Enron is a big YES for best play this year!- Page 3

[Nick2]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 7:47am

"It's simply uncanny how eye opening the accounting principals of this failed corporation mirror that of what our President, Senate, and Congress have recently espoused in their latest legislative decisions. "

What the **** are you talking about?! Are you trying to link Enron to health care?!

[starlight2]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 9:38am

KUDOS!!! to you srg29! i am thrilled to be able to see it again! have tickets the first week in may, and will see it with a different view, and after studying all the posts, and seeing the documentary on CNN, i will appreciate it so much more! I agree with your analogy of the current crappy political stunts being pulled on Americans right now in Washington by the same kind of evil, greedy, disgusting mis-use of power by idiots....ever seen in this country! God help us all! just FYI(i was a democrat til a few months ago)
hoping ENRON, Rupert and Norbert all get a Tony nom!
again, looking forward to seeing this hard-working cast who are so talented and seemed to blend so well together to tell this story in such an entertaining and moving way! by the way, i love the opening and the music too!

[Nick2]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 10:29am

starlight2... i hope you come to "appreciate" one of the play's major themes: how Enron helped put GWB into the WH for the sole purpose of de-regulating energy policies for the sake of making money. Once achieved, deregulation put the state of California into a financial crisis from which it has not yet recovered, arguably one of the forces that put our country into a recession. The current Obama administration is trying desperately to contain the deregulatory damage the Bush presidency wrought...the "evil, greedy, disgusting mis-use of power by idiots." respectfully n

[mallardo]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 12:52pm

I haven't seen it in New York but I saw it in London and definitely had mixed feelings.

For me it just ran out of gas in the 2nd Act. When the corporation goes down so does the play. It has Lord of the Rings-like multiple endings, each one dragging the thing out until I just wanted it to be over. My reaction was (I think) shared by other audience members as the cast got a surprisingly tepid reception at bow time - and they were all good!

BTW, Enron tickets are now on sale at a reduced price at the London TKTS booth - so it's hardly the monster hit it has been proclaimed to be.

[Sauja]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 1:08pm

Interesting to hear folks liking the first act better than the second. I saw it last night and felt the opposite. I appreciated that the first act made a lot of concepts understandable--I know there are some complaints about the concepts being watered down too much, but for someone as financially stupid as myself, it really made it feel approachable. That said, it didn't seem to gather much dramatic traction. The second act felt more developed.I thought the deregulation laser dance and the raptors contributed more than the dance numbers in the first act, but I also found myself starting to be more invested in the characters, or at least finding things in them to be relatable. I also found the 9/11 section (which I know is controversial) to be a great depiction of hubris while also bringing us forward in the story. I do wonder what would have happened to Enron if the market stayed stronger.

It's such an interesting show, though I don't know how totally successful the evening was. It's trying to be so many things, but I don't know that I fully understand what it ultimately was. Still, a committed task and an ambitious, thoughtful piece. I can't complain. Though it does seem like it's going to be an exceedingly tough sell in NY. The mezz was half empty last night, and that was before quite a few people left at intermission. Audience response seemed tepid, though I will note that at Claudia's kleenex moment (not to give anything away), someone very loudly shouted, "Oh SH&$."

Question for anyone who saw it (SPOILER ALERT): was Jeffery's going after Claudia's accounting seen as an effort to save her from what ultimately happened? Or was it simple spite? His line at the end about how she should thank him because she avoided the disaster threw me.

[mallardo]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 1:19pm

I took Skelling's action against Claudia to be a spiteful power play and his line at the end to be ironic.

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 1:24pm

Now, please, don't get me wrong. I'm an actor. I'm a writer. I'm a theatre enthusiast. I went into this play having read it, having high hopes for the production and production values and to (dare I say wishing) to have a moving experience in the theatre.

Where to start? The writing is all over the place.

Something's is not "jiving" by these two statements written by CAX in his "review" of this play. (1) If he'd read the play beforehand wouldn't he have already known of the writing being "all over the place.." ?

[CAX]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 5:09pm

Hey Marquise...

Before I let you get too far along and you end up with your foot in your mouth or my foot in your ass, let's clear up some things.

I'm not sure what it is you're insinuating, but let's nip it in the bud and get you on the same page.

Yes, I'm all the things I said I am. A performer who also writes and who wants desperately to believe the theatre isn't the dying dinosaur that nearly every financial type who looks at its numbers would have me believe it is.

Secondly, I DID read a draft of the play made available to me BEFORE the play was published and available here in the States, hell before the NYC transfer was even a sure bet. I called in a favor when I heard it might be making its way here, thinking I could get the jump on the competition. The copy I received, what I believe was a working draft from the London production, was a swift read that I found quite enjoyable. It was witty, zingy and seemed relevant and interesting and I eagerly awaited its arrival, despite the fact that I knew right away it wasn't a project for me to be part of.

