#51
Posted: 10/13/16 at 1:27pm
Well the concept is the same. The set is almost identical etc. I'm happy to hear that the playwright is involved.
LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES Previews — Page 3
#52
Posted: 10/13/16 at 2:37pm
Would it be smart to try for the Wednesday Matinee prior to the Sunday opening, and expect it to be, by then? I'd go in November, but I start rehearsals on the 7th. ;'(
#53
Posted: 10/13/16 at 2:53pm
@Minniefay- "Only 1 actor is a holdover from the Donmar. New set, new costumes, new lighting, new music, new movement director, a living playwright who is attending rehearsals, etc.. It is nowhere close to being frozen."
I dont know where you are getting your wildly incorrect information....
same set as donmar. of course adjusted to fit this space. but its the same set and same designer.
same costumes as donmar. minor differences because the costumes are being built here... but its the same designer...
same lighting designer as donmar. same director. same sound designer. same movement director.
you were right about the cast transfer!
#54
Posted: 10/13/16 at 3:14pm
lightguy06222 said: I dont know where you are getting your wildly incorrect information....
same set as donmar. of course adjusted to fit this space. but its the same set and same designer.
same costumes as donmar. minor differences because the costumes are being built here... but its the same designer...
same lighting designer as donmar. same director. same sound designer. same movement director.
you were right about the cast transfer!"
Yes it is the same design team. Similar designs --- but NOT identical. There have been lots of adjustments in all departments.
New music (same composer)
All new movement. Lorin Latarro (choreographer of WAITRESS) is the movement director. She was NOT involved in the Donmar production. Next time you might want to get your own facts straight, Lightguy06222.
#55
Posted: 10/14/16 at 9:55am
"this is a story based, after all on a 18th century pulp novel)."
It is not a pulp novel. It's a literary masterpiece.
Frankly, I don't believe any dramatic adaptation can do it justice.
#56
Posted: 10/14/16 at 9:59am
By pulp novel I didn't mean to denounce the quality of the writing of the original novel. I meant that in its day, the book was considered scandalous and erotic (in furor, if not quality - the 50 Shades of Grey of its time).
My point being, I think its okay for the director, cast, etc to have more fun with this. They don't need to treat the material as if its a staid literary masterpiece.
Updated On: 10/14/16 at 09:59 AM
#57
Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:07am
" I meant that in its day, the book was considered scandalous and erotic"
Erotic literature abounded at the time.
"(in furor ,if not quality - the 50 Shades of Grey of its time)."
Oh, my heavens! Comparing a masterpiece like this to utter trash. What has this world come to, indeed?
"My point being, I think its okay for the director, cast, etc to have more fun with this. They don't need to treat the material as if its a staid literary masterpiece."
The novel is not staid.
Updated On: 10/14/16 at 10:07 AM
#58
Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:10am
No the novel is not staid, so I don't think it needs to be presented as brittle (as this production and the last revival were). Did you see the original RSC staging? I thought it mostly got the tone right.
#59
Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:22am
^
Yes, I did. It was far better, to be sure.
But the novel was far better still.
Not every novel needs to be adapted to the stage, and not a few are better off left on the printed page.
#60
Posted: 10/14/16 at 11:00am
The novel has been adapted so many times. After Eight, how do you feel about Dangerous Liaisons? I'm asking because I share your great admiration for the novel and I thought that movie was wonderful.
#61
Posted: 10/14/16 at 11:44am
^
The play is ok, if underwhelming. I didn't see the movie.
#62
Posted: 10/14/16 at 1:40pm
The novel is a completely different beast. It's an epistolary novel told in the form of exchanged letters. So you're basically evesdropping on peoples' private communications... like reading Wikileaks. Much of the erotic shenanigans are implied in very witty and often oblique ways. But I don't remember it building in a dramatic way that quickens the pulse. I do remember it deepening so that what was an amoral romp at the beginning becomes a profound meditation on morality by its end.
Updated On: 10/14/16 at 01:40 PM
#63
Posted: 10/15/16 at 1:13am
How is the view from the last 2 rows of the Mezz? Is the mezz at the booth high? I've sat in the back of the mezz at the Golden theater and I find it to be really high like I'm looking down on the actors heads. The booth seems more intimate and the mezz looks like it might be ok from any seat. Thoughts?
I was hoping they were going to do a rush or possibly release tickets on tdf but it doesn't look that that is happening anytime soon so thinking of buying a rear mezzanine ticket.
#64
Posted: 10/15/16 at 8:19am
I have one ticket for Sat, Oct. 22 that I can't use and am selling.
