EXIT THE KING Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 3:35am

Hello, dear friends! I'm back and better than ever, and what better way to celebrate than with a new B'way opening! It is Thursday, March the 26th, and tonight, Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush holds court in the opening night performance of the starry Broadway revival of Eugene Ionesco's absurdist comedy Exit the King at the Barrymore.

According to press notes, Exit the King "is a hilarious and poignant comedy about a megalomaniacal ruler, King Berenger whose incompetence has left his country in near ruin. Despite the efforts of Queen Marguerite and the other members of the court to convince the King he has only 90 minutes left to live, he refuses to relinquish any control."

Co-adapted by the show's director, Neil Armfield and star Rush, Exit the King began preview performances on March 7th and will conclude it's limited engagement on June 14th. Armfield and Rush had previously collaborated on Exit the King in a run at Sydney's Belvoir St. Theatre in 2007.

Rush is joined onstage by fellow Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon as Queen Marguerite, Lauren Ambrose as Queen Marie, Tony Award winner Andrea Martin as Juliette, Brian Hutchison as the Guard and William Sadler as the Doctor.

With hopes of catching this one sometime within the coming months, I give my absolute best to all involved!

Post the reviews here!




Updated On: 3/26/09 at 03:35 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 6:50am

I can't believe you posted this at 3:35 AM.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 9:05am

Pathetic...

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 9:36am

Okay....

Well, anyway, best of luck to the cast and crew. I'm sure this phenomenal production will get the rave reviews it deserves. It's time for Geoffrey Rush to seal up that Tony.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 9:38am

TheActr97J- I am in totally agreement with you. Unless someone comes out of left field I really want Rush to win the Tony. It was, for me, the best male performance of the season. I hope Brantley gushes.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 9:42am

Granted I'm young, but for my money it was one of the best, if not the best, male performances I've ever seen on a stage.

I see a love letter coming from Brantley, Chenoweth-style.

[LotteTBS138]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 11:06am

I saw it on Tuesday night and LOVED it! Hilarious and they all did a great job, including the musician and sound board operator!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 11:18am

TheActr, I agree it ranks among the best performances I've seen, and yes, I would say it's probably the best male performance I've seen in a play (not saying much as I haven't seen as many as others on the board but still). And it's such a well-written role too. I hope Rush gets that award, his performance was just thrilling, a master class in acting. He didn't even have to deliver any lines and it would've been just as good a performance. Can't say enough good things about it.
And I also hope Lauren Ambrose gets her dues in the review, she also gave a pretty incredible performance.
And why was this thread started at 3:35am? Oh, I see, who started it now...

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 11:19am

Saw the show and loved it. But on a different note, I think the marquee and logo for this show is so classy and beautiful and tasteful. Anyways....

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 12:40pm

"Pathetic..."

What a dick. Just let him post his little thread, why does it bother you? Oh right, because you're a nasty, sniping theatre bitch.

But back to the thread at hand, yeah, Rush is amazing in this. Best performance I've EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE (to follow in the footstep of an unnamed hyperbole queen)? Perhaps not, but pretty stunning nonetheless, I'd love to see him take the award.

As for Ambrose, I got to see the show a 2nd time last night, and she was really the only notable change since I saw it back in the first week of previews. She's become more over-the-top/broad, but in a way that actually suits the material better than the dead serious/devastated manner she was putting on when I initially saw her. Now her constant crying jags are funny rather than sad, and she blends in with the silly/absurdist production that everyone else except for her was starring in when I saw it a few weeks ago.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 1:45pm

I'll be in NYC for the next several days so hopefully I can catch it.

BTW, just let me say that Lauren Ambrose is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life.

Although I'm sure Rush is great, I really want Esparza to take home the Tony this year. He's earned it. It's his turn.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 1:58pm

Esparza was GREAT in "Speed-the-Plow," but at the end of the day, it's a fun, really entertaining performance that ably/terrifically delivers the rat-a-tat dialogue. It's hardly BRILLIANT or transcendant or anywhere near approach Rush's work (or even Esparza's own work in "Company"). I'm with you in the sense that I'd love to see him win a TONY, because I love him, but I've never been of the opinion that it's someone's "turn" or they deserve it just because they've gone unrewarded. The best performance should win, simple as that, not just the most overdue actor; don't even get me started about Kate Winslet's Oscar this year...
Updated On: 3/26/09 at 01:58 PM

[Lamc16]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 3:23pm

Brantley will gush over Rush, for sure. Saw him the other night a few rows behind me, looked downright giddy when Beringer descended into the audience.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 3:55pm

Quick question Lamc16: When did you see the show? I'm just curious about which date Brantley chose to go during the press period in relation to opening night.

