IN THE WAKE - Anyone Seen It Yet?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/26/10 at 1:45pm

I know it just started previews last week, but I loved WELL, and I'm really looking forward to Lisa Kron's new work.

[Drewprecht]

Posted: 10/26/10 at 4:24pm

I saw it on Sunday afternoon. Ultimately, the writing is really great, the characters are modern and beautifully developed, and the political conversation and subject are thrilling. However, the sexuality aspect seems thrown into the play and muddles the piece.

The performances are pretty fantastic across the board, Ireland was particularly good (and I haven't loved her in Reasons or After Miss Julie), and both Jenny Bacon and Deirdre O'Connell were breathtaking.

Design-wise, David Korins is a genius and the set looked beautiful. The lighting was effective, and the costumes were appropriate. Silverman keeps the audience focused on the important journey of Ireland's character, and having seen From Up Here, she continues the momentum of brilliantly directing smaller new plays.

I think it's definitely worth seeing, but it's no Well (which us unfortunate because the political subject matter is so scintillating.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/26/10 at 9:39pm

True. I didn't think it would be like WELL, but I loved her sense of theatricality in that show and how she sort of torn down the fourth wall and the way the mother character was in the play, but not and all that. I didn't know if this show had the same sense of imagination, but I still really want to see it.

[quitetheatrical23]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 12:10am

I saw it on Sunday as well and I have to agree with Drew in large part. It needs a little tightening and the sexuality aspect doesn't work as well as the political part.

but as someone who is very political and sees a lot of politically focused theater, this was one of the best pieces of political theater I've seen... it really got the audience thinking (myself included) in a way that's hard to do. really getting into the deep rooted nature of our politics as opposed to a simple surface discussion of politics...

definitely go see it, but I'd wait until later in the run, I think they'll make some changes (For the better) in the coming weeks

[NuMystic]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 2:11am

I don't feel the need to add anything that hasn't already been touched upon apart from the fact that I thought it was superb. Easily in the top 3 of about 50 shows I've seen this year thus far.

[vodkastinger]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:42am

I thought it was brilliantly written, with just superb, fresh characters that pop off the page. I didn't mind the muddled sexuality of the protagonist, I thought that led to her complexity, she didn't know who she was either.

I did get a little annoyed by her asides to the audience. They felt unnecessary and they didn't tell us anything new.

However, my biggest issue is I really don't know how many plays I need to see about white liberal guilt set in New York apartments. While it was the best written of all similar plays I've seen in the last couple years, I couldn't help feel like I was trodding on extremely well-trodden territory.

Nevertheless, great GREAT piece. The story was incredibly involving and one of the rare pieces that approach 3 hours that didn't wear on me as ever tedious or needlessly stretched out.

[NuMystic]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 11:27pm

I actually agree on the asides, though I do feel they were absolutely necessary if you imagine what they play would have been without them altogether. There would have been no natural conclusion to the show if they didn't provide the context (hindsight and self inquiry) for everything else we were seeing on stage.

That said, the show could certainly benefit from most of them being significantly trimmed, and having one or two of them struck altogether.

As for "white liberal guilt", I see where one could walk away with that take on it, but I personally found the ultimate message somewhat more nuanced and complex.

It seemed to me to be more an indictment of blind spots in American idealism/ideology in general, the conflict between commitment vs. "freedom", and cultural myopia.

I think the core idea would have been just as poignant whether the protagonist was a tea partier, conservative republican, or communist.

As for the sexuality, I thought it served the piece perfectly and was intrinsic to the core message.

If there were any more "clarity" in the sexuality, or if it wasn't present at all, a critical expression of the protagonist's unconsciously operating sense of entitlement would be lost entirely, which would leave us with brilliantly snappy dialogue but a hobbled premise.