Saturday, 10/22/16 at 8:00 PM MEZZANINE CENTER, Row G, Seat 114 (aisle)
Paid $81 with fees; asking: $50
PDF ticker
Paypal payment
Updated On: 10/15/16 at 08:19 AM
#65
Posted: 10/15/16 at 8:27am
Rear Mezz at the Booth is excellent. It's one of the most intimate theatres on Broadway and there isn't a bad seat upstairs. Well worth 40 dollars.
#66
Posted: 10/22/16 at 10:01am
I attended the fourth preview last week and I just loved it.
Josie Rourke takes what could be the play's biggest handicap-the many, many scene transitions-and makes it into a virtue. She cleverly staged the actors bringing scenery and props on and off the stage to represent the many locales in and around Paris.
I loved the opening: when you come in you see a chateau in a state of modern-day ruin, and hear restorers in other parts of the house walking around/working and fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. Then the lights fly up, chandeliers descend, and the stage has a ghostly light as Janet McTeer seems to appear out of thin air. Thrilling!
The poster who said McTeer would make a great Regina Giddens was right: she was mesmerizing and I loved her deep, rich speaking voice.
My biggest worry was that Schreiber would be miscast. The London reviews were excellent but nearly all of them complained about Dominic West being ill-suited for the part. Schreiber was wonderful and with his English accent reminded me so much of Richard Burton.
There isn't a weak link in the cast and I was very impressed at the commitment of Kampouris and Sorensen. The color-blind casting of Ora Jones was welcome and not distracting in the least.
I was sitting in the fifth row but there were a few times I wondered: can the people in the rear mezz hear this?
#67
Posted: 10/23/16 at 12:04am
Went to the Saturday matinee and was taken by the production...
To echo what carnzee previously mentioned, Josie Rourke does a masterful job with the countless transitions...
The acting is good across the board...While McTeer is excellent, Schreiber takes the show and makes it his own...Following Talk Radio, View and Glengarry, I shouldn't have been surprised...He's one of the best stage actors of this generation and his performance is worth the price of admission...
Hampton is simply a master...The script is subtle, effective and never feels the need to over indulge...I couldn't help but think of The Cherry Orchard while watching this...Watching this only made the mistakes of The Cherry Orchard that more glaring...
This is a very professional, very well done revival...It was a pleasure to watch...
#68
Posted: 10/23/16 at 1:04am
I know QueenAlice mentioned that they're not offering rush tickets, but will they be offering SRO? I know the Booth is equipped to do so, just wondering if anybody has heard or inquired about it?
#69
Posted: 10/23/16 at 3:17am
Quite sad that there are no rush/lottery options. Oh well, 42$ for rear mezz isn't bad. Has anyone sat there for this particular show? Was thinking of taking my mother - don't want to not be able to hear anything!
#70
Posted: 10/23/16 at 8:22am
The rear mezz is fine...Actually, it's much better than one would expect for the $42 cost...
You can hear every word...
#71
Posted: 10/23/16 at 11:27pm
Great production, great acting across the board. Paid full price (discounted seats were not good), but even in the second row mezzanine center, sometimes had trouble hearing the dialogue. And I think the ending (POSSIBLE SPOILER?) should have been exactly as it was in the film, since both this adaptation and the screenplay were by Christopher Hampton. Still very worth seeing.
#72
Posted: 10/25/16 at 12:58pm
That's great to hear that you all seem to like it. I'm excited to see the show when I stop back in the city in December. It seems to be doing well in terms of attendance and I'm sure they are working on the sound issue. Is anyone going to the final week of previews or opening night on Sunday?
#73
Posted: 10/25/16 at 1:18pm
It is interesting that the ending of the play differs from the ending in both the novel and the movie - spoiler alert - Merteuil gets her personal comeuppance in the novel and the movie. In the movie, Frears and Hampton handled this so memorably: following a stark moment of ostracism (at the opera as I recall), Merteuil is shown taking off her make-up and revealing the pocked skin beneath - a choice all the more effective given the movie's opening of Merteuil and Valmont dressing to the nines for "battle".
I could be mistaken but from what I recall, the play's ending pointedly foreshadows the Revolution and conflates Merteuil's fate with that of many another marquise.
It's an interesting, even haunting, choice. But perhaps an all too "self-conscious" one for the audience (wink, wink, we know what's coming, they don't). And it seems quite at odds with de Laclos.
Updated On: 10/25/16 at 01:18 PM
#74
Posted: 10/30/16 at 12:47pm
Opening night, tonight! Any one going?
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