Outside Mullingar Begins Performances!- Page 2

[Kad]

Posted: 1/19/14 at 11:21am

Saw it last night. Certainly a lot of fun lines and charming performances (Messing's Oyrish accent aside). But it still feels like two halves of different (albeit "Irish," though it seems as authentic as Irish Spring) plays smushed together. The first half is sentimental Irish family comedy, the second half is off-kilter rom-com. The last (lengthy) scene is like absolutely nothing that comes before it. I was then told by a friend in the know that the last scene was indeed a one-act play, that had been commissioned by MTC to be turned into a full-length. So it's like he grafted two fruit plants together- they're both green and both plants, but they don't really fit as one whole.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 1/19/14 at 12:04pm

She signed autographs during the polar vortex, but was very quick. She apologized and said that she likes getting home to her son. I can't fault her for that.

[jpiedrafite]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 11:20am

Never been to the Friedman - how is the mezzanine, specifically the first/second seats on the side aisles (i.e. 1/3 and 2/4)?

[macnyc]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 11:22am

Mezzanine is good at the Friedman. You should be able to see fine from the sides.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 10:53pm

Entertainment Weekly is positive, with a B: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20779404,00.html

Time Out NY is positive, with four out of five stars: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/outside-mullingar

The New York Times is very positive, and a Critic's Pick: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/theater/outside-mullingar-by-john-patrick-shanley-opens.html

AM NY is mixed with two and a half stars: http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theatre-review-outside-mullingar-2-5-stars-1.6865809

The Hollywood Reporter is positive: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/mullingar-theater-review-673675?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Fnews+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Top+Stories%29

NBC is positive: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/outside-mullingar-review-241660071.html

Newsday is mixed: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/outside-mullingar-review-debra-messing-bryan-f-o-byrne-transcend-1.6856865

USA Today is positive, with three out of four stars: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2014/01/23/broadway-review-outside-mullingar/4661241/

Variety is positive: http://variety.com/2014/legit/reviews/broadway-review-outside-mullingar-1201066197/

NY Daily News is mixed to positive, with three out of five stars: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/mullingar-theater-review-article-1.1588935

TheaterMania is positive: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/01-2014/outside-mullingar_67291.html

NY Magazine is mixed: http://www.vulture.com/2014/01/theater-review-outside-mullingar.html

Huffington Post is positive: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-suskin/aisle-view-moonstruck-in_b_4655940.html

The Wrap is positive: http://www.thewrap.com/outside-mullingar-theater-review-john-patrick-shanley-moonstruck-turf

Very respectable reviews so far. Updated On: 1/24/14 at 10:53 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 1:11am

The times is a bit of a love letter, me thinks!

[Will42]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 7:10am

So glad that Debra Messing's Broadway debut is a such a hit.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 11:26am

Beware, though--the accents are so very thick that catching all the clever, lyrical dialogue takes great concentration. In some speeches, I got the gist but not the particulars. Note to the hair stylist: In the last, lovely scene, Debra Messing's braid should, IMO, be slung to the side facing the audience. Otherwise her hair appears tight and severe, the opposite of her revelations in that pivotal scene.

[Patash]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 11:42am

Once again, reading the comments here I was writing this off as a real lemon, but oddly there is not one negative PROFESSIONAL review. Is it just that board posters here are so much more picky or negative than the reviewers?

[macnyc]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 11:51am

I don't know! Good question! I saw the show last week and just wasn't impressed with it. Then again, I'm one of the five people in the world who dislike Moonstruck, so maybe I'm not the best person to judge Shanley's work.

[bwayalltheway]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 11:53am

Anyone rush this show yet? I plan on going tomorrow but can't get there till the afternoon for the night performance

[jnb9872]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 4:48pm

Patash - I'm confused by your comments, most of the comments in this thread by those coming back from the show have been positive on the whole.

