than two hours. Overall I liked it, but it's really rough to put the entire audience in the dark for extended periods of time. If they did away with that I would've liked it more. Honestly, I found the text fascinating, but I shouldn't be struggling to stay focused and awake.

[little_sally]

Posted: 2/13/17 at 11:45am

neonlightsxo said: "It felt so long for a play that's less than two hours. Overall I liked it, but it's really rough to put the entire audience in the dark for extended periods of time. If they did away with that I would've liked it more. Honestly, I found the text fascinating, but I shouldn't be struggling to stay focused and awake.

I agree that they should do away with the bits in the dark. It did nothing to add to the play, and really felt out of place.