THE BAND's VISIT Reviews- Page 5

[schubox]

Posted: 12/15/17 at 11:24pm

Saw this tonight and I thought it was remarkable. It took a while for it to pull me in and invest, but by the end I was very moved. Great show

[CoercedBull]

Posted: 1/4/18 at 3:12pm

I saw this the other night and it was absolutely as good as everyone has been saying it is. I can see how it's a polarizing show, but it was so incredibly up my alley that it blew me away. I loved it. "Answer Me" is one of my favorite numbers in any show ever, no exaggeration. It is such a moving, beautiful resolution and shifts the dynamics of the play in a way that feels imperative and alive. I would see this again and again and have already worn out the cast recording since leaving the show. I hope it runs for a long, long time.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 12:55pm

For anyone interested, Telecharge is now selling orchestra and front mezzanine partial view seats for $80.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:36pm

This is a mixed bag for me. I can see what they are trying to achieve here, but the struggles of these town people just feel more concocted than real. This mostly comes from the tonal conflict between the nuances and subtlety the material has and calls for and the more accessible and comedic approach that unfortunately undermines the former, which also makes it really hard (at least for me) to connect to the characters beyond a human to human level. A lot of characters in the show are not fleshed out well, ending up more like caricatures than real people. It is as if some strangers tell you their problems and all you can give is your sympathy and nothing beyond that (unless you share similar experiences) because you don't really know them well in person. This distance is jarring at times and you get this feeling that you should've cared more but just couldn't. The music is the star, and I did find a lot of thrilling and moving moments and am enthralled by how well it is used to move the story along. However, I just wish there is a better book to serve the piece that does not invoke vicariousness mostly from prior experiences. 

[3NU]

Posted: 1/13/18 at 5:25pm

Put me in the camp of those who thought this show was good but not great.  I came in hoping to love it, and I came away appreciating and chewing on it but, ultimately, wanting more.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but the piece did not feel fully fleshed out nor completely polished.  What probably bothered me the most was that the book felt more developed than most of the lyrics; as such, I felt much more drawn into the characters when they weren't singing (which, as a musical lover, hardly ever happens).  To me, some of the lyrics came across as too on-the-nose and obvious -- which I found especially jarring, given that a select few of the songs had immense lyrical beauty ("Omar Sharif", "Something Different", "Answer Me" ).  Also, as someone earlier in this thread mentioned, a handful of the individual scenes were quite strong, but the whole did not feel greater than the sum of its parts; there wasn't a natural build or cohesive element that I felt I could reflect on as a whole.

Perhaps the piece will grow on me with time, and I hope it does.  Regardless, it was worth the ticket price alone to see Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub perform on stage.  Katrina, especially, was a bright star.  I got chills whenever she sang. 

As for the running discussion on this board re: Dina's decision at the end, I did not find it out of character at all.  To add to what the others have already said, I saw Dina as a character drawn to "something different" more than to an individual person (i.e., the human being in that person).  Moreover, I saw her as conflicted over how to express and fulfill that desire in and for herself (or, perhaps, have it fulfilled for her).  As such, Dina hoped that by simply keeping the night going, perhaps something would develop for her. When what ended up transpiring ultimately disappointed, she fell back to what she knew and had relied on in the past.  It's a melancholy reality, but it's also a very human reality.

Updated On: 1/13/18 at 05:25 PM

[catalana3]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 11:19am

Just how bad are these seats? If I want to spend $100 or less, should I just go with the rear mezz? Far sides in the orchestra seem really bad. I'm holding out hope for a discount code. Want to attend in March. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 11:27am

I sat second row from the back upstairs. Aisle seat on the right next to center. A perfect seat. Saw and heard everything.

Where are partial views in the front mezz? On the sides?

[jbird5]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 12:05pm

 

I assume you are talking about the $80 partial view orchestra seats?  They aren’t bad at all.  I had row e extreme house left which might be the worst since there is a pillar right there.  But it didn’t bother me.  I missed a little bit far stage right but most of the action was central.  For this show I think you need to be as close as possible as.  I think these seats are a way to do it relatively cheap.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 9:42am

FYI, Etai Benson will be out of the show until February 4:

https://twitter.com/etaibenson/status/953630538434273280

[ethan231h]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 11:31am

CT2NYC said: "FYI, Etai Benson will be out of the show until February 4:

https://twitter.com/etaibenson/status/953630538434273280"

And daniel david stewart is coming back!!

[catalana3]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:15pm

Thank you. Yes, I was wondering about the far sides of the balcony or the orchestra. I'm torn. Do we sit in the front orchestra sides, piggyback sides of the front mezz, or the best seats (center) in the second mezz? I'm trying to stay under $100 ea. For reference: 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:23pm

CT2NYC said: "FYI, Etai Benson will be out of the show until February 4"

Glad I got to catch him on Sunday then...

 

[brettarnett]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:24pm

Aren't these the seats they were selling for rush? 

[AllThatJazz2]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:37pm

CT2NYC said: "FYI, Etai Benson will be out of the show until February 4:

https://twitter.com/etaibenson/status/953630538434273280"

*sigh* Was hoping to catch him. Oh well. Hope the other guy is good!

