Ivo Van Hove to direct stage adaptation of The Shining- Page 2

[zainmax]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 5:32pm

darquegk said: "I'm not sure how true the "Shining was intended originally as a play" thing is; what I believe to be the case is actually that early drafts of the novel had a theatre-based structure with acts and a prologue, and would feature more theatrical imagery throughout.

The original "prologue" is out there among King's apocrypha and uncollected stories."

What do you mean re. theatrical imagery? The book has five parts.

[missthemountains]

Posted: 8/25/19 at 2:08am

We could talk about why CARRIE didn't work for days. With MISERY, it was really Bruce Willis and the fact that I don't think the show calls for a Broadway house. It's a very intimate play. That being said, I am cautiously optimistic for SHINING. My only fear is the same for Stafford Arima with the CARRIE revival, that Ivo would pull back on the real horror of the piece. I think it really just needs to freaking "go there" to work, and I think that's so far been the Achilles heel of horror on Broadway. They're so afraid of scaring the tourists, that it does a disservice to the material. I'm also in the minority, but I'd rather see really great non musical adaptations of films than mediocre scores in musical adaptations. Still waiting for The EXORCIST to come NY, speaking of the aforementioned above.

[Just_John]

Posted: 8/28/19 at 3:06am

The woman in black is not at all scary. There’s two moments hat startle the audience but that’s it. It’s also not very good and I highly recommend you avoid it. The Exorcist was a play on the West End last year. That was much scarier.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 12:07pm

Some updates: http://deadline.com/2022/03/ben-stiller-the-shining-broadway-west-end-london-stephen-king-ivo-van-hove-1234983080/

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 12:28pm

Ooooooooooooooooh. 

[east side story]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 6:06pm

Okay, you have my attention.

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 8:27pm

Awhile ago, I joked about this being Van Hove's next project - only to be chagrined to find out it was real!

I'm still haunted by The Damned at the Barbican (in French). I can barely imagine what impact The Shining will have.

[BJR]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 8:41pm

Yes. Please.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 9:42pm

Please, if Alex Timbers can have his shtick all over Broadway so can Van Hove. 

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 10:04pm

He has two shows that are wildly different but cool..

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 10:21pm

I could get on board with Ivo directing Dustin Hoffman and Ben Stiller in a Shining/Our Town mashup. Might be more interesting than either production on its own.

[Tag]

Posted: 3/21/22 at 11:17pm

Ivo's ordering his tricycle camera mount as we speak!

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 2:30pm

Pardon my ignorance, but does Stiller have stage chops? I feel like I could see it, but I would worry about it being a Bruce Willis in MISERY situation. Unlike Paul Sheldon, Jack Torrence requires someone who can really go there--especially live. 

Do I think Ivo is the best director for this? No. Do I still want to see the s_it out of it? Yes.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 3/22/22 at 2:59pm

I just don't know that I truly believe Ivo even likes the medium of theatre. His recent work typically does all it can to NOT be theatrical and instead an audio/visual spectacle. 

[JSquared2]

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

OhHiii said: "I just don't know that I truly believe Ivo even likes the medium of theatre. His recent work typically does all it can to NOT be theatrical and instead an audio/visual spectacle."

 

Your comment baffles me. Do you believe that theatre should NOT be audio or visual in nature??  If so, you are confusing theatre with reading a book.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 4:24am

missthemountains said: "Pardon my ignorance, but does Stiller have stage chops? I feel like I could see it, but I would worry about it being a Bruce Willis in MISERY situation. Unlike Paul Sheldon, Jack Torrence requires someone who can really go there--especially live.

Do I think Ivo is the best director for this? No. Do I still want to see the s_it out of it? Yes."

He's appeared in two Broadway productions of The House of Blue Leaves - As Ronnie in 1987 and then as Artie in 2011.  And, of course, his parents were prolific stage performers so he grew up around the biz.

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 4:31am

JSquared2 said: "OhHiii said: "I just don't know that I truly believe Ivo even likes the medium of theatre. His recent work typically does all it can to NOT be theatrical and instead an audio/visual spectacle."



Your comment baffles me. Do you believe that theatre should NOT be audio or visual in nature?? If so, you are confusing theatre with reading a book."

They are referring to use of video in live theater.

[willep]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 6:19am

KevinKlawitter said: "missthemountains said: "Pardon my ignorance, but does Stiller have stage chops? I feel like I could see it, but I would worry about it being a Bruce Willis in MISERY situation. Unlike Paul Sheldon, Jack Torrence requires someone who can really go there--especially live.

Do I think Ivo is the best director for this? No. Do I still want to see the s_it out of it? Yes."

