Metcalf stars in Hunter’s LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD at Steppenwoolf, directed by Mantello- Page 2

[Matt Legg]

Posted: 7/4/24 at 2:24am

She will be at FanExpo (formerly Wizard World Comic Con) on Aug 17 and 18 in Rosemont, IL.  She's relatively inexpensive for photos and autographs ($60).  I look forward to meeting her there!

Updated On: 7/4/24 at 02:24 AM

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/4/24 at 11:35am

Matt Legg said: "She will be at FanExpo (formerly Wizard World Comic Con) on Aug 17 and 18 in Rosemont, IL. She's relatively inexpensive for photos and autographs ($60). I look forward to meeting her there!"

Sadly I’m not local to the area, so the show is my one shot :/

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 7/4/24 at 11:51am

Excellent play.  Samuel Hunter brings such a pathos and commonality to the piece.  Laurie is of course excellent and Micha Stock goes toe to toe with her - an excellent heartbreaking yet wildly funny show.   Well done Joe Mantello.  

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/6/24 at 1:43am

if she does come out the "stagedoor" is typically the left door on the front of the building

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 7/19/24 at 11:19am

Charles Isherwood gives the play a very favorable review in today’s Wall Street Journal. I can’t post a link because I only have the print edition, but Isherwood calls the play “one of his [Samuel D. Hunter] finest”, and raves about the performances by Laurie Metcalf (“Ms. Metcalf, as always, gives a performance of layered textures and rock-steady truthfulness”) and Micah Stock (whom he calls “terrific”).

[MezzA101]

Posted: 7/19/24 at 12:02pm

Harriet Craig said: "Charles Isherwood gives the play a very favorable review in today’s Wall Street Journal. I can’t post a link because I only have the print edition, but Isherwood calls the play “one of his [Samuel D. Hunter] finest”, and raves about the performances by Laurie Metcalf (“Ms. Metcalf, as always, gives a performance of layered textures and rock-steady truthfulness”) and Micah Stock (whom he calls “terrific”)."

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/little-bear-ridge-road-review-laurie-metcalf-steppenwolf-4479a7d4?st=8802lge3hb47ler&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 7/21/24 at 6:06pm

The play is a knockout: hilarious, poignant and easily Hunter's most accessible play. if this doesn't get to Broadway (which it should), I'll be mighty surprised. Not a word should be changed

[brdwybound04]

Posted: 7/22/24 at 10:49pm

We’re heading into the home stretch with less than two week’s remaining of the Steppenwolf Run… have there been any updates as to the status of this play beyond this run? I believe several Broadway producers have checked it out during this Chicago run, but have not heard anything lately about a Broadway transfer… anyone heard any news?

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 8:50am

Considering the raves and the talent involved I would be very surprised if this doesn't end up somewhere in NYC in the spring (Metcalf has to film the final season of The Connors in the fall) 

 

When I saw the show a few weeks ago someone in the cast afterward said it is very likely headed to New York next. 

 

[steven22]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 9:45am

I’ll be in Chicago 8/5 and was really hoping this would extend. I guess that’s not happening? 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 10:56am

Happy to have seen this but curious where it lands in NYC. Metcalf is incredible in it. 

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 1:00pm

It was extended already, so I'm guessing not. (Based on my Saturday evening performance, it's packing 'em in, though.)

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 2:26pm

The show is too small to transfer to a Broadway space, I feel. I think it would be better suited in an off-Broadway theatre.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/23/24 at 2:40pm

I think it would work great at the Hayes,

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/3/24 at 8:46pm

I thought this was pretty incredible, today. Both Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock deliver outstanding performances, with Metcalf doing the best work I've maybe ever seen her do on stage. The "argument" that it's too small for Broadway seem based only on the set which yes, is only a couch on a bare stage. But the play itself is one of those that I can see becoming a huge hit with excellent awards chances for Metcalf. 

The play was so good it slightly cushioned them canceling "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" tonight. Slightly. 

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 8/3/24 at 11:27pm

The play was so good it slightly cushioned them canceling "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" tonight. Slightly."

 

You got to see the better of the two

 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/4/24 at 6:13am

I know The Shed has King Lear through the end of the year, and with The Connor’s filming in the fall…would this be a good fit for their spring programming? 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/4/24 at 1:42pm

It could play anywhere. Again, virtually no set so all you need is room for a couch and some space on the sides of it. It could play at a tiny off Broadway house or with this cast, a smaller Broadway house would be perfect. It’s the performances and script that elevate everything, not the set. 

[Eddie Hirsch]

Posted: 8/5/24 at 5:38am

In a year full of stars coming to New York:   Gyllenhaal, Washington, Clooney, Downey, Jr., Farrow and LuPone, Nicole, Audra, Darren, Nick and Adrienne, I don't know how much business this would do on Broadway.  Might they be wiser in choosing an off-Broadway venue like Adam Driver is doing or Aubrey Plaza did last season.  This is a compelling, intelligent play that provide a rewarding evening of theatre and Laurie is giving a first-rate performance but I think it would be better served in a more intimate venue.

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 8/5/24 at 10:00am

Saw this on Friday night. It was a thrill to be about thirty feet from Laurie Metcalf as she demonstrated complete mastery of the craft of acting. She has an incredible monologue (no spoilers, but if you've seen it, I'm referring to the "subset" speech) in which she seethes with anger and frustration but never overplays a moment. That was just the most memorable of many terrific moments and line readings. Micah Stock also mightily impresses -- in fact, he has more to carry even than Metcalf, as she has a couple of extended scenes offstage while he is on for probably 95% of the runtime. John Drea was also exceptional in a substantive supporting role. 

I don't see why this couldn't easily play the Hayes or Friedman as part of a season with Second Stage or MTC, though obviously it would work off-Broadway as well. Spinning the couch around to become a stand-in for a drink rail at a bar does smack a little of off-off-off-off-off-off Broadway, but there's no reason a couple of neon beer signs or something couldn't drop from the flies to dress up the change a little. The set itself is really inconsequential to the overall impact and a very few tweaks would make a big difference for a further commercial run. I feel like the ending maybe wasn't quite as impactful as it could have been, but that could also be addressed for a later run. Overall, this deserves the chance for more audiences to see it.

I was in Chicago for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and was also disappointed the performance was cancelled Saturday evening, but at least I did get to experience this one.

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 8/5/24 at 6:03pm

It would require some reworking, obviously, but I could see it at Circle in the Square. "Romeo + Juliet" only runs through January, right?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/5/24 at 9:39pm

For a show where SO much takes place with just sitting on the couch facing forward, being in the round could never work. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/6/24 at 12:40am

They’ve made Circle a thrust stage before, so they could replicate the seating at Steppenwolf.  But that somehow still feels way too big. I think the Hayes makes the most sense and open it right during awards season.