Hold On To Me Darling previews

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 9:34am

I caught the first preview of Hold On To Me Darling at the Atlantic last night and really enjoyed it. The runtime was three hours and they could probably do a little trimming, but I honestly didn't mind the ambling nature of the piece because the laughs were frequent and the performances already were very strong to excellent.

 

Timothy Olyphant was just wonderful as an impulsive and ridiculous, yet lovable country star who decides to change his life when he learns of his mother's death. Olyphant is very charming and adorable and makes you keep rooting for his character despite all the bad decisions he continues to make. Perhaps it's because he makes every impulsive decision with the best of intentions that you can look past some of his lesser qualities too.

 

Keith Nobbs was also a highlight as Olyphant's adoring assistant, but the entire supporting cast was great.

 

The set is on a turntable and rather impressively reveals maybe 7-8 different locations throughout. There's obviously a very hard working crew back there dressing the new set in time for each change. All technical aspects went off without a hitch.

 

I had a very pleasant evening, and as long as you're prepared for the length I recommend it.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 9:46am

Lonergan can be a very interesting playwright, but he is always in desperate need of dramaturgical help. His plays almost always start out over 3 hours long, because his drafts tend to be of the "throw everything against the wall" variety.That's one of the reasons I am waiting until after opening to see this, despite interest.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 10:13am

Yes, I've felt the frustrations of sitting through Lonergan's unedited previews before, but for some reason I was happy to see the "extended cut" as it were last night. I think I just really liked the lead character and Olyphant's performance so much that the more time I spent with him the better, no matter what detours the story took.  

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 10:27am

Whizzer, thanks for your review! I bought Back 20 tickets to see this because a friend likes Lonergan. I'm looking forward to it! By the way, I think it's amazing the scenic design that Atlantic has been doing lately. Between Riverside and Crazy had an awesome revolving set too, and These Paper Bullets was quite well done.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 2:19pm

I have tickets for Tuesday night. Do you think it will still be in almost 3 hour first draft mode? I would love to see that and then go back and see how it changes later on in the run. I am a huge fan of Lonergan 

[dave1606]

Posted: 2/25/16 at 2:46pm

I saw this and have to say I was a big fan. The running time was a bit daunting, but for the most part it flew by. I think a few more edits and this play would be even better.

This is one of the funniest things I've seen this season, much in part to Timothy Olyphant who is really giving a fantastic performance and one that is in great shape for a first preview. The rest of the cast is quite strong. Jenn Lyon is quite hysterical in her early scenes with Olyphant. C. J. Wilson is the master of delivering a sarcastic line. I thought his jokes landed the strongest of anyone in the cast. Keith Nobbs was quite adorable in his part as well.

The set here was one of the best I have seen at this theater. The turntable set would transform completely, and the detail of the final scene was quite impressive.

Overall I think this is shaping up to be one of the better off-broadway offerings this season. I'd love to go see it again, and I hope it has a future life past this run.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 2/27/16 at 11:57pm

This play is so good!

Hard to believe it's only the first week of previews.

Timothy is such a natural stage actor he must do more and I imagine this show will make him want to do more.

As mentioned the whole cast is doing great work and Jonathan Hogan is heartbreaking.

 

A must see for anyone who appreciates good writing and actors.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 5:39pm

Lonergan has a new movie coming out soon that has been getting raves.  Sounds like he got his mojo back.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/6/16 at 10:10am

I saw the show last night and generally enjoyed it. But find myself shaking my head so often lately when I leave the theater after a new play. Invariably, I'm thinking, that was 20 minutes too long. That was my impression Thursday night after I saw Dot, and same thing goes for Hold On. Are playwrights so in love with their words that they go on and on and on? In that case, I fault the director. Someone needs to shape up. Neil Pepe, this means you.

 

Anyway, Hold On is a funny, if overlong, play with a few flaws, in my humble opinion. One is the weakness of the main character. I didn't find him interesting or compelling at all. And I felt the character, who is supposed to be one of the top five crossover music stars in the world, was played without any charisma by Timothy Olyphant. Nice body, though, and we got to see it often.

