FIFTY WORDS - Funny and Poignant

[Gigi5]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:09am

I thoroughly enjoyed Fifty Words, a well-acted, touching and insightful two-person play, written by Michael Weller. It's a story about the complexities of long-term relationships, the resentments that build, the memories that endure and what happens when the things that are often left unsaid between a couple abruptly surfaces in one roller coaster of an argument.

Norbert Leo Butz plays Adam, a brash, testosterone-driven architect with lower middle class roots.

Elizabeth Marvel plays Jan, an uptight, neurotic former ballerina-turned-entrepreneur, who comes from money.

The relationship seems to be a case of opposites attracting, beginning with one wild and crazy night in a cab, which they both reminisce about at the start of the play.

What struck me about this play was how realistic Michael Weller's dialogue is. I know couples who I could imagine having this fight behind closed doors. Heck, I think portions of it could have been taken from my own marriage.

The play is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission, and takes place over the course of one evening in Adam and Jan's stylish apartment. During this time, you see them fondly recalling their youthful impulsiveness, desperately trying to re-create the feeling, and cruelly slashing each other to pieces with bitter criticisms. One minute they seem to be on the brink of ending it all, and then the next minute one of them will be gently tending to the other's wound. There is such an enormous spectrum of emotions being revealed, yet it is all so true and honest.

I caught one or two slips in the conversation, which I'm sure they will fix before the play opens. It is in very solid shape already. The only criticisms that I have are that Elizabeth has one expression - a grimaced smile, which she uses a bit too often, and Norbert occasionally overplays his part and is a little too theatrical, calling to mind his performances in Is He Dead and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (in which I thought he was perfect).

Overall, I would highly recommend this play. There is great chemistry between the two leads, and the dialogue is smart and illuminating.

[kooky]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:16am

Actually I will be seeing this tonight .... will YOU be there Gigi5 ?

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 9:29am

It's interesting how the person who just joined this message board TODAY rated it so highly, yet 5 members who saw it with Goldstar rated it only 2.0 out of a possible 4 stars.

Some of their comments:

"I really wanted to like it. I like the players. But so much of the dialogue and interaction didn't ring true to me. There were some interesting moments, however. This play needs serious editing as well. It was too long, had no intermission, and the theater was very hot and airless. Would not recommend",

"....story was boring and seemed to drag on for 50 million words."

[Gigi5]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 12:37pm

Oh %#&*!!! I've been found out. Yes, it's really me....Michael Weller in disguise.

I think it's really pathetic that new members get accused of being shills simply because their first review is a positive one. I've actually been coming to this board for a long time now (since back when we use to have more scintillating discussions and intelligent members contributing regularly). I just didn't see a need to post the 50th review of Gypsy. Last night I noticed some members inquiring about Fifty Words, so I thought I would share my views. Obviously opinions can differ, and clearly the Goldstar writer you referred to could not identify with the characters in the play whereas I could. Maybe your enjoyment of the play would depend on who you are. Adam and Jan's argument may seem completely ridiculous and blown out of proportion to a swinging bachelor with no kids.

In any case, there is no excuse for your baseless presumption that my opinion is not genuine. Most shills that I've noticed on this board are illiterate morons who provide no support for their favorable reviews. You should think twice before you make any further accusations.

Oh and thanks for the warm welcome.


Updated On: 9/13/08 at 12:37 PM

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 1:33pm

Thanks for your review. I'm looking forward to seeing this.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 9/13/08 at 1:54pm

I'm seeing it next Friday and am definitely looking forward to it. :)

[kooky]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 9:44am

I agree with you Gigi5, after seeing the show last night I found it funny and poignant
as well. That could have been MANY marriages that I know, Although seeing Jan's
breasts really had nothing to do with much except maybe shock value.
I would recommend this show, it will leave you thinking about your relationships.

[whatever2]

Posted: 9/14/08 at 10:57am

i didn't need to see jan's breats, either (really didn't), but i don't agree with kooky that they had "nothing to do with much" -- adam clearly was a breast man; their appearance certainly encouraged the viewer to focus on the implications of that (obsessive?) aspect of his character.

overall, i thought the play was better than average (lots of thought-provoking dialogue) but not as good as i was hoping for.

the acting was fantastic!

