MARVIN'S ROOM Previews

Is anybody going tomorrow night?

I was there tonight and thought it was decent. Certainly better than some of the bores Roundabout has offered up at the American Airlines, but it only caught fire in fits and starts. Despite the subject matter it is a low-key story and the actors have been directed to play it that way.

Of course the biggest question was going to be how will this little play fare in a larger theater? Will it lose its intimacy? Laura Jellinek did the set (coming of her rather breathtaking surprise in the equally low-key A Life) and here instead of trying to compensate for the loss of a small space by designing a small, tightly cluttered set, she went in the exact opposite direction and made an oversized house that fills the entire stage (walls to the ceiling) and yet put almost no furniture in the space. There's a carpeted turntable (reminded me of Grace) that spun the doctor's office, psych ward, etc into place, but you were always aware of the house too. Things took a turn for the surreal during the Disney sequence...

I don't know if I would say the play is dated necessarily; they certainly aren't playing it as a period piece though. In fact the only time you wouldn't know it's not taking place in 2017 are the jokes about FDR and JFK. (I can't believe I have to say this, but I'm glad they didn't stick a Trump reference in there, even though I'm sure everyone in the audience was thinking it!) But still, these beats have been copied again and again in every dramedy and sitcom since that there's a predictability to the whole thing.

Celia Weston was very good as Ruth and got the most laughs out of me. Lili Taylor is also good- I can't really watch her though without seeing a combo of Lisa from SFU and her incredible work with American Crime.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Marvin's Room has a healthy community theater life. It could play in rep with Steel Magnolias and fit right in.

I saw this last night, and unfortunately at this point pretty much NOTHING about it works. I'd place about 90% of the blame on Anne Kaufman's staging. She's is WAY out of her element on a large Broadway stage. If you're sitting anywhere house right or house left (I tried both) you will miss large chunks of the play (meaning entire scenes). The sound is awful --- the only actors I could hear on a regular basis were Janeane Garofalo and Celia Weston. Lily Taylor is playing it like it's a film --- she needs to regain her stage chops. Garofalo comes off best by far.

The set was one of the ugliest I've ever seen anywhere. The turntable must add 10 minutes to the running time while we wait for it to do it's "thing". There's a ridiculous set piece during the Disney World sequence that probably cost more than the rest of the set combined and could have been done so much more effectively (and economically) with the use of a simple projection. Even the scene change music is awful. I was so looking forward to this show and was so disappointed. Hopefully the actors will find their way during previews --- but this director should stay off-Broadway.

I have to agree with the above poster, I went last night and was really looking forward to this but was bored for most of it and could not hear most of the actors. I was seated in mezzanine E and could barely hear when Hank or Charlie were speaking. My companion also had a hard time with the staging since several scenes happen on the far sides especially one in the very beginning with Bessie. Celia Weston was excellent but I can't recommend this based off the preview I saw- maybe it will get better in a few weeks.

I was there last night. I can't comment on the full production because I left at intermission but what I saw I intensely disliked. Normally I really try to stick it out but I was so dissapointed with this show. I have loved Lily Taylor, particularly on American Crime, but she and the rest of the cast seemed to all be acting in a vacuum. I never believed that anyone in the room was remotely related. Everyone seemed to have the same level of emotion, I hadn't seen this level of flat monotone acting since Roundabout's Hedda Gabler.

The set was ugly to look at and frustrating as the other poster mentioned there are scenes that are staged on the extreme sides of the stage that many people in the audience cannot see. What's more the turntable set seems like a waste and there were stage hands running around frantically to place props before the next scene. Yes it's the first preview, but I still found it distracting.

I'm sure this will tighten up and maybe everyone will find their grove, but from (maybe Act 2 was better?) what I saw last night was a poor production of a dated play.

Did anyone go to the stage door afterwards? Interested in any info.

Well, it's no 'Cherry Orchard.'

Janeane Garafalo is the best thing about the show and she isn't given much to work with. It's also not saying much in a show completely filled with misfires, like not being able to see Ms. Garofalo for much of her first scene.

