Grand Horizons Previews - Page 3

[220Basswood]

Posted: 1/13/20 at 12:11am

I saw this yesterday afternoon.  Everyone but Jane and Michael came out.  I really think that the role of Michael Urie's friend should have been cut on the cutting room floor.  I don't think the role added anything to the production and what the character was discussing about siblings was disgusting.

Updated On: 1/13/20 at 12:11 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/13/20 at 7:28am

Worth noting, especially to those curious about the play landing in 2020: This was a commissioned script, the playwright funded by Williamstown and Second Stage to create a new piece from the ground up.  I'm strongly in favorite of theaters sticking with writers, but this does explain why some are mystified by the rush to get this story on two stages -- for companies that are  offered  the best work circulating.  Because it wasn't a script that rose to the top of a stack of plays on its own singular merit, it had productions tethered to its development. It probably needed (more) workshops, script-in-hand readings and rewrites.  But it seems that the genre itself -- domestic dramedy -- is what has disappointed some posters.  The genre was once a staple (those plays like "To Grandmother's House..." and once published, they do well in community theater.  In recent years, fresher ways into generational conflicts have been written, without the old fashioned structure. Audiences now expect something they haven't seen, in style, character, overall shape.  

Updated On: 1/13/20 at 07:28 AM

[kevinr]

Posted: 1/14/20 at 2:46pm

Surprised to read that Jane Alexander wasn't "so nice" at the Stage Door. Perhaps that guy she had signed for before, was a regular there and she was just tired of it.  Glad to read other reports here where she is "more friendly".

Updated On: 1/14/20 at 02:46 PM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/14/20 at 4:43pm

Thanks for your insight, Auggie27. As a playwright in the early stage of her career, that frustrates me a little bit because only "established" writers can benefit whereas it is already tough for newbies like me to get their original work seen/produced...

[Calcifer2]

Posted: 1/16/20 at 1:01pm

The NY Public Library’s Culturepass has free single tickets for this for 1/17.

[Broadwayloverdc12]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 2:50pm

Is sitting in the front row okay for this show? Thanks

[little_sally]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 3:45pm

Broadwayloverdc12 said: "Is sitting in the front row okay for this show? Thanks"

The stage is very high. I was in row D center and had a bit of trouble with the view.

Otherwise, I had a great time at this. Is it high art? No. But it made me laugh throughout, and I thought the cast, especially Urie and Alexander, were excellent. For what it's worth, I liked it more than other Wohl plays I've seen in the past.

[jbird5]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 4:17pm

It was very high for Linds Vista also. About halfway up the orchestra or in the front of the mezzanine should be good. It’s a tiny theater for a Broadway house so no need to be that close.

[Broadwayloverdc12]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 4:25pm

Thank you all for the very helpful input

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 11:06pm

I don’t really have much to add here. It’s is very sitcom-like, but the audience and myself were laughing quite a bit. It’s like a comfortable show you put on Netflix (Grace & Frankie came to mind). It is, admittedly, clunky at times but, based on this thread, I went in with low expectations and throughly enjoyed myself.

SD: Cromwell, Alexander, McKenzie, and Lopez all signed and took pictures tonight

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/23/20 at 12:29am

I really liked Make Believe, really really liked Small Mouth Sounds and absolutely loved Barcelona but this was a big miss for me. Yes, I laughed a lot and that's never a bad thing but it came at the expense of creating realistic characters, especially those of the two sons. It felt like the plan was to crank up their neurotic behavior to 11 and "let the hijinx ensue". They never once felt like real people to me, just broad caricatures. The scene with the "outsider" felt like Wohl saying "if you haven't yet figured out this character has intimacy issues... how about this?" Alexander and Cromwell were great and somewhere in there, there is a really good play about their lives, relationship, compromises married couples make and growing older. Unfortunately, this wasn't it. I will say it was refreshing to see older characters still being shown to have an interest in and a desire for a satisfying sex life. You don't see that often.

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 1/24/20 at 5:38pm

I love Alexander and Cromwell and am hoping I can get back to NYC this spring. 

Question about the theater: In some publicity, including a tweet from Urie, it is called just The Hayes Theater. Is this new? Or did I miss something? Other articles refer to it as the Helen Hayes Theater. 

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 1/24/20 at 11:25pm

The Playbill has The Helen Hayes Theater.

[chanel]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 11:25am

Contrived, retro, and predictable, but sometimes straddles sitcom and drama with elan, with help from a good cast.

http://www.newnownext.com/grand-horizons-broadway-review/01/2020/

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 11:27am

I finally caught up with this play yesterday and really enjoyed it. The performances were sterling and the script was absolutely fine: lots of humor but quite a few keen observations of human nature. A perfect production? No,  but certainly a good one and an afternoon well-spent in the theater.

Updated On: 2/13/20 at 11:27 AM