My Thoughts on DEUCE - Just plain....

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:14pm

...bad.

DEUCE, Terrence McNally's newest play, now playing to sold out audiences at the Music Box, has an invisible 6th character. This character, unnamed, is not actually in the play itself, but on the side. I think I'll call her "A Script Prompt Woman." Her voice appears a few times throughout the course of the performance, able to be heard loud and clear whenever there is a long pause. Of course, this should not be. In row D of the mezzanine, I should not have heard the "Script Prompt Woman," especially well into the 2nd week of previews.

DEUCE is a complete dud; an utterly pointless clunker so irredeemably awful that I wouldn't even subject my worst enemy to it.

Of course, we're all there to see Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes who, thankfully, are still radiant well into their golden years. It's no surprise that they're having problems remembering dialogue - it comes in and out of nowhere with very little connection between segments, usually following the god-awful sounds of tennis balls panging back and forth.

Nothing happens, we don't care about either of them, though there's nothing like hearing Angela Lansbury use the "c-word." Michael Blakemore has directed them to sit for 99% of the show - was his input necessary?

The best performances are given by Joanna Adler and Brian Haley, as the tennis callers. They've got the most chemistry and charisma - if only their dialogue was relevent. Michael Mulheren does the best he can with his cliched lines.

At least the set was good.

That said, there's nothing like seeing the two oldies-but-goodies on stage together. Too bad it's in this and not a revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.

Following the show, the stage manager was gracious enough to relay the message that Mmes. Lansbury and Seldes would not be signing autographs, but brought down Lansbury-pre-signed Playbills, instead. He told everyone to come back after the evening show. I think I shall....some time soon.

Updated On: 4/18/07 at 05:14 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:20pm

PS: Big, long cell phone ring during the scene where "the Admirer" meets the two women.

PPS: I don't know if it's written into the script, but during the last segment, where the 2 ladies address the crowd, Seldes forgot her character's name.
Updated On: 4/18/07 at 05:20 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:21pm

Should have mentioned that this was after today's matinee (their first one). Just clarifying for those wondering.

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:31pm

I'm pretty sure she is supposed to say the wrong name. She did the same thing when I saw it and it seemed like part of the script.

I know its your opinion and I'm not attacking you, but you say that you didn't care for these women at all, which I find suprising because I truly felt for them and while the script did not have a clear connection I still was interested in these women's thoughts. (As did the the rest of the audience who seemed totally invested in the play, unlike at many other shows I have seen on Broadway.)

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:38pm

Boy, that's written in? Seemed like a complete screw up.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:44pm

Well, I guess she was good enough actress to pull it off
Is it really playing to sold out audiences? Last week it only played in the 60/70% I believe.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:50pm

Looked completely sold out (to me).

Of course, most, if not all, of the tickets were sold at discounts.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:20pm

they still don't know their lines??? dear god...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:55pm

I'm sure it certainly wasn't as bad as it was earlier in previews, but the prompter's voice was still visible at a few points, especially early on.

Trace - do you know if Seldes screwing up her name was intentional?

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:58pm

Don't know whether I read it here or on ATC, but someone who went yesterday said that at the stage door Marion Seldes asked him if he liked the play. She said that they are still working on it, and that they were given lots of changes that day. The person said that Ms. Seldes sounded apologetic for any missed lines but also seemed enthusiastic about how the script is developing.

Gotta give these actresses props for helping McNally work this show out on such a tight schedule. It seems clear that this process should have taken place out of town with more time allotted.

I wonder how far along it will be when I see it April 28. It's actually kind of interesting to follow the progress.

lc

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:59pm

Oh, of course I give them credit for actively working on it.

I just think the whole thing could benefit from an overhaul.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:23pm

Great Review!

Do you think that is has ANY tony chances?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:25pm

Not to get into this issue again, but I don't think it's quite as interesting to the audience paying good money to hear that sixth character that Yankee refers to, or see a play that is clearly not ready for Broadway in terms of content, OR see what's apparently a very mediocre staging.
Let's see what happens once opening night arrives.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:30pm

Neddy - I think that it could definitely be nominated for Best Set Design. Angela also has potential to be nominated....

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:33pm

I disagree on the show

As far as the prompting, they are both up in years so having a problem remembering is not that surprising. I add to that the fact that Lansbury has been away from the stage for years.

Updated On: 4/18/07 at 08:33 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:37pm

Mr Roxy- Can you please tell me why you cannot type complete sentences!?

Yankee- How do you think the critics will treat it? Updated On: 4/18/07 at 08:37 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:38pm

We cannot all be perfect.

I have amended the offending sentence

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:42pm

Roxy - I understand that completely and do indeed take it into consideration. They also could have easily worn ear phones to be fed that way. It's highly embarrassing for actors of their stature and caliber to have a prompter shout out lines from the wings.

Neddy - regarding the critics, it can go either way. If they are actually fixing and rewriting, who knows? It's anyone's game.
Updated On: 4/18/07 at 08:42 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:53pm

Thank You Mr Roxy, I feel a lot better now.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:59pm

Self-serving bump

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:20pm

Roxy wrote: "As far as the prompting, they are both up in years so having a problem remembering is not that surprising. I add to that the fact that Lansbury has been away from the stage for years."

And that's an excuse??? I'm sorry. If part of your job is to memorize lines and you can no longer remember them, perhaps it IS time to retire. No offense to them, but.

Vanessa Redgrave is "up in years" too and has no trouble remembering 110 minutes worth of lines SOLO. So sorry...I'm not buying the "they're up in years" excuse.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 7:25am

The problem (re: remembering dialogue) is that there are too many breaks for them to watch "the game." Once they're done watching "the game," the topics they discuss are completely different than the one before. Not only does it throw them off, but it gets them confused, as well. Updated On: 4/19/07 at 07:25 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 8:23am

Yankee, at the performance you attended -- were Lansbury and Seldes looking in the same direction as the ball bounced from one end of the court to the other?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 8:40am

It would be nice if such reviews were just added to existing threads. An old topic, but whenever someone starts a thread with "MY THOUGHTS on..." the approach seems to be about the narcissism of the poster. The "MY" seems to a bit grander than need be. How about just lumping YOUR THOUGHTS in with the 20 other folk who've seen a preview? They are sound, and welcome, but just YOURS.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 8:49am

Foster - Yes, they actually were....for 99% of the show. There were those one or two occasions where the ball bounced, they missed hearing it, and quickly turned when they realized what happened.