The play itself, is slow, clunky, meandering, rather pointless and ultimately boring. I enjoy "talky" plays as long as the talk takes you somewhere. But, alas, we go nowhere with this play and my companion and I tried to figure out who would produce this, in the first place, let alone think it worthy of a revival (and at Roundabout, no less).

The acting, by a talented cast, is awful, but we didn't think it was their fault. Every line of the play is delivered as though everyone memorized their lines, then were told...you say a line, then you say a line, then you say a line--very robotic....nothing about the dialogue flows, none of it sounds real or conversational and this fails to help make these characters "real."

The music is atrocious. The Disney scene is, weird, to say the least. The set is hideous, huge and sparse. And, as mentioned, the turntable...did they think this was 'Les Miz'? Would anyone sleep outside, in Florida with the mosquitoes, bugs, lizards and alligators?

The play is dated and clearly set in the early 90s or late 80s. The nursing home information, briefly mentioned, is incorrect & outdated (I only noticed because I've just gone through this with my mom).

There's just nothing to redeem this, even if the actors find their footing, which they might, because they are all talented. We blamed this mess on a weak play and a weaker director.

On a side note, the audience laughed loudly at things that were amusing but it seemed an over-reaction, as did the curtain call applause, which was very loud and cheering (no standing ovation, though).

Updated On: 6/11/17 at 09:18 AM

little_sally said: "Any early thoughts on Jack DiFalco's performance?"

Oldest looking "teenager" I've seen since the days of Beverly Hills 90210. He appears to be closer to 30!

JSquared2 said: "little_sally said: "Any early thoughts on Jack DiFalco's performance?"

Oldest looking "teenager" I've seen since the days of Beverly Hills 90210. He appears to be closer to 30!



"

Interesting, I didn't register him as "old"...also, he's only like 21 or so. That said, I thought he played the angsty and angry teen well for the most part.

I certainly had a more positive experience than many on this thread. I really enjoyed the play. I thought that the cast was excellent. The pacing was brisk, and the 2 hour and 20 minute run time flew by. I was never bored, and I was engaged the entire time (which is more than I can say for most Roundabout plays).

So this is an interesting production. I've never seen it on stage but know the film VERY WELL. I think this is one of those rare examples where the film version vastly improves on the material. It's a small play and it's supposed to be very "intimate" at times. That's all but lost when you're playing to a broadway sized house. Little glances and knowing looks don't and can't translate to the back of the house. I also felt like everyone in the cast was directed to keep their performances "subtle", which is so the wrong choice here. Garofalo and Taylor are still quite good, but for me it's poor Celia Weston who's the weak link. I'd been so looking forward to seeing her on stage but her Ruth is so timid and small that it's just all but thrown away.



The play ran about 2.5 hours long, compared to the films 95 minute run time with absolutely nothing else added to the plot or characters. So what we have is a LOT of extra time taken up with scene changes and pacing and all this extra stuff that just takes away from what should make the show work beautifully. I'm not saying nothing worked, but if this were done at the Pels, it would be a completely different story.

Updated On: 6/21/17 at 11:25 PM

Saw it a few nights ago. Had never seen it on a stage before, nor had I ever seen the film. I have to say, it's a pretty thankless piece. The entire thing just felt sad for the sake of being sad.

Also, most blaring was the supposedly strife-riddled relationship between these two sisters. It's not like they weren't close; one of them didn't even make it known to her son for 18 years that she even had a sister and yet, they just come back together in this time of need with basically zero explanation? And I don't mean an explicit explanation, but in good drama writing, it would make sense to audiences why the two of them hadn't acknowledged the other's existence for two decades.

I also absolutely hated the doctor character.

Maybe this was a bad production but I didn't enjoy it, really. I adore everyone in this cast and am usually a fan of late 20th century-set dramas, but this didn't work for me. To echo what others have said, though, compared to some recent clunkers from RTC, this is at least somewhat better.