[hmpeterson]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 4:00pm

Is this a limited run? I was hoping to get up to NYC in May to see it.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 4:27pm

I'm sure Rush will get raves, and I hope he wins the Tony. I did enjoy Esparza, but I really don't think his performance compares.

Break a leg to the cast and crew tonight! This is my favorite play of the season and I can't wait to read the reviews. :)

[whatever2]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 4:46pm

Miracle Elixir: i thought that, too ... not that the other poster was a "dick" per se, but that really what's it hurting anyone if Limelight Mike wants to ... well ... grab the limelight this way!

plus, i have to say: on some of the more obscure off and off-off openings, he's the main reason the rest of us know how the notices are coming in!

[whatever2]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 4:47pm

Miracle Elixir: i thought that, too ... not that the other poster was a "dick" per se, but that really what's it hurting anyone if Limelight Mike wants to ... well ... grab the limelight this way!

plus, i have to say: on some of the more obscure off and off-off openings, he's the main reason the rest of us know how the notices are coming in!

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 5:52pm

MiracleElixir, I'm glad to hear Ambrose has dug her teeth even deeper into the comedy side of her role, but I found her pretty hysterical when I saw it (one of the early previews). I look forward to revisiting so I can see how much more fun she is having up there.

The only performer I had somewhat of a problem with was Susan Sarandon. She's a marvelous actress and she gives a completely fine performance, but I would have liked to see her have a little more fun with the role. The lines are there, and they're great, but I didn't feel like she dragged out the comedy as much as the role gave her room for. I would have liked to see what someone like Jan Maxwell could have done with the role.

Rush was brilliant and he has the Tony, without a doubt. Aside from the fact that he completely inhabits the role, he also has going for him the fact that he revised the script, and that gives him a heads up over other Tony contenders. Esparza gave another wonderful performance, but it wasn't a Tony-winning performance.

Rush's performance reminded me of Christine Ebersole's in GREY GARDENS. One of the most magnificent master works I've ever witnessed on stage. I imagine the reviews tonight will be a lot like they were for Ebersole.

Updated On: 3/26/09 at 05:52 PM

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 6:19pm

I would actually argue the reviews are more important for this show than many others currently occupying theaters. While I love the production unabashedly, it's easily (as could be predicted based on the playwright being Ionesco) one of the more challenging, inaccessible works on Broadway this season. Even with the two A-list headliners, I think this absurdist tragedy is really going to need raves (and I fully expect it to get them) to consistently fill houses.

But Foster, I totally agree, I have no doubt -- a la Ebersole/GG -- the reviews will be more of a lovefest for Rush himself than the production itself.
Updated On: 3/26/09 at 06:19 PM

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 6:59pm

Variety is Very Positive:

""Nothing's abnormal when abnormal has become the new normal," declares Geoffrey Rush, a short distance into his astonishing performance as the dying monarch in "Exit the King." It's that state of pervasive uncertainty, in a world thrown into chaos as an empire crumbles, that rescues Eugene Ionesco's 1962 absurdist tragedy from the dusty vaults and infuses it with unexpected currency. But the play's relevance is secondary to the virtuoso work of its lead actor, who unleashes a dazzling arsenal of mime, clowning and physical techniques to swerve in an instant between comedy and pathos, keeping the audience riveted to him through every hairpin turn."

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939945.html?categoryid=33&cs=1

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 7:06pm

The Associated Press is a Rave:

"We haven't seen a star turn like this in quite a while.

Geoffrey Rush, making his Broadway debut, manages a mesmerizing high-wire act of balancing outrageous comedy and overwhelming tragedy in a fascinating revival of Eugene Ionesco's absurdist Exit the King...

The actor is a total chameleon, part vaudeville comic, part circus clown, part overwrought tragedian, in his larger-than-life portrayal of a monarch who's dying while his kingdom collapses around him _ dying, but refusing to go quietly. "I will die when I feel like it," he sniffs royally."

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=114&sid=1634414

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 7:08pm

The NEWSDAY review is apparently posted, but I can't find it on the website itself, and when I find the link via Google, it says 'Page not found' -- nonetheless, in said Google search, the VERY minimal text I can see appears to be VERY POSITIVE:

"If an evening-long death scene isn't your idea of exhilarating theater, you haven't been to "Exit the King." This inspired revival of Eugene..."

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 7:25pm

NY1 [with video] is Very Positive:

""Exit The King" is a play about the meaning of life in all its wondrous, mundane glory from the perspective of death. It's not Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," but Eugene Ionesco went in a completely different direction and his absurdist riff on the theme is no less profound.

While "Exit The King" is not for everyone, Geoffrey Rush earns the crown for Broadway's most entertaining despot."

http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/theater_reviews/96348/ny1-theater-review---exit-the-king-/Default.aspx

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/26/09 at 7:31pm

Pathetic...


funny, coming from someone obsessed with Story of My Life.