SAINT JOAN (2018) Previews — Page 2

"Ha, of course it was Shaw’s choice. I’m just saying I didn’t like it!"

My, my, my.

So this is where we are now.

This one wants. That one wants. And that one over there wants, too.

This director changes. That author alters.

This ideologue demands. That one demands even more. And don't even talk about the one over there screeching up a storm!

Wants, wants, wants. Change, change, change.

And what about what the deceased author wanted?

Uhhh.....

Who?

Updated On: 4/4/18 at 10:37 AM

I have to admit that I am not a member of the Conceal Rashad club. I thought she was adequate in Bountiful and barely there in ADHP2. I did not see her in Stick Fly and doubt that my opinion would have changed based on R&J, given the reviews for it and her.

I was thinking that I might see St. Joan, although I have rarely enjoyed Shaw performances (exceptions: Pygmalion and House. I generally hated several productions of Mrs. Warren's Profession, Major Barbara and Candida that I have seen over 50 years, but several of them were badly reviewed, so it could have been the production that I disliked.

That said, I thought I might see this in one of the remaining slots I have for late May, to see if my opinion of CR would change. Based on reviews thus far, I am not inclined to use a slot for something that sounds like a slog. This is why I love this board. If I still lived in NY, I would probably see most everything; but, I don't...so I need to be selective.

This is disappointing because I was already on the fence about a show with a cast of 13 that only features one woman. But I like the actors I'm familiar with and I figured that since it's called Saint Joan, she'd be the focus and it'd be better than Joan of Arc: Into the Fire (which I skipped after all the negative word of mouth). And Shaw is totally capable of giving his female characters good material.

Speaking of the set, was it at all hard to look at it during the show? The instagram photo makes it look very bright and intense.

Delete.

Updated On: 4/6/18 at 11:04 PM

I also saw the St. Joan at Shaw Festival last season, and it was sensational. i don't intend to see this production, but after seeing the set, which seems a bit bloated and overwhelming, perhaps MTC should have just imported the play from Canada.

I am with the minority here, because I saw it last night and thought it was wonderful. I felt the director caught that great place between light and dark with this play. I'd seen Joan before (at a small company downtown) and loved it but it was all dark. This production moves betweeen the dark and the light, and the major set design was a perfect reflection of it. And a shame for Rashad to have no chance at the Tony (because Glenda will get it), There was no hint of histeria in her performance... Joan is speaking her truth, and she's not crazy.

I did remark to my friend that I wished I was part an older theater time when and wasn't corrupted with TV or movie viewing because I did want to snip at some of the longer scenes. But that's my bad.

Loved it.

^ Has anyone on these boards actually met After Eight in person? I'm suspecting it's actually some adorable grandmother who bakes cookies and crochets in her spare time and gets all her aggressions out via her odious avatar on BWW.

"You don't see a contradiction in your outrages, no doubt,"



It's both presumptuous and highly unseemly to tell others what they "no doubt" think. Arrogant as well, I'm afraid.

Speaking for myself, I'm perfectly capable of stating what I think, without your or anyone else's assistance.

After Eight said: ""You don't see a contradiction in your outrages, no doubt,"



It's both presumptuous and highly unseemly to tell others what they "nodoubt" think. Arrogant as well, I'm afraid.

henrikegerman's comment is, in context, neither unseemly nor arrogant. Rather, it was quite charitable. For if you did make your assertions with the belief that you were contradicting yourself, it would entail that you function irrationally or as a troll.

"

Updated On: 4/7/18 at 11:52 PM

Theater3232 said: "...is super boring and is talk, talk, talk. The set isn't too bright to look at, so trust me, that won't be your problem with the show. On the contrary, many scenes are pretty darkly lit, which help with your extreme urge to nap through the 3 hours of boredom."

What do you expect from a straight play expect "talk, talk, talk"?

Dancingthrulife2 said: "What do you expect from a straight play expect "talk, talk, talk"?"

Nudity.

This was a real drag. My problems with this show stem from both the writing and the production itself. This a subpar production of a subpar play. The play itself is just not very engaging, and it is very wordy and talky. There’s a lot of rehashing of things over and over again.

Condola Rashad gives an incredible performance, but whenever she is not onstage (which is more often than one would think considering she’s the title character), her absence is sorely felt. The rest of the cast is fine, but there are no true standouts at all.

The set design was cool for the first five minutes, but it became a bit of an eyesore after that. The bell theme/motif they were going for didn’t really work for me at all. Way too abstract.

The Epilogue was one of the most embarrassing things I have ever seen on a stage in my life. It felt like a really poorly written SNL skit. The tonal shift between the previous scenes of the play and epilogue was very jarring. I hated it.

In a season ripe with so many good plays (especially revivals of plays), this one definitely falls short. It’s really just a not very good production of a play that was not too great to begin with.