[Gigi5]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 12:45am

I was also initially surprised by the nudity (and the extended length of time that Jan remained topless onstage), but it was more Adam's groping that threw me. However, the display of Jan's breasts does underscore her vulnerability despite her harsh criticisms of Adam, and emphasize his sexually charged nature. He seemed bent on making her lose her train of thought while she was on the telephone, but I think it had more to do with establishing his sexual prowess as opposed to acting on pure lust. So I suppose I do see a purpose to the nudity and in my view, it contributes to the realism of the play.

[kooky]

Posted: 9/15/08 at 8:17am

I agree with you Gigi5 I was surprised at the length of time of Jan's nudity.
I thought that she would appear more vulnerable if during the dramatic dialog she would
have held something up to try and cover because she felt so shocked and hurt.
That to me would have seemed actually sexier, what do you think?

[Gigi5]

Posted: 9/16/08 at 5:54pm

Given the length of time that Adam and Jan had been married (9+ years), I think it would have been odd for Jan to try to cover herself. Being naked in front of Adam would be such familiar territory that she wouldn't even think twice about it, especially when caught up in a heated argument. *SPOILER*

Though Jan's shock and hurt are evident when she discovers Adam's infidelity, she is still a proud woman, and I think covering up would have made her appear weak. I like how she really bares her claws at the end, demanding the phone number of Adam's mistress. Both characters are made more realistic by the fact that they aren't entirely likeable.

[kooky]

Posted: 9/16/08 at 8:13pm

Point taken Gigi5, I still felt that she might have withdrew and covered up a tad
to show how upset she was..... and I also think that covering up would
show she was in control of herself. Demanding the phone number was purely
and emotional move !!!!!!! She said " Why did I do that ? "

This is fun ..... I really did like this show .......

[jordangirl]

Posted: 9/19/08 at 10:56pm

Just got in from seeing this and was totally mesmerized by both performances, but especially Elizabeth's.

*spoilers*

Her moment of sheer rage and freaking out ~ clawing at her body, pulling at her hair... Absolutely raw, powerful and amazing.

I don't know if they've made changes since y'all saw it, but there was really just the tail end of a scene where she's topless now ~ the phone call about Greg going to the theme park ~ so it didn't seem that extended to me. But since it is still in previews, that could have been changed.

Just... Wow. If this pops up on tdf (I'm in a cash crunch situation at the moment), I definitely want to go back and see it again.

Edit to add (having reread the other discussions), I think everything Jan does is pretty realistic for someone who's used to having everything in control and suddenly has the rug ripped out from under her and there is no semblance of control whatsoever. She'll do what she has to (be it aggressive/violent sex, demanding a phone number, whatever) no matter how out of her normal sphere of character to try and get that control back. As she was learning, it's not that easy.

(And before Foster asks, NO, neither is in this. See? I told you I can like other things! (If you don't get it, don't worry.))

Updated On: 9/20/08 at 10:56 PM

[WickedMuzzy422]

Posted: 9/20/08 at 10:56pm

would any of you happen to know how this is selling? Do you think they'll have student rush? I'm thinking of rushing something tomorrow, but i don't want to go downtown and not have any other options if there's no chance of getting tickets.

thanks so much!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 5:00am

It looked to be pretty well sold on Friday night ~ or at least pretty full. I know some people bought regularly priced tickets that night. I don't know what the Lortel's (or MCC's) policy is on student rush.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 5:58am

I got a ticket for 16.50 through student no rush on ticketcentral.com. That's cheaper than a student rush ticket. I wish I knew how much they were charging but I believe they sell them at least 2 hours before curtain.
Updated On: 9/21/08 at 05:58 AM

[Gigi5]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 12:06pm

I saw the play on a Thursday night. It was fairly full, but there were some empty seats on the far sides of the theater. It's a very intimate theater, only a couple hundred seats, so you don't need to worry about seat location. I used a discount on broadwaybox.com, so my ticket was $45 instead of $59. On the MCC website, it also mentions student rush (20 minutes prior to curtain) for $15 or under-30 tickets (2 hours prior to curtain) for $20.

[WickedMuzzy422]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 9:28pm

thanks for your responses, everyone!

obsessedjb-i didn't know student no rush existed on ticket central! I just signed up and I'm quite excited! yay for discounts. this is really helpful.

[focusingonmoviesmatt]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:25pm

i won tickets at the fleamarket i was looking to get rid of them ?

[ChristopherDurangFan]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:50pm

There's a Student "No rush" policy, where you can get 16.50 tickets at any time, provided you have a student email address. I bought them the day of on friday, and got front row center section.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 11:04pm

What day/time? And how much would you take for them? Out of curiosity.