Outside Mullingar Begins Performances! — Page 2

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.

---

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

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

---

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.

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.

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!

---

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.

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.

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!

---