PRIMA FACIE Reviews — Page 2

How surprised is everyone by the lack of a critic's pick? I certainly was.

lapinitsa said: "How surprised is everyone by the lack of a critic's pick? I certainly was."

I was too! Jesse Green (as mentioned before) is biased with his reviews. In my opinion, he lacks taste in theatre. That’s all I’ll say about him at the moment. What I give to have Ben Brantley back! This was by far the best piece of theatre I’ve seen in my life! People need to see this before it’s gone. I hope NT Live will either do more encore screenings of this show after it’s done on Broadway so that more people who could not make it to Broadway or get a ticket will have the chance to see this play!

Updated On: 4/23/23 at 11:39 PM

I've already seen this in theaters so I don't have much interest to travel to NY to see this but I'm not surprised at the reviews. Future MCU Invisible Woman doesn't necessarily give the best performance I've ever seen on Broadway but it's definitely on the top 10 I've seen of the past decade. Her performance here kinda reminds me of pre-Jack-Sparrow Johnny Depp. Playing an exaggerated character, yes, but infusing her with so much emotion and with just enough verisimilitude for you to believe it. A Variety review mentioned her acting being tiresome and it's hard for me to disagree with that. It's not particularly a subtle performance but again, Johnny Depp wasn't exactly subtle in his performances and it worked out for him.

Updated On: 4/24/23 at 02:59 AM

I am not here to defend Green, but it seems odd to be attacking him for what many have said, including people on this board like myself: the play isn't a great play, but she elevates it.

I think it’s a fantastic play with some flaws but don’t care if it’s not a Critic's Pick. I’m confused by it but not enough to care. It won’t impact sales (nobody is going to pass on tickets because of that) and they still have great NYT pull quotes to use.


Does “critics pick” even mean anything to anyone anymore besides people like us who read these boards?

Jordan Catalano said: "Does “critics pick” even mean anything to anyone anymore besides people like us who read these boards?"



I've wondered that too, but meanwhile every show that gets one slaps that NY Times Critic's Pick medallion on every piece of show art and advertising they do-- like it was the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. (Yes, I know, I'm dating myself.)

Updated On: 4/24/23 at 10:52 AM

WSJ: ‘Prima Facie’ Review: Jodie Comer’s Barrister on Broadway

https://www.wsj.com/articles/prima-facie-review-jodie-comers-barrister-on-broadway-28c81e25

"The description “solo show” can be a red flag to frequent theatergoers—including this one. But “Prima Facie,” thanks to Justin Martin’s dynamic direction, the expertly constructed unfolding of the drama, and Ms. Comer’s captivating performance, never feels like a talkathon. Ms. Comer moves smoothly and swiftly between portraying numerous characters, differentiating each with nimble precision while never quite erasing the presence of Tessa herself—a remarkable acting feat.

Well, there is one talkathony passage: “Prima Facie” sags briefly toward the conclusion, when Tessa (or Ms. Miller) feels the need to spell out in detail how misguided and damaging the legal approach to many cases of rape can be. “The lived experience of sexual assault is not remembered in a neat, consistent, scientific parcel. And because of that, the law often finds the evidence ‘unbelievable.’” This peroration is unfortunate and unnecessary, since the brilliantly conceived drama that has preceded it has already seared into our minds these uncomfortable truths."

I don't know how I missed the Variety review (by a woman BTW) last night. I looked for it more than once.

‘Prima Facie’ Review: Jodie Comer Commands the Stage in Broadway Drama

https://variety.com/2023/legit/reviews/prima-facie-review-jodie-comer-broadway-1235590985/

"What’s good about this play is also what’s not so good about it: Tess, while she’s still looking at the world from a position of power, explains how the law works when it comes to sexual assault, and it’s enlightening. And yet it’s also dull and somewhat artless. The writing is good in the way that eating your vegetables is good, but there’s no poetry. We’re strictly talking about law and the way lawyers think.

As for Comer, she’s playing an overwrought ass who drinks too much and talks too much (she’s telling the story from a lot of people’s points of view, so there’s a lot to say), and that gets tiresome. She’s pushing in the first half of the show, playing for laughs to an audience who already loves her. (The applause when she arrived on stage for the first time was deafening.) There are a lot of distracting sound effects as well—disco music blaring, or a heart beating so loudly you can hardly hear Comer speak—and one longs for quiet, and for just one moment of stillness.

The play becomes more interesting, though, during and after the rape, when the glee is gone and Tess comes down to earth to suffer with the rest of us. Comer slows down, and instead of speeding through the story—manically changing costumes on stage, moving furniture around from scene to scene—she stands onstage in her own body, with her bare feet on the ground."

Good grief... re: not a NY Times' critic's pick. I know I'm not the first here to ask what the hell Jesse Green's problem is.

But my real question is, what are the chances that in the wake of the reviews, or next week after the nominations, that the "strictly limited" 10-week run will be extended?

Feel very lucky to have seen the final preview Saturday night. And FWIW, I'd posted a question a couple of weeks ago about the seats in the last row of the orchestra and whether the mezzanine overhang would interfere with the view. I'm happy to report that it did not, at all. Sightline was perfect.

Is the stage high in this production? Would sitting in the first 5 rows be too close?

DurantPlummer41 said: "Is the stage high in this production? Would sitting in the first 5 rows be too close?"

That's where I sat, in the 4th row, and I thought it was fine.

pacificnorthwest said: "Dylan Smith4: That would be awesome. I had no idea it had been streamed, or that it might be again. Was that for live performances only at the time?"

Originally, it was a NT LIVE event. Then a couple of months ago, it was on the streaming platform for UK audiences only for a limited time. I think that after the Broadway run concludes, they should put it back on for US and UK audiences. The same thing goes with Leopolstadt when that closes this summer.