SOMEONE SPECTACULAR @Signature

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 4:39pm

Just had to hop on here to recommend this new play by Domenica Feraud at the Signature Theater. The 90 minute show centers on a group of six people at a grief counseling meeting while they wait for their group leader to arrive. I assumed this would be just a SAD, depressing show and it of course has it's moments but so much of this show is also just very very funny with some uniformly fantastic performances by the cast, most notably (for me) the amazing Ana Cruz Kayne.

I think it's running for another month or so, so if you had any curiosity about this one you should do yourself a favor and take it in.  

Also, make sure you're seated at least 10 minutes before the show starts. 
 

Updated On: 8/7/24 at 04:39 PM

[citylightsny]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 4:46pm

I agree. But the play is written by Domenica Feraud.  Tatiana directed.  Domenica's last play there was pretty spectaular as well.  

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 4:51pm

Ah, thanks for that correction! Wasn’t paying attention when typing :)
 

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 5:18pm

See, I felt the opposite of OP.

I’ve worked in mental health my entire career and I found this play to be dramatically inert and trying to be more profound than it actually is. I never felt as if the characters were fully realized, and I know that it’s sometimes hard to do when presented in real time, but this just seemed very superficial and didn’t really comment on grief as a concept. I found myself very bored with the proceedings.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 5:29pm

Oh interesting. I’ve done groups like that before so some of it struck me as very honest. The old lady behind me stood up before everyone had left the stage and loudly said “that was awful” so it ain’t gonna resonate with everyone lol

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 5:44pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Oh interesting. I’ve done groups like that before so some of it struck me as very honest. The old lady behind me stood up before everyone had left the stage and loudly said “that was awful” so it ain’t gonna resonate with everyone lol"

Hey, at least Nicki Cochrane was at your show!

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 10:51pm

Interesting to see these two contrasting opinions, I've had this on my "maybe" list for a bit so I think I'll end up going just to see which side of the spectrum I fall on.  

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 8/7/24 at 11:20pm

Yeah this wasn’t a favorite but it was a net positive for me. I agree with the sentiment that the characterizations and writing is just … a bit superficial.

By and large it’s a great production and I would recommend it if the subject matter jumps out at you.

 

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I loved how the show started with the company “arriving” but as soon as the first line was uttered any semblance of nuance or realism went out the window for me. Every single line was held in opposition to someone else from the very first beat when one member suggested “we should start” and all five others start word vomiting over one another and making their opinions heard — as if 90% of strangers or acquaintances wouldn’t just say “Hmm I’m not sure” or “meh I may just leave” or stay quiet all together.

I just recall watching the entire time thinking that a more realistic and indifferent energy level in their dialogue/discourse particularly in the first 30 minutes would have provided a better anchor than just “grief ridden strangers are angry at each other with basically zero predispositions”.

It would’ve been funnier had the person who suggested playing FMK was basically completely ignored. Had the show gone from a point of indifference to a point of relationship strengthening and bonding without Beth, it just would’ve made a lot more sense to me and had a bigger impact. As such, lots of the bread and butter of it just felt tacky and, again, superficial in Quizking’s words.

I am very curious what others thoughts are on why it did/didn’t work for them.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/8/24 at 2:42am

The man who lost his wife seemed like a gay man, so that was already throwing me off.  But I guess it needed to be a wife to keep with the mothers theme.  they didn’t have mics so everytime they turned in the opposite direction, I could barely understand or hear what was said.  The playwright was playing Lily at my performance, the girl in red.  What was up with the plastic “vertical blinds” upstage?  It looked like they were in an industrial refrigerator.  I don’t like how anti doctor the whole thing was, they solved their own problems without the therapist, and kept bashing her throughout.  Amateur amateur amateur

[Theater3232]

Posted: 8/8/24 at 10:19pm

Dramatically inert and one-dimensional "fake" acting.  Didn't believe one word out of anyone's mouths and 5 minutes in, I knew I was in for a looooong 95 minutes.  Truly awful show. 

