HUGHIE Reviews- Page 2

[Tom-497]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 10:11pm

USA Today is 3 out of 4:

 

Whitaker makes his character worthy of compassion. Erie can, without question, come across as a lout, particularly when the subject turns to women, who have obviously proven as elusive as money. But Whitaker brings an awkward sweetness that makes his desperation not only pitiable but accessible.

 

That Whitaker is the first African-American actor to play the part on Broadway — he's preceded by Al Pacino, Ben Gazzara and original lead Jason Robards — may lend a certain added poignance to O'Neill's account of a man whose dreams have been dashed in this country.

 

But Erie's struggles, like his flaws, are above all human, and will resonate with anyone who catches this gently moving production.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2016/02/25/forest-whitaker-makes-moving-broadway-debut-hughie/80772140/

 

[Tom-497]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 10:22pm

New York Post is negative:

 

Forest Whitaker may have an Oscar under his belt (for The Last King of Scotland) but his Broadway debut is largely inconsequential — he brings no heft or insight to Erie Smith, the small-time gambler in Eugene O’Neill’s two-hander, “Hughie.” Smith’s been played by the tough-guy likes of Al Pacino, Jason Robards and Brian Dennehy, so Whitaker’s soft-toned take is laudable — without making much of an impression.

 

You’re more likely to remember the gorgeous set....

 

http://nypost.com/2016/02/25/forest-whitaker-and-lupita-nyongo-lead-a-starry-spring-on-broadway/

Updated On: 2/25/16 at 10:22 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 11:38pm

Great reviews for the set. 

[@z5]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 12:39am

happy i got a $25 orch seat for sunday! seems well worth it

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 12:41am

Not many people I know go to Broadway to see a set.

[phantomcrazy14]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 1:27am

To be fair, as a design student if I have 0 interest in seeing a show, sometimes seeing pictures of a set may entice me to go. Reading the negative reviews from board users I thought I would just write Hughie off, but these mixed reviews (with praise for the set) have me a little torn. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 9:22am

bjh2114 said: "Time Out NY reads negative but David Cote gives it 3 of 5 stars, so I guess we'll call it mixed to negative:

"We get it: Erie is a damned soul in torment—but Whitaker portrays him as a low-status, apologetic schlemiel who’s already given up. When he should be a big-talking con man and Runyonesque swell, Whitaker tries something possibly more realistic, but ends up blunting O’Neill’s punchy lines.

In movies such as Bird and The Last King of Scotland, the actor has achieved a complex interweave of pride and self-doubt (even self-loathing), but in O’Neill’s piece, such bitter despair needs to surface over the swagger and rhetorical flash. Hughie is only an hour long. But as we wait for Whitaker to gain confidence in his character, the night grows long and weary."

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/Hughie"

 

I don't usually agree with David Cote but this is spot on.

phantomcrazy14, see it with a cheap ticket, just for the set. The set alone is worth it if you're a design student.

 

Updated On: 2/26/16 at 09:22 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 9:33am

Steep price to pay for seeing a set. The show is a 1 hour monologue.It is your choice.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 9:55am

Mr Roxy said: "Steep price to pay for seeing a set. The show is a 1 hour monologue.It is your choice.

 

"

That's your fourth worthless contribution to this thread. If you're not interested in it, then go vomit   your usual inane garbage on other threads. Oh wait. You've already done that.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 10:12am

Not sure why there seems to be so much hate for this play. 

If anyone has trouble with the run time, don't go. 

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 11:06am

With a one-hour run time, they really should have paired it with another one-act play.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 11:11am

10086sunset said: "Not sure why there seems to be so much hate for this play. 

If anyone has trouble with the run time, don't go. "

 

I'm not sure what you're saying here. I actually quite like the play itself, and don't have a problem with a short running time. What I did have a problem with was for most of the play, Forest Whittaker was just reciting lines and doing no acting. Glad I didn't pay. He did not understand the character. He started to, at the very end, but that is not the caliber of a performance that one should see on Broadway. I think many of the critics felt the same way.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 11:25am

 He did not understand the character. He started to, at the very end, but that is not the caliber of a performance that one should see on Broadway. I think many of the critics felt the same way.

 

That is definitely how I felt. Perhaps if Whitaker had learned his lines prior to the start of previews, he could have spent the preview period creating a character and building a layered performance, rather than white-knuckling it every day. Maybe by April he'll have developed a compelling performance. But the show opened last night and it was, by and large, a waste.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 11:29am

Agreed. Not sure why he waited until the last minute (previews) to learn his lines.

[Fantod]

Posted: 2/27/16 at 3:12am

Almost completely evenly divided

http://thecriticsdecide.blogspot.com/2016/02/hughie.html

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/28/16 at 11:29am

"That is definitely how I felt. Perhaps if Whitaker had learned his lines prior to the start of previews, he could have spent the preview period creating a character and building a layered performance, rather than white-knuckling it every day."

 

It has really surprised how these movie actors (Pacino, Willis, Whitaker) have been IMO so unprofessional and not prepared for their roles on Broadway. My goodness, you know you are performing live and you don't know your lines yet - wow. 

[EthelMae]

Posted: 2/28/16 at 11:44am

Caught yesterday's matinee. After reading this board, I expected a train wreck. I don't know the play so I was curious about it.

Mr. Whitaker didn't seem to have any problems with his lines. The infamous water cooler was visited only twice to what seemed to me only to, what else, have a drink of water to assist in performing this 60-minute monologue. I was surprised that Frank Wood had actual lines in the play. From reviews and comments I didn't expect him to utter a line and to sit there blank face. But he does serve a very important role in the play and serves it well.

As has been noted, the set is impressive. 

Mr. Whitaker, I thought, captured the pathos in the role of Erie and even the comedic aspect of the character, which I didn't expect. I was lucky to have a 2nd row orchestra seat and will remember his look of being lost and maybe coming to the end- even though the character is, at best, middle age.

I did feel that the play came up short over all. When it was over, it was over. I didn't think about it much after. As some of have said here, it might have been helped with a partnered one-act. 

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 3/14/16 at 12:45am

Via ReviewEquations:

HUGHIE = [ (Of Mice and Men + The Iceman Cometh) - 7.5 hours ] x The Anarchist