Rabbit Hole Reviews

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:12pm

Talkin Broadway is Mixed:

"David Lindsay-Abaire has spent the last six years populating Manhattan Theatre Club's Off-Broadway spaces with quirky, candy-coated plays depicting unusual women in even more unusual crises. Whether coping with recurring memory loss, a sexually depraved husband, or hyper-advanced aging, his heroines have always tilted against dangerously off-kilter worlds.

Now he's done a remarkable about-face: With the MTC production of Rabbit Hole, which just opened at the Biltmore, Lindsay-Abaire is trying to shake things up from within rather than from without by realistically tackling real problems. He hasn't, however, yet learned how to write real people to experience them.

Rabbit Hole is full of the kind of uniquely theatrical souls who populate Lindsay-Abaire's other plays, albeit ones viewed through a less-severely cracked lens. True, there's no one as zany as the lisping, limping burn victim or the stroke-stricken mother from Fuddy Meers. But there's also no one complex or specifically enough drawn to make the tragedy uniting them all - the death of a four-year-old boy named Danny - feel like more than a hoary vehicle for contemporary kitchen-sink drama.
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One must admire Lindsay-Abaire's willingness to plumb uncertain and unfamiliar depths, but he's trapped there, away from his element and without access to the tools he apparently requires to give his plays both bite and point. The problem with Rabbit Hole is that he, like his characters, is too visibly struggling to find the way back to the surface."



http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/RabbitHole.html

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:14pm

Man, and I heard this was amazing. I really want it to get an extension so I can see it (i'm going in the week after it's "closing")

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:15pm

If they extend they have to move right? Isn't Shining City going into that theatre right after?

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:19pm

It's not like they can't push Shining City back a little.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:26pm

There no room to push back SHINING CITY if they want it be in consideration for this season's awards. The Tony deadline is May 10th I believe. As it stands SHINING CITY'S official opening night is May 3rd.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:26pm

I think if they push Shining City back, it will no longer be Tony eligible.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:28pm

And moving it to another house is out of the question -- every small to mid-sized house is already booked.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:31pm

Isn't a mixed review from Talkin' Broadway a good thing? Don't they usually hate and miss the point of everything?

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:31pm

Oh dang. I didn't know it was that close. Well, what if they have Shining City's preview time less? Is that even possible.

P.S. Margo, you are absolutely right. There is no way the show moves. As of now there are a bunch of shows waiting to squeeze into the next available theatre.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:36pm

Yes, Pop.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:53pm

Variety is a rave:

"Detractors of David Lindsay-AbaireDavid Lindsay-Abaire's work often complain that his taste for contrived whimsy gets in the way of truth and real human feeling. Putting aside his usual eccentricities in his Broadway debut, "Rabbit Hole," the playwright has crafted a drama that's not just a departure but a revelation -- an intensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion and searing honesty. Daniel Sullivan's superbly focused production for Manhattan Theater Club maximizes these qualities, as does his cast, led by the wonderful Cynthia Nixon in what will surely be among the finest performances on a New York stage this season."
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117929453?categoryid=1265&cs=1

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:42pm

Yes, the hope of an extension has just gone up (a tiny bit, but every bit counts.)

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:54pm

I just got back from the show and loved every second of it.

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:59pm

AP is positive:

And while there are some laughs in "Rabbit Hole" and things are definitely off-kilter, the situation in this Manhattan Theatre Club production is somber and severe. A wealthy, suburban couple is trying to come to terms with the death of their young son, Danny, accidentally killed when he runs into the street and is struck by a car.

If this sounds like a recipe for the sudsiest of soap opera, it isn't, thanks, in part, to some remarkable performances —
Cynthia Nixon as Becca and
John Slattery as Howie head the strong cast — and the astute, never heavy-handed direction of Daniel Sullivan.

In his past, more comic plays, Lindsay-Abaire has often been accused of overdosing on aggressive cuteness and whimsey, anchoring his works in a strident unreality. That charge can't be made against "Rabbit Hole," a remarkable, affecting redirection of his considerable talent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060203/ap_en_re/theater_rabbit_hole_2

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 10:02pm

USA Today is positive, I think (3 out of 4 stars):

It isn't often that I'm tempted to leave a performance at intermission, then end up raving about the production.

Lindsay-Abaire has tackled uncomfortable subject matter before; his last play, Kimberly Akimbo, dealt with a teenage girl suffering from a rare aging disease. But for all his comic imagination, his writing has sometimes struck me as self-consciously clever. There is nothing winking or waggish about Hole, though; the dialogue is most impressive for capturing the awkwardness and pain of thinking people faced with an unthinkable situation — and eventually, their capacity for survival, and even hope.

Notwithstanding a few corny flourishes — among them John Gromada's made-for-TV incidental music — these performances add to Hole's authenticity. I don't frequently advise people to pay good money to have their hearts broken, but trust me on this one.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2006-02-02-rabbit-hole_x.htm

[Mike3]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 10:36pm

Brantley: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/theater/reviews/03rabb.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=fcce6e87cc94c4f9&hp&ex=1138942800&partner=homepage
Updated On: 2/2/06 at 10:36 PM

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:13am

OH MY GOD! Ben Brantley has NEVER written a more glowing review in his entire career at the TIMES and I must say, I agree 100% with every single word he said.

