NEXT FALL Reviews

[LimelightMike]

NEXT FALL Reviews#1

Posted: 3/11/10 at 2:17am

Today is Thursday, March 11, marking the official opening of Next Fall, a new play by Geoffrey Nauffts, at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre following previews that began February 16.

Per press notes: "Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play�s central story focuses on the 5-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to "believe" and what it might cost us not to."

Sheryl Kaller directs the play, as she did when it first premiered Off-Broadway. The company includes Patrick Breen as Adam, Maddie Corman as Holly, Sean Dugan as Brandon, Patrick Heusinger as Luke, Connie Ray as Arlene and Cotter Smith as Butch.

Best to all involved.

Best,
- M

Updated On: 3/11/10 at 02:17 AM

[bjh2114]

NEXT FALL Reviews#2

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:01am

Fingers crossed for this one!

[muscle23ftl]

NEXT FALL Reviews#2

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:07am

The acting is really good in it, so I think they are going to do well.

"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one". -Felicia Finley-

[luvtheEmcee]

NEXT FALL Reviews#3

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:09am

It takes way more than good acting to get a good review. I'm curious to see the reception for this one. I hope it does well.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

NEXT FALL Reviews#4

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:37am

Very anxious to read these reviews. I hope the critics find even just an ounce of the brilliance I found in this show. I really hope it gets the great reviews it deserves.

Break a leg at opening night, NEXT FALL!

[MiracleElixir]

NEXT FALL Reviews#5

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:51am

Oh, do you like NEXT FALL, WiCkEDrOcKS?

[ljay889]

NEXT FALL Reviews#6

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:04am

Elton John is plugging the show on The View right now. He said "It's the funniest play currently on Broadway."

[Piper3500]

NEXT FALL Reviews#7

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:06am

and that is kind of sad. i think this story speaks, so coupled with the brilliant acting it should be a great marriage of the two.

smart audiences only

"it's a dirty little war"

[ljay889]

NEXT FALL Reviews#8

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:09am

Wow, they spent the entire first segment of "hot topics" discussing the play.
Updated On: 3/11/10 at 11:09 AM

[singtopher]

NEXT FALL Reviews#9

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:42am

The play does bring up a lot of issues.

"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it." -Stephen Colbert

[Sleeper2]

NEXT FALL Reviews#10

Posted: 3/11/10 at 3:15pm

Great cast, brilliant direction, wonderful believability in the acting. I hope the show has a long run despite not having a big Hollywood name: it would restore my faith in Broadway audiences. If you leave this show without being moved, you must be sleepwalking through life.

[nasty_khakis]

NEXT FALL Reviews#11

Posted: 3/11/10 at 4:04pm

While I think it's GREAT Elton's using his celebrity to bring attention to this truly amazing play, it was INCREDIBLY annoying to me to see him "taking credit" if you will, on the View. They keep saying "It's great how you.." "I love how you did..." when Elton didn't write a single word of this play. He should have mentioned Geoffrey Nauffts at least once instead of acting like he did everything. All he did was throw money (thankfully, because this play deserves to be seen and have a long run).

[angelplays]

NEXT FALL Reviews#12

Posted: 3/11/10 at 6:25pm

I saw the play on Saturday night and absolutely loved it. I hadn't been able to catch it during the off-Broadway run, so I'm very thankful it's on Broadway and I was able to see it.

[Piper3500]

NEXT FALL Reviews#13

Posted: 3/11/10 at 7:00pm

"He should have mentioned Geoffrey Nauffts at least once"

I am pretty sure he did. Maybe the View hosts should have been more informed as well.

"it's a dirty little war"

[theatreguy]

NEXT FALL Reviews#14

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:20pm

Associated Press is in . . .

"NEW YORK — To believe or not to believe.

It's a quandary at the heart of "Next Fall," Geoffrey Nauffts' compassionate exploration of faith that has made a smooth transfer from off-Broadway to the big time of Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre.

The play, which had a successful run last summer at Playwrights Horizons' small theater, is something of a risk on Broadway today. No stars. A playwright who's not well-known, although he has extensive acting credits and is artistic director of the theater company, Naked Angels. Don't let the lack of celebrity deter you. "Next Fall" is expertly cast, enormously entertaining and even laugh-filled despite the underlying seriousness of its subject matter."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGh6-WOt343E09F5s38S2U5MWbogD9ECOJR00

[RyToast1]

NEXT FALL Reviews#15

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:44pm

Would we call that a rave?

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#16

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:46pm

Elysa Gardner in the USA Today is Mixed to Negative. 2 1/2 stars.

Calling it Pedestrian and saying "Perhaps in his next play, Nauffts will try to craft characters who are as nuanced and authentic as the ideas he's taking on."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2010-03-12-nextfall12_ST_N.htm

Updated On: 3/11/10 at 09:46 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#17

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:51pm

Linda Winer in NEWSDAY is Negative.

" 'Next Fall' is a love story about belief. I'm afraid I am not a believer - not in the love story or in the play."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/next-fall-a-love-story-that-requires-faith-1.1804528

[Jordan Catalano]

NEXT FALL Reviews#18

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:05pm

Linda Winer can suck it.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#19

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:05pm

Matthew Murray at TALKIN BROADWAY is Negative to Loathing.

There’s nothing wrong with a writer trying to pass off a polemical screed as a play. But one would hope that author would deploy construction and craft in sufficient quantities not to undermine his stated intention - even if it’s radically different from the unspoken one. Alas, this is in no way the case with Geoffrey Nauffts’s Next Fall, which just opened at the Helen Hayes after a much-extended run Off-Broadway last spring. It’s driven by two volatile agendas, the more unsettling of which is to convince you it has no agenda at all.

Next Fall lands with only a heavy, condescending thud.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/NextFall.html

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#20

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:09pm

Frank Scheck at Reuters is Positive

Anyone interested in quality theater would do well to check out this deeply moving and surprisingly funny work at the Helen Hayes Theater.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62B06W20100312

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#21

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:11pm

MICHAEL SOMMERS at NJ NEWSROOM is Negative

Apparently some people are moved deeply by this comedy-drama-weeper. Not me. At least not in the way the playwright intends. Frankly I could scarcely wait to move myself out of the theater and into a martini.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/gay-partners-cope-with-life-and-death-situations-in-next-fall

[Ed_Mottershead]

NEXT FALL Reviews#22

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:12pm

If these kinds of reviews continue, I'd wager that the Helen Hayes will be available sooner than everyone thought. I saw it last Saturday, liked it well enough, felt it had some thought-provoking ideas. But unless the tone of these reviews changes quickly, I don't see how it can be salvaged.

BroadwayEd

[LaCageAuxFollesFan]

NEXT FALL Reviews#23

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:17pm

well...BRANTLEY at the TIMES is Very Positive.

“Next Fall,” which opened Thursday night at the Helen Hayes Theater, is that genuine rara avis, a smart, sensitive and utterly contemporary New York comedy. The question now is whether theatergoers will recognize that “Next Fall” embodies something they’ve been sorely missing, perhaps without knowing it, for years.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/theater/reviews/12next.html

[CapnHook]

NEXT FALL Reviews#24

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:21pm

Wow...such strong polar reactions...

"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle