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#26

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:42am

I was at the Sunday matinee as well. Overall I enjoyed it but found the script a bit uneven and it definitely feels dated 20 years later.

The performances were generally quite strong. Agree that it take a bit to warm up to Jesse Williams' character but it's certainly a tricky role to nail emotionally. Patrick J. Adams did a commendable job as the narrator and kept the pace moving along. Michael Oberholtzer was the stand out for me. Jesse Tyler Ferguson was regurgitating his Modern Family character but the audience ate it right up.

Some technical notes...the sound cues were far too loud and often overpowered actor's dialogue (at least from where I was sitting in the rear Orchestra), and the stage remains quite wet after the shower scenes, leading to lots of squeaky shoes.

Regarding the salacious bits - the straight couple next to me was horrified by the nudity and left at intermission. The man in the couple was genuinely losing his mind. I felt bad for the woman. Too bad they missed the shower scenes!

Lastly, the Yondr pouches. I personally didn't have an issue with them at all. When entering the Hayes, there are two lines - one for digital tickets and one for will call/physical tickets. I picked up at the box office, but I believe they write down your seat assignment for you if you have a digital ticket. My main issue with the pouches was the time a phone went off and there was no option but to let it ring. The ushers do a great job asking multiple times if your phone is off before placing it in the pouch, but some people just can't bring themselves to follow directions.

#27

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:54am

Bettyboy72 said: "I'm not a fan of Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He plays everything the same. I think Jim Parsons would be ideal for this role. He has much more gravity."

Funny because I hear people complain Parsons plays everything the same. I think he can bring more gravity than Ferguson, though.

#28

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 10:29am

Yeah, the casting of Ferguson seemed off to me, at least on paper.

Mason Marzac is supposed to be kind of a schlub. The kind of gay that gay culture renders invisible. Denis O'Hare fit this to a tee but when I saw the mini-tour the part was played by the more handsome T. Scott Cunningham and something was lost. Ferguson, with his great figure and snazzy red hair, doesn't really seem quite right.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

#29

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 10:47am

kwoc91 said: "Regarding the salacious bits - the straight couple next to me was horrified by the nudity and left at intermission. The man in the couple was genuinely losing his mind. I felt bad for the woman. Too bad they missed the shower scenes!"

I'm so surprised that people don't know about this going in, but maybe I'm just too much in a theatre bubble. The top post in the Broadway Reddit at the moment is from someone who says they were surprised and confused by the Yondr requirement, and who only understood the reason when they saw the nudity during the show. The Second Stage website, the main ticket seller, contains a note about the nudity and the Yondr bags, though it's possible people are overlooking it. And an email went out about the bags to ticket buyers. Or maybe it's just people buying tickets on the day of based on the stars without any other information. Does TKTS tell people about that sort of stuff?

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 10:47 AM

#30

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:02am

kwoc91 said “Some technical notes...the sound cues were far too loud and often overpowered actor's dialogue (at least from where I was sitting in the rear Orchestra), and the stage remains quite wet after the shower scenes, leading to lots of squeaky shoes.”

Agree, as well as some of the incidental music. I was actually sitting across the aisle from Scott Ellis and he and the creative team were discussing this during intermission and were making hand cues toward the stage to have the actors speak up when that happened.

Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm

#31

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:06am

O'Hare's performance in the first major production was the secret weapon: his annotating commentary and rhapsodic paeans* were in stark contrast to the others', a different flavor of self-absorption than exhibited in the young athletes. When Tyler-Ferguson was cast, it seemed a logical choice if perhaps too spot-on. He's been tossing off a particular flavor of bon mots for years, and it's in his comfort zone. It may be a secret weapon of another, more predictable sort: his performance cues the audience, letting them know when to laugh, never a bad thing in a play this diffused, with so much going on. O'Hare doesn't have the situation comedy persona, and builds characters from he ground up. It enhanced this play. But it's a different era and this may be the presence the show now needs to satisfy a new audience. I'm not averse to actors using their own toolbox when it helps with audience access. .

*the Brantley original take on the O'Hare performance:

"...But ultimately, it's Mr. O'Hare who owns the evening. A lonely, emotionally constipated gay man whose life takes on meaning when he takes on Darren as a client, Mr. O'Hare's Mason becomes baseball's dream cheerleader. To see him bend and blossom before the mysteries of the game is a bit like watching Cary Grant, in his priggish mode, being thawed out by a madcap Katharine Hepburn in ''Bringing Up Baby.''

"And what an enchanting and enchanted take on baseball Mr. Greenberg has created for Mason, both passionately personal and lyrically analytical. It's a sensibility that is so smart, raw and sincere all at once that you may find tears in your eyes in the first act as Mason describes the raptures of ''the home-run trot.''

"There is also a moment in the second act that turns baseball into something like grand opera. The white light of night games floods the stage as the ensemble members act out an evocative baseball ballet, and Mr. O'Hare waxes into hallelujah-like paeans to the game. ''Maybe I've had a ridiculous life,'' he says, ''but this is one of its best nights.'... The scene is one of the most stirring on Broadway right now. It's an unconditional, all-American epiphany that, in these days of fretful ambivalence, is something to cherish."

"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 11:06 AM

#32

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:19am

MemorableUserName said: "kwoc91 said: "Regarding the salacious bits - the straight couple next to me was horrified by the nudity and left at intermission. The man in the couple was genuinely losing his mind. I felt bad for the woman. Too bad they missed the shower scenes!"

I'm so surprised that people don't know about this going in, but maybe I'm just too much in a theatre bubble. The top post in the Broadway Reddit at the moment is from someone who says they were surprised and confused by the Yondr requirement, and who only understood the reason when they saw the nudity during the show. The Second Stage website contains a note about the nudity and the Yondr bags, though it's possible people are overlooking it. And an email went out about the bags to ticket buyers. Or maybe it's just people buying tickets on the day of based on the stars without any other information. Does TKTS tell people about that sort of stuff?"

Im not surprised, not really - people seldom read websites. Nudity on stage is still pretty rare, and people are lazy.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#33

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 3:55pm

What is the actual running time of "Take Me Out"? Trying to make dinner plans for after the show. Thanks!

#34

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 5:18pm

You think TKTS or any of the discount outlets give any indication of the nudity? I can just picture some midwest folk having a fit when they go see their favorite sitcom star and penises are revealed. I hope it is good. I am looking forward to it.

HUSSY POWER! ------ HUSSY POWER!

#35

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 5:49pm

Iowa said: "What is the actual running time of "Take Me Out"? Trying to make dinner plans for after the show. Thanks!"

2 hours 15 minutes, including intermission.

"Gitchie gitchie Betsy Aidem / Squibby Squibby Squibby June."

#36

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 6:24pm

Since no one here has responded to my question about the water quality, I'm going to see the production for myself---and bring my water-testing kit.

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#37

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 7:05pm

DAME said: "You think TKTS or any of the discount outlets give any indication of the nudity? I can just picture some midwest folk having a fit when they go see their favorite sitcom star and penises are revealed. I hope it is good. I am looking forward to it."

Ah yes, regional stereotypes. Lovely. Particularly when "midwest" could be removed from the sentence and it loses none of its meaning.

#38

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 7:31pm

Dollypop said: "Since no one here has responded to my question about the water quality, I'm going to see the production for myself---and bring my water-testing kit."

Are you taking your church group?

#39

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:00pm

JasonC3 said: "DAME said: "You think TKTS or any of the discount outlets give any indication of the nudity? I can just picture some midwest folk having a fit when they go see their favorite sitcom star and penises are revealed. I hope it is good. I am looking forward to it."

Ah yes, regional stereotypes. Lovely. Particularly when "midwest" could be removed from the sentence and it loses none of its meaning."

Yep. Regional stereotypes. Meant it just like I wrote it. You too woke to deal with that?

HUSSY POWER! ------ HUSSY POWER!

#40

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/14/22 at 11:12pm

Azúcar! said: "Dollypop said: "Since no one here has responded to my question about the water quality, I'm going to see the production for myself---and bring my water-testing kit."

Are you taking your church group?"

Only if the water is pristine.

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#41

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 6:39am

DAME said: "JasonC3 said: "DAME said: "You think TKTS or any of the discount outlets give any indication of the nudity? I can just picture some midwest folk having a fit when they go see their favorite sitcom star and penises are revealed. I hope it is good. I am looking forward to it."

Ah yes, regional stereotypes. Lovely. Particularly when "midwest" could be removed from the sentence and it loses none of its meaning."

Yep. Regional stereotypes. Meant it just like I wrote it. You too woke to deal with that?"

Wokeness has nothing to do with it. ,I'm just from the Midwest, a region which, like most of the country, has states and cities with people who have lots of different opinions. Some of us actually are OK seeing d*ck on stage.

But appreciate you owning your intention to paint us all as close-minded, since now I can close my mind to any of your future opinions.

Updated On: 3/15/22 at 06:39 AM

#42

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 9:15am

In general, the Midwest is a lot more conservative than New York City. This isn’t an insult or a jab, it’s literally just a fact.

They did not mean it as a personal attack or something to be taken too seriously.

#43

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 2:29pm

TotallyEffed said: "In general, the Midwest is a lot more conservative than New York City. This isn’t an insult or a jab, it’s literally just a fact.

They did not mean it as a personal attack or something to be taken too seriously."

I agree. That comment was not meant as an insult. And there is truth to it. But people ares so wound up these days. However.. the comment made "Dude stop being a creepy old man it’s like gross already ".. was ageist . And I don't find any of the active posters here to be creepy.

@Sutton; I also love DP's stories. More of that please.

#44

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 2:30pm

Yes to all your comments. Love your user name.

#45

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 2:34pm

Sutton Ross said: "Yes to all your comments. Love your user name."

Thank you so much. I love Bette and I love all the head pieces she would wear when she would stage door after Dolly in the early days of the run.

#46

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 7:39pm

Bettyboy72 said: "I'm not a fan of Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He plays everything the same. I think Jim Parsons would be ideal for this role. He has much more gravity."

Everything he does is the same. Everything. And I find the the sly about the midwest to be generally true. So much going on in the world. Why make drama out of things that are meant with obvious levity?

#47

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 9:55pm

I saw this tonight… wow this play is really awful, lol. I found Jesse Tyler Ferguson to be the only saving grace of the evening. I suppose I see what people mean about him playing things the same but he was really the only life of the production and I thought he brought some beautiful vulnerability to the part.

#48

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 9:57pm

#49

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 11:19pm

Jim Parsons is the most successful one-note actor of our generation. Every single thing he does is the exact same performance and characterization.

I am big. It’s the REVIVALS that got small.

#50

TAKE ME OUT Previews

Posted: 3/15/22 at 11:42pm

I saw it tonight too. Ultimately I thought it was a decent production of a flawed play. I'd seen one production of it a dozen or so years ago but remembered almost nothing about it, so it was like seeing it for the first time. Started out really disliking it--the dialogue in that opening scene between Adams and Williams's characters was terrible, too much play-speak and not at all how actual human beings talk, and some of the performances felt amateurish. But it grew on me and I left feeling more positive toward it overall. Michael Oberholtzer was the clear standout (though his was one of the performances that wasn't working for me in the beginning). To be fair, he had the meatiest material, but he got better as the show went along and really sold it in the end. He was the one who impressed me. (A woman near me applauded softly after his final exit, which was a bit much, but I kind of understood the impulse.)

Adams had good presence and a lot of charm, which was really all that was called for since there wasn't much to the character for him to work with. I don't think I've ever actually seen him in anything before, but every time he turned up again, his return was welcome. Williams was fine, and I did find him unexpectedly touching in some of the more vulnerable moments, but the character is written as too unknowable for him to do much with that.

Yeah, Ferguson was doing his usual thing, which did nothing for me. It felt like he was doing sitcom shtick that was a pointless distraction and the character could, and should, have been removed entirely. I spent the scene where he was demanding Williams' character not retire thinking, "What the hell? You don't get to tell someone else what to do with their life. Get over yourself." Which I may not have if he hadn't been so annoying. Reading the review of O'Hare in the original production posted above, I see what the character is supposed to do. I got none of that from his performance.

All in all, not sorry I saw it, and sort of wish I'd waited until after they had a few more performances under their belts. Would be curious to see if some of the side performances settle in more after a few weeks, and there are a few scenes I think they could work on a bit more (that shower scene between Williams and Oberholtzer...I don't know. Something wasn't quite working. The pacing, or maybe the blocking was awkward due to having the showers laid out like that all in a row right at the edge of the stage. That's one scene where I knew what was going to happen, and it didn't build the way it needed to.)

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