On the other hand, I was (mostly) impressed at From Here playing down the hall, with strong singing & great acting, esp from the two lead women (mom & best friend), although it could use a 15-minute trim and dropping the distasteful comments about Roseanne Barr and doing cocaine. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/8/24 at 10:38pm

I guess i really am in the minority liking this one, whereas I felt “From Here” was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to suffer through.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/9/24 at 2:38am

Updated On: 8/9/24 at 02:38 AM

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 8/9/24 at 1:07pm

On TDF for $20. Tons of availability through mid Sept

[mridley2]

Posted: 8/9/24 at 2:00pm

I caught this last weekend and mostly enjoyed it. I appreciated the sharp humor, but boy everyone in that group was pretty selfish. I guess that is the intention. Grieving people are allowed some level of selfishness when going through a tough time. 

Sad to hear that you liked Ana Cruz Kayne--she was out the night I saw it. But Dominque (sp) was the understudy and I thought she was great. I guess she already knew the script =).

The Times sent in freelance writer Rhoda Feng to review and this mostly gave it a good review, not a rave. I think the subject matter is just not for everyone and I understand that.

-mr

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 1:02am

Jordan Catalano said: "I guess i really am in the minority liking this one, whereas I felt “From Here” was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to suffer through."

I respect your opinion a whole lot Jordan Catalano but i was mystified by this one.

its a nice concept, and the actors are great (especially Gamze Ceylan, wow) but there is zero insight into grief, and the platitudes wear thin very quick. a high school student taking AP Psych could have come up with much of the content here. four of the six characters are insufferable, and two are perfect angels. not a recipe for success. and of course the cardinal sin: its not funny but tries very hard to be. yikes.

the audience ate it up- in the worst way. tons of people nodding intently at all the "wisdom" and forced laughter throughout to the point of inappropriate. there were also many walkouts, including one family that brought their 6 yr old daughter like total psychopaths.

 

Updated On: 8/11/24 at 01:02 AM

[WindyWendy]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 7:30am

I'm in the camp that thought this play was fantastic. Moving, funny, interesting, great acting. I get that it's not for everyone, but it's on tdf and only 90 minutes - definitely worth checking out.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 9:23am

LOL it’s a perfect show for 6 year olds! 
 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 8/18/24 at 4:25pm

I'm in the middle on this one.  I think I found it interesting but not compelling, and I don't know that I'd recommend it to any of my friends but I also wasn't mad that I went to see it.  I thought the characters were written well and each had their moment to shine as well as having a good mix of "problematic" statements and compassionate moments.

I've never been to grief counseling so I can't speak to how true it is, but I thought the most interesting part of the play was how these people for the most part can know each other so well in specific ways and not at all in others, and while they aren't friends, they also need each other in a way.  And it's tough to make a judgment call since we don't know what a session looks like with Beth there, but I did find the power dynamics interesting with who "needs" to speak and the different reasons people come to the group.

I did find glimmers of larger themes on grief, though perhaps nothing new that hasn't been said already--the idea of something else that will happen to trigger another bout of grief; the comparison of grief between different people who've died; the idea that not talking about someone anymore will make them truly disappear; and even just coming to terms with people (especially mothers) as human beings who are doing the best that they can.  But where the play felt short for me was it just didn't seem like it had a purpose.  Why should people come to see it?  For other plays that are just based on a series of conversations without real dramatic stakes like Heroes of the Fourth Turning or Case for the Existence of God, the play itself gave way to a larger picture of a specific kind of people and demonstrates a kind of perspective or dichotomy we haven't considered before.  And even Stereophonic, which doesn't necessarily speak to a larger moral, is still in service to the creation of an album.  But what this play seems to amount to is just that grief sucks?  Or maybe that everyone grieves differently?  I just don't quite know what it was about this set of characters that the playwright wanted to share with audiences.

Also I'm sure it's meant to be vague but I'm still not quite sure about the purpose of some of the almost supernatural set elements that happened.  The ending specifically seems to say a certain message but I can't quite figure out what it is or even what it's leaning towards and some of the stuff with the lights just seemed unnecessary.  The ending actually felt a bit like the ending of Here We Are to me, but without the same build up so it just felt unearned and kind of "...so that's it?"  I was curious how they'd end the piece pretty much the whole time because I think if it had ended in a stronger way I would've been much more positive about it overall but in general it just felt like it was spinning its wheels with nowhere to go (though for the most part I did enjoy getting to know these characters).

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 4:04pm

Our group really didn't care for this.  The writing amateur as is some of the directing.  The actors are trying.

We saw the show's writer on in the "actress" role.  We came to the conclusion she wasn't much of a writer or actress.   This is a skip from us.