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:38pm

catalana3 said: "Thank you. Yes, I was wondering about the far sides of the balcony or the orchestra. I'm torn. Do we sit in the front orchestra sides, piggyback sides of the front mezz, or the best seats (center) in the second mezz? I'm trying to stay under $100 ea. For reference"

I sat in the second row on Sunday, in the 5 seat in, which is the last regular ticket next to the PV seat, and this was my view. I think closer is best for this show:

[theaterdarling]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 12:47pm

I followed a tip from this thread or another Band's Visit thread and checked StubHub. This seemed counterintuitive because only premium seats were left on Telecharge for Saturday evening Jan 14, but lo and behold - while I did not get $10.00 tickets (it was Saturday night after all) I got two $150.00 side orchestra seats last row for $75.00 each, inclusive of fees. I purchased them the morning of the 14th and could not believe my good fortune. The seats were fine - saw and heard everything--I usually sit in balcony so I was in heaven. There were other tickets available for that Saturday night on StubHub night but house seemed full.  I felt very lucky at this price as I loved the show. Someone else suggested that there was a lot of ticket speculation for this show and since it is not selling like Hamilton has led to a glut on StubHub and lower prices. 

[TFMH18]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 1:18pm

Interesting that Etai will be taking almost a full three weeks off from the show when it is still extremely early in the run. I hope everything is OK. 

[jpbran]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 10:20pm

My guess is movie, TV pilot, or pre-scheduled workshop etc...

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 9:56am

My friend grabbed a ticket to The Band's Visit on Stubhub last night for ~$50 after fees. He sat in the orchestra and loved every moment of it. 

 

[BobbyD3]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 11:17am

I am in the like, but not love, group.  

The show was beautiful, and Katrina Lenk and Tony Shaloub were wonderful.  The star of the show is clearly the band.

My biggest issue is that I never really bought any of the other characters and I found myself wishing they would focus on those two.  The actors did nice with their parts, but...I just found their characters contrived and lazily constructed.  I found phonebooth man exceptionally difficult to connect with - talk about no development.  I really cared very little when the call actually came.  

Go to see the band and be happy with the rest of the play.  

After a few seasons of transcendent work to think this might be the "big one" is a bit disappointing.  Makes me wish Come from Away had waited a season to take home the Tony.  

 

[TFMH18]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 12:42pm

This show to me is infinitely smarter and more thoughtfully constructed than Come From Away (which I also adore). But that you think CFA would beat this show for best musical is far-fetched, in my opinion. 

[BobbyD3]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 1:46pm

My problem is that the payoff in TBV is so weak.  There is no true catharsis.  It tries so hard to be simple that it misses any real heart.  I really liked the show, but it doesn't pack any punch for me. 

I would love an example of its "thoughtful construction" and "infinite" intelligence, though.  

[TFMH18]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 2:28pm

OK then. 

Think, for example, about "Omar Sharif." It's a song that in a tangible sense doesn't "move" the plot forward because it is really just this character free associating, working her way through thoughts that she herself has never articulated to herself nor anyone else, for no reason other than they haven't been stirred. She meets this person that has shaken loose a memory she has tucked away. It shows how deeply she is connecting to someone. 

The melody from "Omar Sharif" is briefly reprised in "Something Different," the song sung later in the show by the same character who is now realizing that this older man is evoking something in her. She doesn't know why or what exactly it is, but she does now know she has been missing SOMETHING. Similarly, after that song, when Sammy finds the two of them and they begin arguing, Tewfiq screams at her that she "can forgive." Immediately after, Tewfiq wants to leave the park; he has been caught off guard by the viscerality of his emotions that he, too, has repressed (albeit for very different reasons).

Throughout the show, each of these two characters removes a brick, maybe two or three, from the sturdy walls they have built around their emotions to protect themselves. They ultimately do leave each other, but those bricks have been removed (as evidenced by Tewfiq's unprecedented softness to Haled at the end of the evening).

In this show, as I have described to others, nothing happens but everything happens. I completely understand it is not for everyone, but to say there is little emotional payoff, well, I think you may not be looking closely enough. 

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 1/18/18 at 8:57pm

Thanks for the tip about checking for tickets on Stub Hub! I was able to get two center orchestra seats for this Saturday for $70 each (plus the horrific service fees, unfortunately). Still, a good deal nonetheless. Have to pick them up at the StubHub service center, not a problem.

Was not originally planning to see this show but my husband watched the movie last night (I had seen it before and watched it again with him) and he really enjoyed it. I mentioned it was a musical on Broadway with Tony Shalhoub and he said he would really like to see it. First time I can remember my husband volunteering or suggesting going to a musical. Weather should be mild. Good weekend to see a show.

 

 

Updated On: 1/19/18 at 08:57 PM

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 1/21/18 at 9:09am

We enjoyed The Band's Visit yesterday. As others have said, Katrina Lenk gives a Tony-worthy performance. The show is about the heartbreak of love and the walls both literally and figuratively that surround us. It tells the story quietly, but effectively. Would more character development been helpful? Yes. Worth seeing? Yes.

My husband thought Ossama Farouk was especially good on Arabic percussion and the Darbouka drum, as well as Sam Sadigursky on the Oud, the lute shaped instrument.

Daniel David Stewart, who originated the role of Papi off Broadway, was in for Etai Benson. Stewart was terrific — watch out Etai.

Go to Stub Hub to score some great tickets at discount prices for this show. We had easy pick up at Stub Hub's midtown office.