SOCRATES at the Public Previews

[NYfanfromCA]

Posted: 3/31/19 at 4:45pm

Previews for this new play, Socrates, by actor, director and writer Tim Blake Nelson, start on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at Public.  Tony award winner Doug Hughes directs.  Opening night is April 16 and tickets are on sale through May 19.

Who's going? 

Updated On: 3/31/19 at 04:45 PM

[sm33]

Posted: 4/1/19 at 1:05am

I’m going when I come back to the city in mid-May. I would have waited to buy tickets, but it was already almost sold out for the weekend I needed, so I didn’t want to risk missing it as I’m looking forward to seeing Michael Stuhlbarg on stage. I hope it’s good!

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 4/1/19 at 12:39pm

I see the show starts on 4/2, but the Joe Papp free preview is the next day. It works better for me, but anyone know why the free preview wasn't for the first performance?

[thesmash]

Posted: 4/3/19 at 3:24pm

Won tickets today for the in person lottery. I was told the show is running around 2 hours 50 minutes at the moment.

I’ll update later on my thoughts on the show. I’m a big fan of Stuhlbarg, so I’m excited for this one.

[thesmash]

Posted: 4/3/19 at 11:39pm

Just got back from seeing Socrates. I don’t write reviews on here really, so apologies if this isn’t up to snuff but I’ll just share some of my thoughts below.

Since there’s not much out there describing the structure of the show, I guess I’ll let loose on that. Pardon if this is viewed as a spoiler but I feel like the story of Socrates has been out there for a while. The story is told through the narrative lense of Plato taking on a new student and telling him about the downfall of Socrates. The first act is more or less the setup for a trial of Socrates in the second act. Stuhlbarg and Bougere are both really strong in this, my favorite parts acting wise. Thematically the play heavily revolves around philosophy, morals, and ethics. Some of the topics covered are really interesting especially when thinking about them in modern times (the play is all set in the time of Socrates but this was just my personal thoughts that occurred while watching the show). Also, this show is really funny at times, more so in the first act than the second act. The second act goes harder into the philosophy side of the show and more dramatic/emotional at times. Some of the staging was really impressive in terms of the blocking. Several roles have parts of the show where they speak from a location on the right side within the audience area (Michael Stuhlbarg was like five feet away from me!)

It clocked in around 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. Length wise I feel it was completely justified though.

Tim Blake Nelson was sitting two rows behind me and was taking notes throughout the show. He laughed at some of the jokes throughout which I found really delightful. Stuhlbarg had to ask for a line at one part in the first act but he moved through like a champ. There’s a ton or dialogue in this play and at times they’re speaking at a Sorkin-esque speed. Stuhlbarg in particular carries a real heavy load. Overall, I highly recommend this show and think it’s worth seeking out. They’re in really good shape already on just the second preview show.

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 4/3/19 at 11:55pm

I was at the preview tonight as well. thesmash, you made a great summary. I'll add my thoughts:

-It was really interesting to overlay the discussions on stage with the state of the world now. Felt very relevant.

-The dialogue is quite wordy, but it fit the play well. A few discussions in Act II felt like they got too smart for themselves though. 

-Act I felt way too long. There are a few scene endings in the latter part of the Act in which I thought "great, now for intermission", but then the next scene would start. I'm sure they'll trim it down a bit by opening.

-Be warned that this is a long play and the seats are not the most comfortable for an almost 2hr Act I (at least in the first row where I was which has portable chairs with little cushion). 

-Kudos to Michael Stuhlbarg - that he asked for just one line in all that dialogue was impressive!

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 8:27am

I was there last night as well.

As Carmen said, the play is VERY wordy. And large chunks of the it consist of extended scenes of philosophical debate. In order to enjoy these scenes, the audience has to keep up with complex and abstract lines of thought. So if that’s not your cup of tea, I would definitely recommend staying away. Personally though, I like wordy plays, and I like philosophical debate about abstract concepts. So it didn’t bother me.

And ultimately, those scenes of debate are absolutely essential to understand how Socrates operates, and what he does that leads to his own death. It’s the foundation of the play, both structurally and thematically.

My biggest problem with the play is relatively fixable: the last two scenes drag on and on and on for an interminably long time. The play has more “endings” than Return of the King. There were moments where I actually began chuckling to myself because I couldn’t believe there was yet another dialogue exchange. Socrates’ death is done hyper-realistically and ends up feeling unintentionally comical as a result (for those two saw Hamlet at the Public, it reminded me of when Keegan-Michael Key’s death scene in the play-within-a-play). There is a melodramatic monologue from Socrates’ wife who has been largely absent from the play. The monologue is over acted, and it spewed out all of the “neglected wife” cliches. it felt like something they threw in there just so people wouldn’t call the play sexist (even though there is still only one female character who barely does anything).

But if they were to make some major, drastic cuts to the last two scenes, I think the play would work a lot better. It was a shame to have it end on such a weak note, when it had been doing fairly well up until that point. The play is occasionally heavy-handed about its Relevant themes, but all in all it’s a compelling look into Socrates life and death, and how the corrupt political system turned against him.

The directional is generally strong, except that there are lots of times when the actors seem to lose the truth of the moment by relying on screaming and shouting instead of really talking to each other. Stuhlbarg did that a lot, but in the other moments he was very dropped in and very fascinating to watch.

In case it’s not clear, this was definitely a mixed bag for me. Lots of things about the execution that I didn’t care for, but I think it has a strong foundation.

[Hokosho]

Posted: 4/11/19 at 3:53am

Wow those costumes look amazing. I thought Catherine Zuber's Costumes in South Pacific were good. The photos of this production blow those out of the water. I know she won the Tony for South Pacific but those costumes here amazing

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/11/19 at 11:18am

All I know is the set extends around the audience?