 

Another problem is that String's mother is the elephant in the room. You might even consider her the main character. She has just died unexpectedly as the play opens, and this tragedy causes Strings to reevaluate his life and long for the simple life he left behind. Although the characters talk about her quite often, I never got a clear sense of who she was as a person. 

 

I'm thinking that this is because Lonergan's language is not that descriptive. Even having us hear a couple of short anecdotes about String's mother would have sharpened her character for me. Yes, it's ironic that I'm actually recommending things be added to this beast!

 

The other flaw is the last scene. It was just too little, too late. Spoilers are in the spoiler tags.

 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

As played, Strings McCrane is just kind of boring, and we get to watch as he does one dumb thing after another. Plus, I couldn't figure him out. Is he a unrepentant Lothario? Or does he really fall for his "second cousin twice removed," who is the only person in the play who comes across as genuine and embodies the real virtues of the South? Then, after he makes love to her, he goes back to the hotel and reunites with the gold digger who talks a heap of mumbo jumbo and encourages a marriage proposal? That was the point the plot went off the rails for me. I was still hoping he would wise up, but no. 

The other problem I had was with the last scene:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

So Strings grew up with an overbearing mother who drove his father away and prevented any contact. In the last scene, his father returns, having been summoned by Strings, who told his assistant to hire a private detective to track him down. Father and son have an uneasy reunion, but at the end they appear to be reconciling, and Strings has a breakthrough. It's not entirely believable, to me, that it would happen that fast.

Anyway, I bet you're thinking that this "review" is overlong!

 

I thought there were some marvelous performances. C.J. Wilson as Duke, String's half brother, was wonderful. He was the funniest person on stage and really embodied the downtrodden male, beset with all sorts of woes. Also, Adelaide Clemens as Essie, the cousin, made an impression. This is her Off Broadway debut. Most of her credits seem to be in film and TV, but I thought she was great on stage. And Jenn Lyon must have trained as a massage therapist, because the job she did on Strings was amazing! 

 

As previous posters have said, the revolving sets were great and so amazing on a small stage. Great job, Atlantic! One of my favorite small theaters.

Updated On: 3/6/16 at 10:10 AM

[petewk87]

Posted: 3/22/16 at 9:16am

Looks like most people enjoyed the early previews! Has anyone had a chance to see it close to/after opening? Any improvements? I am considering seeing it this weekend during my visit to the city.

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 3/22/16 at 9:40am

One of the best plays I'very seen all year. Timothy Olyphant and cast members were top notch. I was very impressed by the wonderful scene changes. You can keep those stripped down productions, just give me a show with scenery and in this case a play that holds you for almost three hours.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/22/16 at 9:58am

Scenery in a show. My god, how radical are we getting.

[petewk87]

Posted: 3/22/16 at 12:06pm

glad to hear such positive feedbacks! I will try to do student rush for this weekend then.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/30/16 at 11:27pm

Some spoilers in this review.

 

Saw it tonight and thought it was basically perfect. Lonergan has a knack for starting from setups that from afar look like cliches (rich rock-star is unhappy, oppressive mother, pretty girl turns out to be gold-digger, etc.), but makes them feel so natural just by the emotional truth that these moments bring. He doesn't even feel like he is intentionally subverting the cliche, he just writes with honesty. Through this, every character feels completely human. Nancy has a monologue at the end that is written to be her revealing herself as a total bitch, but something about the way it was written makes it feel so human that you sympathize with her completely. I'm also a fan of the fact that Jimmy being in love with Strings wasn't really brought up. It was just there, like some things in life, possibly unspoken forever.

That being said, most of it was quite hilarious, with Jimmy's short speech about Nancy being brought up by/with farm animals being my favorite funny moment of the evening. However, the humor is of a type that it doesn't jar when transitioning into drama.

The ending was very moving (though I'm not a cryer in general) and I really didn't think it was too long.

The cast was very fine, and the set was most impressive.

Overall, a really excellent night of theatre.