Has anyone seen THE BREAK OF NOON?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/5/10 at 4:21pm

How is it?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/6/10 at 2:57pm

Anyone?

[wonkit]

Posted: 11/6/10 at 4:18pm

Or did anyone go to the Drama Bookshop Q&A with the playwright?

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/7/10 at 1:28am

I can't recommend this one. It's a static piece that goes nowhere. The sole survivor of an office shooting says that he's found God. And that's it. A succession of undeveloped secondary characters appear in one scene each to little dramatic effect or purpose. Neil Labute has written edgy plays before that deliberately push one's buttons, but this one is just a dud. I can't say David Duchovny's low-key performance helped matters. The other actors were fine.

[NuMystic]

Posted: 11/8/10 at 3:14am

Saw it tonight, and while I enjoyed it more than After Eight, I'd still only give it a 6.5/10. It's a serious disappointment if you're expecting anything as strong as LaBute's best known works.

Overall, it was interesting and original enough that it felt worth the time and money invested, but only just.

There were a good number of solid laughs but not nearly enough to carry the play as a black comedy. In drama, all but one scene lacked any significant poignancy though most were engaging enough to maintain interest. Finally, on the classic LaButian scathing social commentary front, a few interesting ideas are explored but without any of the visceral gut-punching power that his other works have demonstrated.

The cast is uniformly competent if a bit unremarkable given the pedigree. I'm still unsure whether it's a lack in the material, a need for better direction, or simply if more time is needed to bring out the performances I've seen Duchovny and Peet achieve elsewhere.

Tracee Chimo shines in her comic turns, but fails to dig deep enough to fully sell one scene which calls for profound emotional vulnerability. As it is, it was moving. As it was written, I think that single scene could have been downright riveting.

Ultimately I think fans of LaBute, Duchovny, or Peet will enjoy themselves as long as they go in without high expectations.

Better than a lot of theater I've seen, but Company of Men, Shape of Things, and Reasons to Be Pretty it most certainly is not.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 11/8/10 at 8:56am

I've read running times that range from 95 minutes to 105 minutes. Please, which is correct? Thanks! (Have to meet people after a matinee.)

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/8/10 at 10:12am

I was there last night too and was sadly underwhelemed. There are some fantastic moments and some truly great scenes (the opening monologue and the TV interview scene, specficially) but it is wildly uneven. I love LaBute, and still think REASONS TO BE PRETTY was the best new play of its season, but I just didn't love this show, I hate to say. I wasn't quite sure the point it was trying to get across and I felt as though it didn't know how to end (the last moment, which is clearly aiming high, falls so short and is just plain weird). David Duchovny, however, is pretty wonderful. I'm usually not a fan of his work but he won me over here. Same goes for Amanda Peet, who does quite a strong job playing two very different roles. John Earl Jelks was embarrassingly bad, in my opinion. And best of all was Tracee Chimo who all but stole the show in my mind. She was HILARIOUS and although her big dramatic moment fell flat, I have to say it was just as much the writing's shortcomings as it was her's. It's a fine show, it's nothing awful, but it never once reaches the brilliance we all know LaBute is capable of.

[NuMystic]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 4:49pm

Our show ran 105 minutes. Started at 7:30 and we were out front at 9:20.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 5:25pm

The show I saw ended 1 hr 34 minutes after the time stated on the ticket.

Beware if your eyes are light-sensitive since there are VERY bright lights that are shone into the audiences' eyes at the end of every scene. Quite a few people were covering their eyes. Get ready to cover your eyes once every scene is over (they give you a 1 or 2 second warning.) The lights were quite painful to my eyes.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 5:28pm

this same production is suppose to play the Geffen in LA in January I think...curious to how the reviews turn out although I am a big LaBute fan - and they LOVE him in LA. Geffen has staged a bunch of his stuff...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 6:29pm

What's the design like? anything to write home about?

[Broadway Doctor]

Posted: 11/11/10 at 1:07pm

Neil Labute had an idea for a stage illusion, reaching out to masters in the fields of magic tricks and stagecraft to put this massive illusion onstage. He had no ideas for a play at the time, he just knew he wanted this spectacular illusion to be the grand climax of the show, and that everything about it had to be "top secret." Designers and engineers worked discreetly and late into the night developing the spectacular new technique for the show. After the technology had been developed and approved, Mr. Labute began writing a dark and valiant tale to set the dominos in place before the stunning conclusion and surprise revealing of the illusion before the audience....
The 'Big Whoop' about The Break of Noon

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/16/10 at 11:35pm

The bit at the end of is the big "illusion." I'm not sure if that's a reference to God, or religion, which is obviously a bit part of the play, but I found the whole thing to be interesting.

I did think that each scene lacked any emotional depth. They just didn't seem to go anywhere. They were well-written scenes, but just lacked any ups and downs. Only about two scenes really escalated into anything.

I thought David D. wasn't so great in the main role. I think he struggled with connecting the dots of LaBute's language. His character never built to anything. He sort of acted the same and sounded the same throughout the whole show. The ending lacked any emotional punch because he didn't build it to anything.

The direction was lacking or non-existent. It was mostly just scenes of people sitting or standing and talking. That's about it. The design was insanely boring and I can't believe someone actually sat down and designed that.