GO SEE THIS PLAY! Can't wait for the rest of the reviews. Clive Barnes looks like he is in the Linda Weiner camp on this one, but Brantley in my book is EXACTLY RIGHT!

YAY RABBIT HOLE - everyone involved with this production deserves that review. It is a Phenomanal show!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:49am

Best Actress category is going to have a lot of "names" in it this year. With Julia and Cynthia.

edit: its a revolving set? like is it on a turntable? sounds cool. Also, could someone explain the title of the play to someone who hasn't and won't see the play? thanks. Updated On: 2/3/06 at 02:49 AM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 6:38am

TheaterMania raves for the cast, but is mixed when it comes to the play's conventions:
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/7604

[hannahshule]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 6:50am

Wall Street Journal is Mixed, but i don't worry about their reviews, If Brantley loved it must be Goog!

[Lamc16]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 8:03am

<-------------------------------

"Ben Brantley has NEVER written a more glowing review in his entire career at the TIMES"

-- Excuse me, lacageauxfollesfan2, but you would be mistaken. He HAS written a more glowing review. It was called "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Must we really forget the unforgettable so fast??

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 9:30am

edit: its a revolving set? like is it on a turntable? sounds cool. Also, could someone explain the title of the play to someone who hasn't and won't see the play? thanks.

Yes, there are 2 turntables. Rather impressive.

as for the title...I'm paranoid when it comes to spoilers so...

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

SPACE

During one of the more intense scenes of the play, the boy who hit and killed their 4 year old son comes and sits w/ CN's character. He had previously sent them a short story he'd written, which was to be published, and he wanted their approval to dedicate it to Danny (their son). This short story had a boy (I think) chasing through rabbit holes to find what he wanted. There's more to the rabbit holes than that, but you'll have to see the play to get the whole picture.

Barnes' explanation:
As for that intriguing title: "Rabbit Hole" is a reference to scientists who, accepting the concept of an infinite universe, posit that somewhere there must be a parallel cosmos to our own, that we might be able to reach that cosmos through a rabbit hole of time.

Updated On: 2/3/06 at 09:30 AM

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 9:32am

NY Post is mixed:

THERE may be as many patterns of grieving as there are causes for grief. David Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole," which the Manhattan Theatre Club opened last night at the Biltmore, is about grief, grieving and the stresses it places on a family.

It's also about Cynthia Nixon getting her Broadway groove back after her successful but potentially career-debilitating stint on "Sex and the City."

Rest assured: Cast as a traumatized Westchester housewife, she demonstrates once more that she's among the most rewardingly nuanced stage actresses of her generation.

Unfortunately, the play itself — which reveals bit by careful bit the tragedy that has engulfed a fairly commonplace suburban couple — soon develops into a dramatized agony column.

It would be unfair to specify what the tragedy is, for the best aspect of Lindsay-Abaire's writing is the manner in which he unveils his story.

But once that story is made clear, it's also clear he has no idea where to go with it. It's as though Dr. Phil had decided to write a feel-better play.

The dialogue is competent enough in a smart-edged TV fashion, but lacks the crackle of reality. Almost as bad, the couple's many-monthslong journey into acceptance has no real resolution.

http://www.nypost.com/theatre/62818.htm

Updated On: 2/3/06 at 09:32 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 9:40am

It sounds like another rather conventional screenplay-turned-play (with Dan Sullivan directing, natch). I think I'll skip it.

Updated On: 2/3/06 at 09:40 AM

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/3/06 at 9:41am

Mixed from Newsday:

Doesn't really talk about the story except to say it doesn't go anywhere, which just confuses me. Praises for the cast.

______________________________
It is easy to imagine why this subtle actress might have been drawn to "Rabbit Hole" for her return to the stage after so many image-defining seasons in "Sex and the City." As Becca, the mourning mother of a dead 4-year-old son, Nixon is challenged to compress all her emotional plumage into the limited space between soul-dead and merely inconsolable.

She does so with great intelligence and no-nonsense grace in David Lindsay-Abaire's new drama, which opened last night on Broadway. When Becca finally cries, the sobs come in raw, jagged breaths that sound as ugly as they are meant to feel. With Tyne Daly as Becca's coarse but not vulgar mother, and director Daniel Sullivan's tastefully understated production, "Rabbit Hole" should be killing us softly with the brutality of bottomless sorrow.

Instead, this is a glum little play, a predictable domestic melodrama that adds nothing but fine acting to the cumulated understanding of inexplicable loss.

Daly, a genuine stage actress in a rare appearance, delivers her lines with more layers than they have on the page. She takes a standard-issue, salt-of-the-earth character with a tabloid interest in the Kennedy curse and makes her wisdom seem more than an author's contrivance. Mary Catherine Garrison pouts with an enjoyable overripe quality as the pregnant unwed sister who never had a chance against her superior sister. John Gallagher Jr. has a wary, touching awkwardness as the teenage driver whose life was derailed as profoundly as anybody's.
Newsday