TAKE ME OUT Previews — Page 4

JSquared2 said: "So you think they should play a few innings on stage instead of "talk"? Also, many playwrights are capable of writing characters in voices other than their own. Greenberg has said that Marzac is not "him"."

My point was that these baseball players stand still all the time. Have you ever met a professional athlete? That's more of a comment on the production than the text — Mantello's production clearly had more physical action to it, if you watch press clips.

And I'm sure Greenberg insists over and over that Marzac isn't him. But I don't believe him :) — no author is above self-insert, except maybe Shakespeare. If Tennessee Williams, Anton Chekhov, Tony Kushner, and Eugene O'Neill can't avoid it, why would Greenberg be able to?

Updated On: 3/24/22 at 01:37 PM

It will probably come down to this vs For Colored Girls vs Skin of Our Teeth for my last show. After so many negative comments here, I will wait for the comments on Colored/Teeth and the oficial reviews for this one to decide.

If we go by Tony chances, what would likely get nominated from this production?

I also saw the play today and glad I did. To me, Oberholtzer and Adams were standouts. JTF definitely provided the comedy but having seen the original production, I still prefer O'Hare. I still remember how groundbreaking this play was back in 2003 when I was just a college student. Now in 2022, parts of the play are still relevant though it's not as groundbreaking.

I attended the talkback afterwards and one of the questions asked was whether there were any changes in the original script. The director mentioned the cops scene near the end of the play was added and am glad they made that change. JTF told us that during today's performance, there was a scene in his office where they fumbled 1-2 pages of lines. I didn't notice it while watching the play so kudos to them for making it work!

WldKingdomHM said: "Saw the show this afternoon. Jesse was a lot of fun, but no one can hold a candle to Denis O Hare. Jesse W was great also, as some posters said he took time to warm up. His Act 2 was great.

The others I felt they were just "acting" ...nothing real was going on; esp the guy playing Shane.

Other wise I'm glad I saw it. I miss the obc.



Also note, there was no ushers to help you find the seats. Everyone was a hot mess. The house manager was just running around shushing people to get out of the way. Not very good."

What do you mean there were no ushers? Was it not a Broadway house?

Saw it tonight.

Just didn't see all that coming and it left me breathless.

Performances all around were good. Williams was good but seemed a bit stiff or one note, but not bad. I felt he just need to get more comfortable with performing on a stage. I did not see the original but can only imagine how good O'Hare was. I think Jesse did an outstanding job. He kinda just stole your heart.

I honestly left the theater just kind of stunned and very emotional. Walking down Broadway I found myself trying to keep my emotions in check.

It takes place in the past but that really had no bearing on the story and the impact of this play. I think it is just as relevant now as it was then.

I would see this again in a heartbeat.

Updated On: 3/31/22 at 10:45 PM

I didn't find the material to be "flawed". By the end it gave you a lot to unpack and sparked a lot of conversation afterwards.

I wasn't bored but I wasn't all that thrilled. Never saw it before & don't think I will ever see it again. Maybe if you are a real big baseball fan you might enjoy it more? Maybe it was my seat in the last row of the theater? I didn't follow the story that well. Missed things. Kinda feeling that it wasn't made into a movie because it's just not all that great of a written work.

It's a very flawed show with a few good performances. Jesse Williams is not a stage actor, I think he just wanted to check this off his list, which is fine. Otherwise, it's fine just nothing special. Lots of availability throughout the entire run.

Updated On: 4/1/22 at 07:41 PM

I'm going to do a bit of a thread jack here instead of starting a new thread... I have a ticket to see this on my May trip. I saw a very good regional production of the play years ago, so I have seen this play before.

That being said, for those who have seen both, should I replace Take Me Out with A Strange Loop?

I don't recall if I posted them here, but I went back and read original reviews, off- then on Broadway. They were always mixed, problems with the play discussed in detail. My point is not to dis the fine play, only to remind those who think time alone has impacted the piece's reception. Twenty years ago there were plenty of observed issues, Brantley taking them on twice. But though I'm no Brantley defender, he was not alone. Sometimes we forget: Best Play doesn't mean everyone considered it a perfect one.

I just opened this thread for the 1st time after seeing the show today.

I had no idea what the general consensus would be of the show, but I was confident that everyone would be as impressed with Jesse Williams as I was. Imagine my surprise to see these lukewarm opinions about his performance!

I thought he was excellent - completely grounded, totally present and at ease onstage, and absolutely nailed the balance between his mysterious aura, and his moments of vulnerability. I wouldn't have known that this was his first stage performance, and frankly I thought he out-acted just about all his cast-mates, and really anchored the production overall. I expected to see discussion about him bursting into the Best Actor (or Featured Actor?) race, which I think would be well deserved.

(I feel compelled to mention that I had literally never heard of Jesse Williams before he was cast in this play, so I have no pre-existing bias in his favor)

I'm surprised and slightly disappointed that he isn't getting the praise he (IMO) deserves, but oh well! Different strokes! Everyone is, of course, entitled to their opinion.

Updated On: 4/3/22 at 12:25 AM

JBroadway said: "I just opened this thread for the 1st time after seeing the show today.

I had no idea what the general consensus would be of the show, but I was confident that everyone would be as impressed with Jesse Williams as I was. Imagine my surprise to see these lukewarm opinions about his performance!

I thought he was excellent - completely grounded, totally present and at ease onstage, and absolutely nailed the balance between his mysterious aura, and his moments of vulnerability. I wouldn't have known that this was his first stage performance, and frankly I thought he out-acted just about all his cast-mates, and really anchored the production overall. I expected to see discussion about him bursting into the Best Actor (or Featured Actor?) race, which I think would be well deserved.

(I feel compelled to mention that I had literally never heard of Jesse Williams before he was cast in this play, so I have no pre-existing bias in his favor)

I'm surprised and slightly disappointed that he isn't getting the praise he (IMO) deserves, but oh well! Different strokes! Everyone is, of course, entitled to their opinion."

I saw this yesterday and agree with everything here and in ClumsyDude's post. Different strokes indeed.

On the heels of such exceptional reviews a few days ago, Take Me Out has now extended its limited engagement to June 11!