It was my initial read, and the fact that I have a good handful of friends in the damn thing, that propelled me go see it. And I went into the show, all $250.00 of it, knowing the end and the gimmicks that were written in, EXPECTING to be blown away.... and that didn't happen. No big deal. You win some, you lose some. But I can tell you, for whatever reason... (Like, I dunno, the fact that the play's transferred to a city/country with a very different sensibility than its debut) the script HAS and will likely continue to undergo MASSIVE changes.

As I think about it now, the fact that it seemed uneven and wonky at times actually makes sense to me . The scenes that I liked when I read it, probably the strongest ones in the darn thing, have remained untouched and the "connective tissue" of the other scenes, the exposition, random new monologues or other bits have been trimmed, tweaked, rearranged and/or added to fill the voids...

Add to it the fact that there's a lot of stage business that either was not in the original script or simply plays WAY differently than it read and GUESS WHAT? You've a recipe for a very different experience in the theatre than you have in the comfort of your living room, imagining the darn thing in your head.

The more thought I give to this thing, the more I'm convinced that at its heart, ENRON is a language play. A narrative that manages to take years of complicated smoke and mirrors and boil it down to a palatable 2.5 hour meal. Unfortunately, when combined with all the outlandish staging shenanigans, it's my belief that the play gets lost and the point of the thing gets very muddy. We're forced to either connect to the philosophical "debate" of the piece or the clever Boom-Pow-Tee-Hee-Hee-they've-got-freakin-lightsabers-cool aspect of it. But they never synch!

All the comments about this thing has really made me wonder.... Is it the play or the staging that makes this an unsuccessful outing on the great white way?

I dunno. Everyone from this board who has loved it so far, has pointed to the "fresh" and "innovative" storytelling aspects of the piece and that this should make it recipient of the Tony Award, but I actually think it is those aspects of this production that prevent the play from being able to make any real emotional impact. It relies so heavily on the visual that, just like all the over conceptualized productions of Shakespearean plays, the argument never gets "heard" because the extraneous movement or NOISE, for lack of a better word, drowns it out.

I actually wonder if the play could work in a pared down incarnation. Anyhoo, as I said early on, I have no axe to grind with this show and fully expect that it has probably improved since I saw it but for my money this was not it! I hope it will may inspire other theatre artists to think bigger, bolder and try again. That's all any of us can do at the end of the day. Sweat, bleed and cry into some work, put it out there and it flies or it crashes and burns. When it soars, we learn and when it burns we learn too. Hopefully.
Updated On: 4/15/10 at 05:09 PM

[starlight2]

Posted: 4/15/10 at 7:05pm

nick2......just FYI, I believe GWB was a very good man, but a little dim. He would do anything for his friends, and trusted them "good 'ol texas pals"! we all got burned and as for California, look at your governor and figure some blame there! And as to your reference to how the current administration is "trying" to get us out of what GWB got us into. WRONG! try the congress led by Reid and Pelosi, et all during his time! Now, BACK TO THE SUBJECT! I hope this play opens some eyes, ruffles some feathers, and makes people talk about the past so we as a nation do not allow it to take place again. I will state again, there are so mnay evil, greedy people out there who care for no one but themselves. Looking forward to seeing ENRON again in may! CAX, hope you try it again after opening too, i would love to hear your views of changes and how it helped or hurt the play. thanks!

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 4/16/10 at 10:53am

For anyone who might be interested in seeing 'Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,' check your T.V. listings. I did a search last night (yes, this play has piqued my curiosity to learn more), and it turns out it's going to be on one of the business channels next week.

Updated On: 4/16/10 at 10:53 AM

[MEMPHIS10]

Posted: 4/17/10 at 9:44pm

I saw ENRON today.
Thought it was a great experience...very different.
Will encourage others to go...
It kept me interested from beginning to end.
The guy sitting next to me said "Mske sure you pay attention
its very confusing"...So i leaned forward and hung on every word...
At intermission he said dont you think its hard to follow and i was like "No...not at all"....
I thought it was very well done!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 3:11am

"I believe GWB was a very good man"

Say what???!!! LOL

I saw the play tonight and it was definitely not my cup of tea. Marin Mazzie is DIVINE though, and some of the musical numbers are very original, I somehow wished it were a musical and not a play with music numbers. Maybe it'd have worked better as a musical.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 12:27pm

This was one of the shows I was most excited about this season. I finally got to see it last night and LOVED it. Unfortunately, I don't think most of the audience did. Many people at intermission left and after the show discussing "I thought YOU wanted to stay! I would have left..." type things. Not sure if it makes a difference but I'm pretty sure I was the only one there under 40 too.
Anyways, I was completely engaged the entire time. I loved some of the movement, the raptors, the laser dance - it all worked for me.
Norbert was incredible, as always. Everyone else was good too.
One of the few shows this year where I actually said "wow" outloud at the end of act 1 and the end of the show.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 1:32pm

taylor, I saw many people under 40(including myself and my friend!) I was also one of the ones saying we should leave after act 1, and several seats around us were empty after act 1.
Not one person gave the play a standing O, the audience and myself seemed bored. Only one old lady got up during the curtain call in the orchestra seats area, and it wasn't to clap for anyone, it was kinda funny.

