Goodbye, CORAM BOY!

This play was clearly one of the most spectacular to hit Broadway in years. It's too bad the producers didn't sit it out until the Tonys, but I know that this is an expensive show to keep running on such low grosses.

I really wish this show had gotten the Best Play nomination over FROST/NIXON, which is nothing more than a by-the-numbers History Channel special compared to the level of craft on display in CORAM BOY. I'm glad I got to see the show twice, and I wish the stunningly talented cast much future success! A special mention to Off-Broadway regular Wayne Wilcox for making a fantastic Broadway debut.

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Updated On: 5/27/07 at 07:16 AM

Its going to be a sad sad day

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I believe others have said it...good riddance to bad rubbish. May it open room for a better show to move into that house.

I thought CORAM BOY was visually stunning and the choir was just phenomenal, but the story itself left a lot to be desired. That said, I enjoyed it and am glad I saw it.

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Updated On: 5/27/07 at 11:34 AM

where else can you experience a cast of 40 people, as well as an orchestra decked out in powder wigs?

A great show, which deserves to be sold out. I guess it says something about what American audiences want, true some plays have thrived, Doubt, Coast for example, but Coram had a SOLD OUT run in London. Sad to see it go.

I enjoyed the show. Not wonderful, but definitely an experience.

Anyone who thinks that FROST/NIXON didn't deserve that nod needs to have their head examined.

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I love the diversity that is is currently seen on Broadway, so I would never root for a show to close just because I didn't like it, but Coram Boy hasn't been able to find its audience. It's a gift for us to be able to experience a play with this size and scale, and I'm glad that I was able to. I usually love epic theatre, and I went in with great expectations, but I agree with the critics who say that the story is shallow, going from plot point to plot point and never engaging me on a deeper level. The director was extremely inventive, though, and I'm so glad that there are more women directors on Broadway. I applaud the ambition and the efforts of all involved.

I thought Radio Golf, on the other hand, was masterful. Wilson doesn't shy away from asking the tough questions. It's a modern morality play and so relevant to our lives right now. The tragic flaw of the hero in this case is that he is too noble in a world that cares only for surface advancement.

It went over well in London because it's become a holiday season tradition for the National Theatre to put on a big, splashy, highly theatrical play based upon young adult literature. The two seasons before Coram Boy it was His Dark Materials. This season it will be War Horse.

Since there's such a wide variety of straight plays available to audiences in London, they don't expect thematic heft from every play they see. They don't criticize something for what it isn't and enjoy it for what it is. (Assuming there's something to enjoy. And in Coram Boy's case, there was quite a lot to enjoy.)

Just compare the two countries' reactions to Coast of Utopia. In London, they greeted it as the snoozefest that it was. In New York, the critics reacted as if artistic pretense alone makes a great play.

My one caveat is I saw Coram Boy in London. Perhaps it played better on the Olivier's thrust stage.

Saw UTOPIA in New York. One of the marathons. Fled after part two. My well-versed, extremely intelligent, well-known in the theatrical community friend started each intermission conversation with, “I think I know what’s happening.” Not the markings of a successful play IMHO.

Yes, I realize I'm in the minority. And, no, I’ve got nothing against Stoppard. Loved ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. Liked HAPGOOD. (The only other two I’ve seen.)

Didn't Trevor Nunn do Coast of Utopia in London? Why didn't he do it over here?

Yes I guess you did miss something, it is closing already.