I went this afternoon and, as advertised, nothing will hit you like this. While I’m still marinating on it, these are my “immediate thoughts”.
- Yes, Act I is a LOT of exposition. While James Graham does a great job fleshing out the nuances of the characters, but also the time, space, and their circumstances, there could be a better way to economize this part of the story.
- The payoff is indeed in Act II and I don’t think I had a dry eye around me. It is one HELL of a payoff. Until that point, you are seeing three characters roped into the same orbit by horrible circumstances, but by Act II, you are able to notice that neither party made the other to feel as either victim or villain.
- Will Harrison better not be one of those performances that gets forgotten by the Tonys because of when it opened because he is doing WORK. This is a man who has to portray someone who is dealing with a world that could not support him, a neurodivergence diagnosis that - while not blatant - subtly weaves its way into his character arc and how he manages his behaviors and relationships with others, and a carceral state of mind that he struggles to be fully free from. That last part reminded me of “The Brothers Size” in that, even when someone has done their time, the sentence as society sees it continues and they never feel truly free. The forgiveness through restorative justice finally frees him and gives him the support he has lacked his whole life.
- Victoria Clark does most of the emotional heavy lifting and plays it in a very emotional, but controlled way - think like Mare Winningham, and she really comes full circle with her character.
- The restorative justice scene might be a bit hard to understand for some because it’s such a delicate balance for it to be effective as a moment. I would suggest the film “Mass” (by Fran Kranz) as a primer if you aren’t familiar.
- The accents were slipping a bit, but also talking in a lower class Manchester accent and dialect for 2.5 hours when it’s not your native tongue is likely not an easy feat.
Summary: Don’t be discouraged by the first act, the payoff is worth it. GO.
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