[CAX]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 4:38pm

When does the show open? I'm actually a little concerned now that people are still having the less than stellar response I had to it a few weeks back. I'm actually a little curious about revisiting the show (if I'm given a free ticket) and I'm still holding out hope for my buddies who are working their asses off in this thing but I don't know that things are looking good.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/21/10 at 4:43pm

I was in the mezz quite early and saw no one who looked under 40 come in, then went outside during intermission then moved the orchestra and didn't see many younger people either. Oh well.
One lady in the front row stood up at the end. I was embarrassed FOR the company.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 12:21am

taylor, that was pretty embarrassing and hilarious, yes, an old lady, right? LMAO!

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 12:36am

Yup, and then some people standing up and walking out. Sad.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 2:55am

I didn't really feel sad, I was one of the ones that wanted to walk out. The actors are just doing their job, the people I am really kinda mad at, are the producers, I mean, although the play is definitely interesting, it's just not what I want to see when I go to the theatre. I want magic, fantasy, dreams, art! This was like watching the news.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 12:26pm

Saw it last night. I didn't care for it. All the fun theatrical stuff (raptors, lightsabers, dancing, etc.) was superfluous to the story. It was just weird spectacle and against the seriousness of the material, looked ridiculous in a bad way.

I also thought the ending was weak. I agree that the show seemed like it just ran out of gas as the company started to go under.

I think the show might hit too close to home for American audiences and is too strange to be successful, but as we all know, stranger things have happened.

[evic]

Posted: 4/24/10 at 11:33pm

This is like an ALW musical- mediocre writing wrapped in glitz so's that you wont notice the weaknesses. 1/2 hour too long, the film clips were not interesting...nothing new was told-yeah yeah - greed , slimy execs, power, sex.........Butz is as usual superb..tepid reaction from audience tonite- with the exception of 1/2 the orchestra standing..6 month run at the most...this cannot win best play of the year.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/25/10 at 2:16am

And which show do YOU work for, evic?

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/25/10 at 10:57am

I didn't really feel sad, I was one of the ones that wanted to walk out. The actors are just doing their job, the people I am really kinda mad at, are the producers, I mean, although the play is definitely interesting, it's just not what I want to see when I go to the theatre. I want magic, fantasy, dreams, art! This was like watching the news.

Are you seriously blaming the producers just because they brought something to Broadway that you don't like?

Posted: 4/25/10 at 1:28pm

I mostly just look at these boards. as it can get into somewhat of a pissing contest and it's not really fun for me to do that. But I really feel the need to say something. the fact that a play is trying different devices, different ways to tell a story, different storytelling techniques and they are looked at as "gimmicks" or "ways of hiding bad writing"...this short sighted view of thinking are why truly innovative theater comes out of london and edinburough and we (america) give the world "legally blonde".

what a shame that people are bashing this show so early on.
and no, I don't work for the show, I am not a producer, I don't have money in the show.

It seems like anytime someone stands up for a show or a person, they are their mother or something. I just think that FINALLY something different comes along and it's too much for the mainstream. Hope you all enjoy "promises, promises"...i'm sure that will be easier for you to injest and understand.

[pacificnorthwest]

Posted: 4/27/10 at 8:09am

Saw it Saturday night and loved it, as did the audience at large. Gave it an enthusiastic standing ovation, and I could hear people talking about how amazed they were by it all - - from Norbert Leo Butz's superb performance to the cutting-edge production. Haven't critics and people on this board lamented what they see as the lack of innovation on Broadway? The Disneyfication? The lowest-common-denominator crowd pleasers? This was a feast for the eyes, ears and mind. A hybrid play-musical-multimedia show with Tony-worthy acting. It was nothing if not fresh and innovative.

I could hardly believe my eyes reading through these posts, learning that some people at previous performances disliked it so much that they left at intermission. I urged friends to buy tickets before tomorrow morning, figuring that the reviews tonight will make tickets nearly impossible to come by. I hope I'm not wrong, but heaven knows I certainly have been before when it comes to my opinion vs. critics and this very board.