PASS OVER Previews — Page 4

Any word yet on where the rush seats are located?

Spot-checking some performances starting next week, it doesn't look like any are more than half full. There's time for them to fill in, and reviews will probably be decent...but reporting the grosses would be helpful!

I have relatives outside of NYC who mentioned the news coverage of the first preview. The fact that sales appear this soft despite a ton of press attention says a lot about Delta + general interest in the title.

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 11:25 PM

LightsOut90 said: "its perplexing that this play was directed by a white woman

i know the writer explained why…but still bizarre"

If the playwright is happy with the director's work, there is nothing for you to discuss. This is from an interview with Danya Taymor where she talks about directing Pass Over.

"

When you’re approaching plays that are from a different world than your background, have you found any specific things you like to do to prepare for those?

Absolutely. I’m going to direct a play by Will Arbery that takes place in rural Wyoming and follows young Catholic conservatives. That couldn’t be more different from my background. This January, I went out to Wyoming to a town an hour and a half outside of Jackson just to see what it’s like to live in a place that is so remote and has so few people and has so much land. Just going there gave me a different perspective. With a play like Pass Over, I just immersed myself in all the references that Antoinette makes in the play, like Waiting for Godot, and she has all these references to these great comics like Nichols and May, The Three Stooges, and The Marx Brothers. There are all these forms that she’s referencing there. I read a ton of Richard Wright in preparation for Pass Over, especially Eight Men, a book of his that takes place in Chicago. I think no matter what the world, I try to do a ton of research and immerse myself in the world through music, movies, and books, and try to fill myself with the perspective of the people the story is about."

LightsOut90 said: "i’m still allowed to have my opinion but thanks"

Were you also shocked and appalled when she directed Daddy? Or when white women directed Suzan-Lori Parks's plays (one of which also directed An Octoroon)? Should Marianne Elliott not have directed Death of a Salesman with Sharon D Clarke and Wendell Pierce? Or maybe she shouldn't have directed Angels in America because she's not a gay man either.

LightsOut90 said: "soooo many of the examples you laid out are nowhere near the same"

How? Because you didn’t see them?

I think this quote is more important, given the climate and circumstances surrounding this show opening:

“There is a building full of people making Herculean efforts to mount a play that we deeply care about … [t]o employ people and keep them safe, … [a]nd welcome audiences and keep them safe,” commented the lead producer, Matt Ross.

It’s also important to note that they are filling the house about 2/3rds of the way so far, even if the tickets are heavily discounted or given away. Isn’t that… literally the equitable access to Broadway productions we’ve been asking for? And they also opened on schedule, teched ahead of schedule, and have yet to require a cancelled performance due to COVID exposure. I think that’s pretty remarkable.

Obviously, it’s a capitalist venture, so money is important to their survival and nothing is “free” and I guess Forbes has to report on something, but I really think comparing Pass Over to something like Hamilton or Wicked is… I don’t know. Sh*tty?

Updated On: 8/20/21 at 12:02 PM

ColorTheHours048 said: "I think this quote is more important, given the climate and circumstances surrounding this show opening:

“There is a building full of people making Herculean efforts to mount a play that we deeply care about … [t]o employ people and keep them safe, … [a]nd welcome audiences and keep them safe,” commented the lead producer, Matt Ross.

It’s also important to note that they are filling the house about 2/3rds of the way so far, even if the tickets are heavily discounted or given away. Isn’t that… literally the equitable access to Broadway productions we’ve been asking for?


Sure, but what will it say if the show closes early at a major financial loss? Will it be lauded for paving the way for access, even if their solution is not sustainable? Will other producers be encouraged to mount shows just for access and not for business? It’s definitely part of a larger, complicated, and important conversation about the true costs of access. I don’t think we’ve figured it out yet.