THE COLLABORATION Reviews & Extension

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The Collaboration has announced an extension of one additional week of performances ahead of its opening night tomorrow, December 20, at MTC's Samuel J. FriedmanTheatre. The production will now play through Sunday, January 29, 2023.

The Collaboration is written by Anthony McCarten and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, and features Paul Bettany, Jeremy Pope, Krysta Rodriguez and Erik Jensen.

Warhol. Basquiat. Electric, eccentric, polar opposites... together, for the first time in the most unlikely partnership the art world has ever seen. Paul Bettany (The Avengers, "WandaVision," "A Very British Scandal" and Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy, Ain't Too Proud, The Inspection) star in the thrilling American premiere of the London sensation.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-COLLABORATION-Extends-Through-January-29-Ahead-of-Tomorrows-Opening-20221219

Opening night is not happening due to a sick actor.

The director just announced this from the steps of the Friedman lobby while people were lining up for tickets.

When was an opening night canceled? Can an understudy not go on during an opening night?

ACL2006 said: "When was an opening night canceled? Can an understudy not go on during an opening night?"



Well for one thing, the person out sick would not be Tony eligible -- so if it's Bettany or Pope, that wouldn't be a good thing.

Laura Collins-Hughes in the NYT is mostly negative. Positive on Pope, not on Bettany or the play:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/theater/the-collaboration-review.html

"Onstage, though, “The Collaboration” feels emptily formulaic — less like an insider’s view of its famous subjects’ lives than a kind of biographical tourism that gets into serious gawking in its second half. It doesn’t bring us any insight into whatever closeness Warhol and Basquiat had."

Updated On: 12/20/22 at 09:07 PM

Three Stars from NY Stage Review:

The Collaboration: Warhol and Basquiat, a Bit on the Animatronic Side

Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope deliver riveting performances as the iconic artists in the latest historical drama by Anthony McCarten.

https://nystagereview.com/2022/12/20/the-collaboration-warhol-and-basquiat-a-bit-on-the-animatronic-side/

Theatrely is negative:

THE COLLABORATION Paints A Blank Canvas — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/the-collaboration-pays-the-price-review

"The writer Anthony McCarten has not met a Wikipedia page he could not adapt, and with shoddy screenplays for Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour, and The Theory of Everything under his belt, I’m comfortable calling him one of the most successful hacks working today. His latest play, The Collaboration, is as shallow, uninteresting, and insultingly stupid as those three, with the added offense of not allowing you to distract yourself with household chores."

Variety is mixed

‘The Collaboration’ Review: Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope Play Art-World Icons on Broadway

https://variety.com/2022/legit/reviews/the-collaboration-review-broadway-paul-bettany-jeremy-pope-1235466873/

B- from Entertainment Weekly:

The Collaboration review: When Warhol met Basquiat, and sparks (sort of) flew

https://ew.com/theater/theater-reviews/the-collaboration-play-review-warhol-basquiat-broadway/

This is also unfortunately accurate: "(Into the Woods' Krysta Rodriguez, as Jean-Michel's erstwhile lover, seems more categorically miscast, delivering her lines with so little depth or inflection it's as if she's reading them for the first time.)"

These reviews are terrible

Dang, I have tickets for Thursday. Guessing those are getting canceled.

Theatermania is negative

Review: The Collaboration, With Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope, Is Silly Warhol/Basquiat Fan Fic

https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/review-the-collaboration_94693.html

"The first act is basically a wash, overly talky and expository in a way that usually signals a writer's juvenilia: Warhol gets crucial information out of Basquiat by putting him on camera and asking a bunch of questions about his experiences (eventually, Basquiat turns the camera on Warhol, too). It's labored and boring, quite frankly, with the two actors doing their best to enliven things, but weighed down by clunky dialogue and generally leaden direction by Kwame Kwei-Armah.

...Like Act 1, the second act is still ridiculous and contrived and sort of impossible to take seriously, but it allows Bettany and Pope to sink their teeth into big feelings, which is fun to watch, but would be more fun if the play were a half-hour shorter."

Updated On: 12/20/22 at 10:07 PM

JSquared2 said: "Well for one thing, the person out sick would not be Tony eligible"



This isn't really accurate, in practice. That rule exists to prevent replacements and understudies from being eligible, it doesn't exist for situations like this. The committee would just make an official ruling to make an exception (which there's precedent for) - and they wouldn't even bat an eye to do so, as long as the voters/nominators get a chance to see the actor. The ruling would, in effect, be a mere formality. A quick "Yes. Next item on the agenda."