As for me, I saw this show at the last preview and was thoroughly enchanted by it; it snuck up on me, actually. Kad's 'inside info' makes sense to me, the first half hour or so felt pleasant enough, setting up a quaint little story with a nice sense of specific locality. Then we got John Mahoney's beautiful farewell scene (and for all the plaudits he deserves, O'Byrne deserves just as many for being a stoic-yet-devastated-yet-stoic listener and companion there) which led to the final scene. Here the play took off into delirious fancy, a scene that tied up all the loose ends, paid off every rom-com cliche we knew would be coming from the second these two crazy kids shared the stage an hour earlier, and yet managed to completely surprise and delight. I loved the ultimate confession, and O'Byrne completely sold me on it with his performance. Messing, who I'd been so-so on up to that point, completely won me over with her work in the final scene. For so long she'd waited, and it was absolutely nothing like what she'd expected it'd finally be, but damn it all to hell she's gonna make it work!

I was utterly taken with it by the end, and I was not expecting that when it started. If anything, that made it even more delightful; how often the best theatrical experiences are the ones we don't expect to have!

[mgldan]

Posted: 1/25/14 at 10:15pm

I saw this last week, while it was still in previews. I had no idea it was a rom com going in, and as a single guy, I wouldn't have enjoyed it were it a straight rom com. But I was completely taken by the rapport between the entire cast. O'Byrne is eminently watchable as a loyal, insecure, overwhelmed guy who has diligently, almost foolishly tried to take the honest road through life. Messing is righteous and a little annoying, and really not that feminine. But maybe that was the point of her character.

I found it more of a family-situation comedy than a romantic comedy. The history of these two intertwined families is etched in the dialogue and chemistry between the parents and their children. As they unravel the roots of their relationship before the audience, it is consistently funny and endearing.

I was able to get the ticket for $30 via 30Under30, and it was a steal. I would happily have paid $100 or $150.

Updated On: 1/25/14 at 10:15 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 1/30/14 at 11:27pm

Saw this tonight and I enjoyed it overall. It does get better and stronger as it goes along, and the final scene, as many have mentioned, is quite sweet, charming, and touching.

Debra Messing is making a sterling Broadway debut, matched perfectly with Brían F. O'Byrne. They have a great rapport and are one of the more unlikely yet beguiling pairings I've seen so far this season. Peter Maloney had some major problems with diction, but his big scene with O'Byrne was very moving, and Dearbhla Molloy had some lovely moments as well.

While you can pretty much see where everything is going about ten minutes in, the journey the show takes to get there is quirky and endearing enough to make it worth your time. Comparisons to MOONSTRUCK do seem apt (though MOONSTRUCK is a far better piece of writing) and it's nice to see Shanley step away from the dark, heavy plays he's been churning out the past few years. It may not be a groundbreaking play, but its certainly an entertaining trifle (and I don't mean that as an insult) with some really splendid performances.

[chanel]

Posted: 1/30/14 at 11:40pm

Out.com says it's lilting but McDonagh lite and "too cute for words."

Scroll down just a bit.

http://www.out.com/entertainment/michael-musto/2014/01/27/sex-tips-co-author-loathes-girls-likes-looking

[Fire and Music]

Posted: 1/31/14 at 5:38pm

Is there any way someone could send me the 30 Under 30 code if it hasn't already expired? I just signed up for it today, so I haven't gotten any emails yet.

[jaxandmci]

Posted: 2/18/14 at 10:58am

I found this to be mostly a snoozer. In fact, I think I did doze off once or twice during the first 45 minutes or so of not much happening. Things finally pick up when the leads are alone together on stage but then the dialog meandered into ridiculous territory and made the whole thing rather throwaway for me. Nice performances but a rather pointless 90 minutes.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/19/14 at 12:31am

Trying to sort out my Casa Valentina tickets and wondering if anyone remembers whether there are aisles down the left and right side of this theater. Can get some good end seats, but want to make sure it's not jammed up against a wall like the Booth or something.

Thanks!