LOBBY HERO Previews — Page 2

Funny the mention of picking this because the guy doesn't like theater--because that's exactly why I picked it. Not a date night for me but I'm headed into the city in April with someone who primarily wants to go to the auto show. I cannot be in NYC and not see something so I picked this because he loved Arrested Development and Superbad. I figured that was my selling point. I however do love Lonergan and have never seen one of his plays performed so I'm looking forward to it.

Updated On: 3/3/18 at 11:18 PM

When a big Hollywood star decides to come to Broadway, and people buy tickets to a show just to see that big Hollywood star, I think it would be better if the Hollywood star chose a part that is the central focus of the play with the most stage time, as opposed to the fourth-important part in a cast of four. If only to meet an audience's expectations, and not leave them feeling shortchanged.

As for the play, it was no great shakes the first time around; nor is it any now. Its playwright is very big on verbiage, especially of the dull kind. There's plenty of that here. The protaganist, in particular, babbles endless blather all evening long, trying our patience sorely.

For those who've seen the show, do front row seats seem okay in terms of a view (i.e. is the stage high?) or would you advise going further back? I'm short so sometimes front row is my best option, lest someone tall is in front of me.

yesraccoons said: "BwayBae said: "For those who've seen the show, do front row seats seem okay in terms of a view (i.e. is the stage high?) or would you advise going further back? I'm short so sometimes front row is my best option, lest someone tall is in front of me."

I wasn’t in the front row but both my friend and I remarked about how low the stage was. It was very low. I’m sure you’ll be fine"

Good to know - thank you!

I saw this show last night. I was somewhat enjoying it going into intermission. While Michael Cera is always Michael Cera, I thought the part was a decent fit for him and his jokes seemed to land well.

I was pretty unimpressed with Chris Evans. His part is on the smaller side, and for the most part it felt to me like he was playing a caricature of what someone thought a cop was based on a a bunch of episodes of Law & Order down to that pornstache he was wearing.

I was most impressed by Bryan Tyree Henry who I love on Atlanta. I thought he had a strong stage presence and was the most convincing of the bunch.

There was a tech mishap in act 2 last night that was somewhat entertaining. During her big scene in Act 2, someone in the lighting booth decided the scene was over right in the middle of the speech and turned the lights off right in the middle of her speech. Bel Powely stopped mid-word. I thought it was part of the play until the lights turned back on and she resumed her speech!

Overall I think after seeing This Is Our Youth and this, Kenneth Longergan works much better on film for me. I loved Manchester by the Sea and You Can Count on me, but this just didn’t work well. The second half starts to feel really aimless and I found the ending frustrating.

Lonergans writing is not always easy to watch performed because it deals with people as they normally are, not enhanced by any dramatic or monumental moment. Maybe the exceptions to this was Margaret (his best work by far) and Manchester. For the most part, I do enjoy his plays and loved The Starry Messenger and the Waverly Gallery. I’m not a great fan of this play and unless I get a really good discount, will probably skip it.

Was unable to get invested in any of these characters. I enjoyed the 3 gentlemen's performances and even laughed out loud several times. I really didn't care for Bel Powley. I thought she came across very affected.



LEGROOM: Did the legroom get worse? We were in Mezz E 2-4. Thank god we were on an aisle. I've seen multiple shows here and don't recall being so uncomfortable. The backs of the seats in front of us actually came into our row so there was no way to sit in my seat without straddling the back of the seat in front of me.

Can anyone who has been in the mezzanine advise whether their are side aisle or just two central aisles?



Thanks :)

Thanks for the headsup! Oh man. That's sad. From the pictures it looked like there was an aisle so I was hoping for the best. Looks like I'll be against a wall and in for some suffering. How were your sightlines?

I really enjoyed this. Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly an entertaining visit to the theatre.

Michael Cera seemed so uncomfortable during the first scene - not just regular Cera-esque, comedic uncomfortable, but like he didn't know where to stand or put his hands. It was so distracting during that first scene and I thought "oh, no, another 2 hours of this?" But by the next scene he was fine. I thought the comedy suited him really well and his jokes landed (the part with the plant was genius). Brian Tyree Henry was the best of the bunch. He was the most natural onstage and believable as his character. Chris Evans' portrayal of a typical jerk cop really worked for me. He was funny, arrogant, and a bit of a caricature, but I didn't mind it. As for Bel Powley...I was a bit confused as to what she was doing most of the time. Anxious mannerisms, wonky accent, minimal connection to the others onstage with her. That said, she didn't ruin the experience at all, I was just really puzzled by her choices.

Trip Cullman really lets Kenneth Lonergan's words shine, which I appreciated. The script is very funny, subtle, and - for lack of a better word - neat. Of course, as others have mentioned, the themes pertain to the current social climate. And a side note: I wasn't bothered by the set like others were.

Speaking of flubbing lines, I had a question about a scene between Dawn and Jeff. Forgive me if this is really silly, but I couldn't tell if one bit was Michael Cera and Bel Powley losing their lines or if they were just super believable. I haven't read or seen the play prior to this.

At one point, Powley said something like "oh, what was I saying?" and then Cera said something along the lines of "funny, because I forgot what I was saying too." Then there was a brief back and forth of like "you go - no, you go" and then Dawn changes the subject after the charmingly awkward moment. Is that scripted or was it just a really good cover up for forgetting lines?

I saw this over the weekend and at intermission I thought, "meh" but it came together for me by the end and I really liked it. Bryan Tyree Henry is giving the best performance of the four but I commend Michael Cera; he does a pretty good job (much better than he was in This is Our Youth) and never leaves the stage. Bel Powley's performance is a bit bizarre but she's leagues better than she was in Arcadia. Chris Evans is fine for his Broadway debut but it's a small-ish role so anyone going just for him will be disappointed.

It's not a must see but it's a nice evening at the theater. I don't quite know why Second Stage picked this of all things for their Broadway debut.