A return engagement of last season’s Tony-winning Best Revival of a Play, Take Me Out, begins performances tomorrow night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Most of the cast from last spring’s run at the Helen Hayes is intact, with Bill Heck replacing Patrick J. Adams as Kippy; Jesse Williams and Tony winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson lead the company. Take Me Out is written by Richard Greenberg, and direction is by Scott Ellis; it will play a limited run set to conclude on February 5.
I included a brief synopsis in the March preview thread for this revival and will not do it here, since it may still be fresh in everyone’s heads.
I have tickets for the October 30th Sunday matinee through TDF. I checked the ticket site and there are tons of unsold premium and orchestra tickets for that performance. Hoping it means I might end up with a great seat!
I just got an email from Telecharge about the lottery. $57! I had never seen a lottery price that high (though I see now Wicked may be more). Even Into the Woods is "only" $50 and Funny Girl is $47.50. Is this show really in so much more demand? Yikes.
I also want to mention that the spring run began just as the MLB ended their lockout; as this fall engagement commences, Game 1 of the World Series is tomorrow night.
Went last night. Overall a fantastic performance glad it back! Everyone was pretty much the same. Bill as Kippy is really good but plays it different then Patrick. I think Patrick gave a little more in the role but for taking over the role and being the only replacement he did great. Jesse Tyler was the same didn’t notice any chances to what he is doing, Jesse Williams was more emotional than he was when I saw it the last run (besides the final show). Michael as Shane in Act 2 was incredible, that police scene is always spectacular on his part, it did seem like he was holding back a little in his scenes in Act 1 though.
THANK YOU so much B'way World for letting me know about the lottery! I happened to win! I have a question: does anyone know where the lottery tickets are located?
I finally saw this. I thought Williams, Heck and Oberholtzer were sensational. They stole the show for me. Williams and Oberholtzer were Tony worthy. Jesse was very good, but it struck me as funny the role seemed so much smaller with him in it. I saw the OBC and left feeling like it was O’Hare’s show. I didn’t feel this way this time. Jesse felt like minor comic relief where to me Denis felt more fully realized. Denis had a physicality and voice cadence to his character that made him feel truly odd but endearing. Jesse just seemed queeny. I did enjoy Jesse though.
Bill Heck really grounded the piece. I thought he was fantastic. Seemed genuine and empathetic.
Williams has so much gravitas. He brings so much more to Darren than Sunjata did. Williams adds much more complexity to the character. I look forward to seeing him in more theatre.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Everyone remains in top form and the show has adjusted well to its larger theatre.
Williams and Ferguson remain stellar, with Williams definitely sinking more into the role emotionally. To me, the afternoon belonged to Heck and Oberholtzer. Patrick J. Adams was great, and Heck seems like a step up from him. There was a lot more empathy in his Kippy and a very world-weary intelligence that is needed to really sell the character as a narrator.
Oberholtzer - my god. He has gotten so much better since the first run (and he was my MVP the first time around). The final scene in the police station, opposite Heck and Williams, was perfectly pitched and him screaming “I WANNA PLAY!” as he’s being carried off sealed the fact that he has created a character you care about despite being a rather unsavory person.
If you missed it the first time, GO NOW
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I saw this the other day. I’d seen a community college production of it a while back and was so bored by it and by the community college-level acting that I eventually just stopped paying attention. With this production, I paid attention but was still pretty bored. I just don’t think it’s a very good play, and the acting wasn’t good enough to carry it. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Bill Heck were the standouts for me. I’ve never thought Jesse Williams is a very good actor and I still don’t think so. He doesn’t have the presence or the swagger that the character requires. (He’s also too old for the part. It makes no sense when he’s told that he’s too young for retirement when clearly he’s not.) Michael Olberholtzer does little more than speak in a stereotypical accent and then yell really loud for his big “Tony, please?” scene. There’s no nuance to the performance at all. The direction by Scott Ellis was fairly rote and uninspired.
Saw the play this afternoon with a TDF ticket. I was in the very first row dead center I had no problem assessing the quality of water in the shower scenes.
Dollypop said: "Saw the play this afternoon with a TDF ticket. I was in the very first row dead center I had no problem assessing the quality of water in the shower scenes."
I'm just curious as to why this was brought back? The return doesn't seem to be selling well.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
quizking101 said: "I saw Jesse Williams was out for both shows today and Blake Russell was on. Would love to hear if anyone saw his performance."
Saw Sunday's show- Blake Russell was on again. I never saw the play before so I didn't have Jesse's performance to compare it to but I thought Blake did a very good job.