SEAGULL, 10/8 matinee

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 10:35pm

I recommend this show highly. The new translation by Christopher Hampton is excellent, naturalistic when it has to be and heightened when it needs to be. Kristin Scott Thomas is masterful as Arkadina. I have never been much of a fan of her work but her timing, her gestures, her vocal range are all ideal for this role. Mackenzie Crook is so vulnerable and febrile as Konstantin - it makes the ending both heart-breaking and inevitable. The rest of the cast is uniformly good, and Carey Mulligan is the first Nina I have seen who is intense rather than irritating. But my heart belongs to Art Malik in this production. Dorn is such a gem of a role, and Malik makes him so human - his understated vanity, his patient social graces with the neurotic women around him, his comforting sympathy for his patients. He has an arresting face, and the long dark frock coat suits him. Excellent work!

Minor disturbance of some sort in the audience at the beginning of the play, and also a long cell phone tune at a crucial moment during the second half. I wish the cell phone had never been invented.

[April Saul]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 12:26am

I was in the front row for Seagull Tuesday night and was enthralled...I just thought the acting was exquisite. I know standing ovations are really overdone these days, this one seemed so worthy that I jumped out of my seat immediately. To my amazement, nobody joined me. Can anybody else tell me if that was the case when they saw it? I was really surprised....

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 9:32am

When I went, the applause at the end was rather tepid. A few people stood up, but it was not like spontaneous combustion.

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 8:04pm

On Wednesday, the applause was prolonged and enthusiastic but only a few people stood for the curtain calls. I, too, thought this was a performance that actually deserved a standing o, but at the 10/8 Wednesday matinee the average audience age seemed to be about 78 so it may be they can't quite get to their feet fast enough.

I have to admit that my earlier statement about the cast of SEAGULL being uniformly good is, upon reflection, a little too kind to Peter Saarsgard. I like him as a general proposition but he does not project the ambivalence and sensuality that I am used to seeing in Trigorin. I loved Alan Cumming in the Classic's production last Spring - now that was a complex performance.

[johnsolt]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 8:41pm

Does anyone know the best ticket deals? I'm finding the $50/$60/$69.50 on broadway box...anything cheaper? How hard is rush? Is balcony too far?

thanks.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 9:08pm

I was at the Wednesday matinee as well. I really enjoyed the production and thought Crook and Kazan gave brilliant performances. I actually liked how Saarsgard played Trigorin, he was so disaffected by everything, I thought it worked.

[April Saul]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 10:31pm

I'm not sure you should count on the discounts...on Tuesday night, when I showed up at the ticket window to pick up my own discounted front row seat that I'd bought right before the reviews came out, there were a few people trying to buy tickets with discount codes. They were all told that none of the codes were no longer valid, and when the people got upset and said that the expiration date hadn't been reached, the ticket taker told them to read the fine print, that codes could be pulled at any time and these had been. Maybe you'll have better luck online, but it didn't look good...or seem fair, for that matter!

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/9/08 at 11:19pm

There was a significant line at the box office on Wednesday (not the will-call window), both before and after the matinee. Apparently they are able to sell sufficient tickets without benefit of discount codes.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 6:55am

I was able to get a rush ticket at 1:35 or so on Wednesday for the matinee. It was partial-view, but I barely missed anything. It was C 11.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 6:47pm

Just returned from today's matinee- what a lovely show. I got student rush tickets around 11:30- also had C 11, slightly obstructed, but still a great deal for $25. Completely agree with Wonkit's review. Adored the performances particularly Carey Mulligan's Nina and Mackenzie Crook's Konstantin. And definitely agree that Art Malik's Dorn is brilliant. Finally, as many others have said, I wasn't all that sure what to make of Peter Skarsgaard's Trigorin. I highly recommend going (and snagging a rush ticket if you can).

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 7:15pm

I can't recommend this production highly enough. I agree that Sarsgaard is the weak link, but only because everyone else is so pitch perfect. What a fantastic showcase of top notch acting. I actually preferred Sarsgaard's take on Trigorin to Alan Cumming's (which I found a tad outlandish, but that's just my personal opinion). I found him subdued, disinterested, and very internal, which imo, works perfectly for the character. I wish he, and the other Americans in the cast, hadn't taken on a British accent. It's unnecessary. I think audiences are smart enough to realize that the characters are Russian, and there's no *need* for affected accents. Regardless, "The Seagull" is one of the great masterpieces of modern theatre, and this production is as close to perfection as one could hope for.