The Southgate story continues to be written though Euro2024 - with England now through to the finals - living on the edge, penalty kicks - just a dream for a Producer! (if this still were coming to Broadway)
I just remembered how this team used to wear Pride armbands during games to show support as allies. Then came the World Cup 2022, hosted in Qatar. The armbands went into the trash can.
The play acknowledges this in a brief argument between the captain and managers. The organizers tell them that if they keep the armbands on, they won't be allowed to play. They choose, for better or worse, to play.
Saw the NTLive capture and though a wildly energetic and beautifully staged production, as one expects from Goold, my reaction was that for all its well-intentioned reach for themes that both define and transcend sports/winning, have to say "Ted Lasso" did it much, much better- down to Ted's team therapist being a much more interesting character (no fault of the always excellent Gina McKee- who thinks of the word "purview" when they see Gina?). Reductive perhaps but feeling what I am (strongly) feeling. There was a freshness to the deeper themes presented "Lasso" while they seem rather tinny and re-hashed in "England." Without the larger themes grabbing me, the this- happened-to-the-team-and-that-happened-to-the-team were just newspaper headline pages flying by.
I know the arc of this team and its specific narrative obviously have REAL significance in the UK, but don't know if it will have the same pull here given again, that the universal themes seem old hat, and which, for me, diminished the entertaining and propulsive game approximation (and other creative movement) on stage. Then again, the reedy-ness of "Stereophonic" and "Appropriate" have been perceived by many as dramatic brilliance this season, so I might again be the outlier as to this play's appeal. Perhaps, rather than a deterrent, if it's simple enough, and this is play is, they will come-- no harm in that if it gets butts in seats in a NY theater. And though thin, I will say the play never insulted or pissed me off as the aforesaid "Stereophonic" or "Appropriate" did.
I was very happy to see Joseph Fiennes on stage (even if through the "wall" of a capture) in a nicely modulated, semi-charismatic performance, but, disappointingly, nothing extraordinary and nothing that made me experience Southgate a galvanizing, if soft-spoken, force. Nice performances all the way around, but not enough to overcome the above.
My father (AIDS)
My sister (AIDS)
My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS, AIDS, AIDS)
The gays and the straights
And the white and the spades
The National Theatre, as well as the independent producers that moved it to the West End, decided that it was too risky to move it to Broadway. Joseph Fiennes is an amazing actor and is phenomenal in the show, but he will not sell tickets on Broadway. The fairly large cast would need to transfer intact in order for the show to work and that was also a massive financial risk. Even though the show did pick up a couple of Olivier awards this past spring, it wouldn't be enough to be a selling point to New York audiences. They have instead very smartly chosen to do an encore presentation of the show at The National in 2025. The press release for the remount notes that the playwright will be making changes to the script.
two ladies tickets said: "The NationalTheatre, as well as the independent producers that moved it to the West End, decided that it was too risky to move it to Broadway. Joseph Fiennes is an amazing actor and is phenomenal in the show, but he will not sell tickets on Broadway. The fairly large cast would need to transfer intact in order for the show to work and that was also a massive financial risk. Even though the show did pick up a couple of Olivier awards this past spring, it wouldn't be enough to be a selling point to New York audiences. They have instead very smartly chosen to do an encore presentation of the show at The National in 2025. The press release for the remount notes that the playwright will be making changes to the script."
Surprised we never got an official announcement, since this is a lot of detail and casting notices for this stuff doesn't just go out on a whim. Oh well.