He's appeared in two Broadway productions ofThe House of Blue Leaves -As Ronnie in 1987 and then as Artie in 2011. And, of course, his parents were prolific stage performers so he grew up around the biz."

…none of which answers missthemountains’ question. I’ve not seen Stiller on stage, so I have no input to add here either but could also rattle off some Stiller facts too if need be.

 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 7:12am

Bwaygurl2 said: "JSquared2 said: "OhHiii said: "I just don't know that I truly believe Ivo even likes the medium of theatre. His recent work typically does all it can to NOT be theatrical and instead an audio/visual spectacle."



Your comment baffles me. Do you believe that theatre should NOT be audio or visual in nature?? If so, you are confusing theatre with reading a book."

They are referring to use of video in live theater."

I think that’s pretty obvious. But the original comment seems to imply that by virtue of being an A/V spectacle, it’s not theatre. It is absolutely theatre and his shows are highly theatrical.

Now, your mileage on whether you want to see live feeds in your theatre pieces may vary, but it doesn’t make it not theatre. He’s also hardly the only director to employ film in his work, and if you think otherwise, you’re mistaken.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 7:25pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "They are referring to use of video in live theater."

I think that’s pretty obvious. But the original comment seems to imply that by virtue of being an A/V spectacle, it’s not theatre. It is absolutely theatre and his shows are highly theatrical.

Now, your mileage on whether you want to see live feeds in your theatre pieces may vary, but it doesn’t make it not theatre. He’s also hardly the only director to employ film in his work, and if you think otherwise, you’re mistaken."

 

I don’t think otherwise, I do think that Ivo’s reliance on it is unique to him, however. Theatre is an inherently immediate human interaction between those on stage and those in the audience. Screens and live feed video of on stage action is lazy in my view and puts up a literal wall(screen) between the actors and the audience. You could say the aim is to amplify emotion and the performance of the actors, but I find it to have the opposite effect in practice. It’s very stark. I felt the same way about the production of Madea with Rose Byrne at BAM. Theatre, like all art is subjective. I find his practice of this to be lazy and cold. I think he benefits from an “edgy”/cool factor that isn’t always totally earned. See: his West Side Story. 

 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 7:25pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "They are referring to use of video in live theater."

I think that’s pretty obvious. But the original comment seems to imply that by virtue of being an A/V spectacle, it’s not theatre. It is absolutely theatre and his shows are highly theatrical.

Now, your mileage on whether you want to see live feeds in your theatre pieces may vary, but it doesn’t make it not theatre. He’s also hardly the only director to employ film in his work, and if you think otherwise, you’re mistaken."

 

I don’t think otherwise, I do think that Ivo’s reliance on it is unique to him, however. Theatre is an inherently immediate human interaction between those on stage and those in the audience. Screens and live feed video of on stage action is lazy in my view and puts up a literal wall(screen) between the actors and the audience. You could say the aim is to amplify emotion and the performance of the actors, but I find it to have the opposite effect in practice. It’s very stark. I felt the same way about the production of Madea with Rose Byrne at BAM. Theatre, like all art is subjective. I find his practice of this to be lazy and cold. I think he benefits from an “edgy”/cool factor that isn’t always totally earned. See: his West Side Story. 

 

[persephone88]

Posted: 3/23/22 at 9:10pm

I saw Ben Stiller in his first go round playing Ronnie in The House of Blue Leaves many moons ago, and his performance was one of the things I remember fondly from that show - it was a funny part, but I thought he nailed it, and this was before he became a household name. I could see him doing a good job with Jack Torrance. 

I am not a big fan of Ivo's use of AV technology - thought it was unnecessary in West Side Story - but his direction can be really thrilling at times. I was blown away by the tension build up in his production of A View From The Bridge. If he could conjure up something similar at the Overlook Hotel onstage, I'd go see it.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 12:30am

Ivo van Hove is the Cirque du Soleil of avant-garde theater. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 6:45am

Van Hove's A View from the Bridge, Angels in America, and A Little Life are among some of my favorite theatrical experiences.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 9:23am

My stance on this Ivo debate is right in the middle, which is to say: sometimes the video stuff works, and sometimes it doesn't; sometimes it feels like it's getting in the way of the live theatrical experience, and other times it complements the live performance to create a distinct kind of hybrid experience, with the live component still feeling prominent and significant. He's inconsistent, but he's put out a lot of fantastic LIVE productions in his prolific career. 

I've always said that Ivo does better work when he's directing material that was originally written for the stage, as opposed to adaptations of films and books. That doesn't bode well for The Shining, but I'm still very curious to see what he does with it. Particularly because it's more of a horror/thriller story, and Ivo's strength lies more in his visceral impact than his intellectual interpretations (or lack thereof).