Is anyone going to tonight's first preview of THE AMERICAN PLAN?

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 12:27pm

Anyone?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 12:33pm

I'll be there.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 5:51pm

No, but I'll be seeing in MLK weekend, along with Garden of Earthly Delights, Becky Shaw and last Spring Awakening.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:40am

I'm happy to say that the first preview of American Plan went off very well, and I (basically) enjoyed the show. The acting was very strong, especially from Lily Rabe and Mercedes Ruehl.

The first act is well-written and really held my interest. The story is kind of a cross between Light in the Piazza and Suddenly, Last Summer. Any minute I was expecting Rabe to yell out "Sebastian! Sebastian!!" I had never seen Ruehl live, and she definitely didn't disappoint. She really formed a complete character and had the audience hanging on her every word.

Then came the second act. I was not familiar with the play at all before I saw it, and there are some rather large plot twists that occur. I won't bother posting them with a spoiler alert...just go see it and decide for yourself what you think.

Basically, while I don't think the major plot twist ruined the show, I do think it derailed the focus a bit too much. It brought up new issues too late in the play, and never allowed the mother/daughter relationship to be reach the climax I was hoping for.

I still fully recommend this play to anyone, if for nothing more than the great acting. I will probably make a repeat trip to the Friedman after opening to see it again.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:38pm

Manhattan Theater Club definitely has a winner here. (Imagine that!) Exceptionally well-acted. Watch out for Act II - The scene about 10 minutes into Act II drew many audible gasps from the audience. Quite scandalous. I still can't believe all the "one-on-one" "secret" conversations the mother had with each of the central characters in the story. I truly believe that the mother wanted the best outcome for each of the characters. I was shocked at the surprising truth that came out 10 years later while the housekeeper was getting tea. Very powerful story. I can't get each of the characters out of my head. Highly recommended. I see this play (and its actors) winning awards for the 2008-2009 season.

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 11:38 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/4/09 at 1:07am

I saw it tonight, and thought it was just alright. It had some great acting, but I didn't think the material let any of the actors truly shine. I think Lily Rabe fared the best in the central role. The play to me just didn't do anything. By the end of the play I just thought "who cares." I was interested in the whole story, but it just didn't really play out too well. The "twists" - though unexpected - didn't really do much. The design elements were okay. The set got a little monotonous after a while, but it was still pretty. I liked the idea of the shiny floor to indicate the water-like feel. The lighting seemed weird during the final scene - the stage right leg was just lit the entire time.

During Act 1 did the play progess day by day, or like week by week, or what? I was trying to figure out the time difference between scenes, but I got confused. The costumes did nothing to indicate the passing of time, which is why I was left confused. I did like the details in the costumes - like not giving Lili shoes.

I'd recommend the play, but I'm not sure I understand why Greenberg is considered such a great writer? I've read "The Violet Hour," seen "The American Plan" and the "Pal Joey" revival, and the recent "Three Days of Rain" didn't get too good of notices (for the production and for the play). I'm not sure why he's considered such a great writer? But then again I thought "Speed the Plow" sucked, and that got rave reviews. (and damn them, but I'll be going back to see Norbert in it).

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/4/09 at 9:00am

Greenberg is extremely overrated.

This is MTC's third production of AMERICAN PLAN.

I wonder what they're trying to achieve with it.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/5/09 at 1:21am

Really? I mean, it made for a decent evening out, but nothing really wowed me. Even the "twists" in the story just seemed stale. I didn't quite understand what Greenberg was trying to accomplish. The most exciting part of the show to me was when they finally transformed the set into another location at the end of Act II, but even that was underwhelming, and a lot of the directoral decisions were inconsistent.

[Heybeenfood]

Posted: 1/10/09 at 6:56pm

Runtime anyone?

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 1/10/09 at 7:06pm

From what I understand, it runs approx. 2 hrs, 5 minutes, with an intermission.

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 9:31pm

Ugh .... not-so-great play acted with gusto by a cast that seemed determined to prove they could act, when they should have simply tried to create credible characters. There were no real people on that stage.

The second-act "twist" or "surprise" was predictable. And while I'm a big fan of Ms. Ruehl, and while I enjoyed aspects of her performance, she should reign in her accent. This play needs as much clarity as it can get.

[cglaid]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 1:08am

I saw the afternoon show. There was a talk back afterwards.

I thought it was an interesting play. Nothing I would ever care to see again, but I am not disappointed I saw it. For student rush, I'll see anything.

During the talk back, one woman had the nerve to stand up and say, "I was captivated by the show until that homosexual kiss. Then I lost interest." The panel, which included the director, assistant director, Merceds, and Kieran, just kind of had blank looks on their faces. The director finally just said something along the lines of, "Um thank you?" And someone in the audience shouted, "That's a real shame!"

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 8:21am

should we really supeised that there are folks that will always be offended byanything to do with homosexuality? For religious and personal reasons itakes some uncomfortable.

At least she was truthful about it.

(for the record, it didn' t bother me.)

Updated On: 1/21/09 at 08:21 AM

[LotteTBS138]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 9:09am

I personally didn't see "The Kiss" coming so I thought it was a good twist nor was I offended. But when I saw it on Friday, I must have been the youngest person in there (and I'm 30!)

I was talking to two nice women afterwards and we thought the same thing, what's the deal with the accent and does she HAVE to be German? My roommate told me that in the play (ie - script) there is nothing claiming the character to be foreign so it's obviously a director call.

I liked Brenda Pressley. I saw her in "The First Breeze of Summer" and liked her performance there too. Good attitude here.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 6:50am

(This is from my blog...sorry for the formality)

On the whole, I liked and was horrified at this story. A trouble young lady (Lily Rabe), her overbearing, manipulative mother (Mercedes Ruhl) and the man that stumbles into their lives. I thought the performances were amazing. I was intrigued, and yet, I walked out of the theater totally unsatisfied.

I talked to a suprising number of people about it. Waiting to cross 46th street to meet a friend, two others were talking about it and we struck up a nice conversation for a few blocks. I wanted more. Maybe 5 minutes more. But I still don't WHAT more I wanted.

Sitting and having a drink even the WAITER wanted to talk about it. This is the best part of NY theater...just talking theater with strangers. LOVE it. And the waiter agreed with me. (Then I talked him into seeing Becky Shaw.)


BTW: Never understimate the kindness of strangers. I had purchased my ticket for this with a discount code. I was in the second to last row of the balcony, but determined to make the best of it. I had struck up a conversation with a lovely older couple from Jersey (we find each other out quickly). Then, only minutes before curtain, the gentleman that just sat down behind us interrupts us, politely. Did we want to move to the orchestra? He had some extra tickets and would we like them? He apologized because they were all single seats...none together. Um...I don't KNOW these people: hell yes...I'll take an upgrade any time! They were "comp" tickets and I don't know who the man was...but THANK YOU! I'm sure the view was gads better in the orchestra then the rear Mezz.