Posted: 1/26/16 at 12:16pm
I am so excited to see this on Thursday. Seems right up my alley. With this, Hamilton and Noises Off, it seems like it will be a great two days in the city for me.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 12:20pm
^ Dude, those three are amazing choices. Have an awesome time!
Posted: 1/26/16 at 12:53pm
I'll be seeing this along with Antlia Pneumatica and The Crucible when I go to New York this spring.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 12:55pm
Posted: 1/26/16 at 12:55pm
RippedMan said: "It's such a quite play, I just wonder if it will find an audience. If something like Hand to God struggled, I don't know. "
Well, one difference is that Hand to God wasn't produced by Scott Rudin.
Updated On: 1/26/16 at 12:55 PM
Posted: 1/26/16 at 1:06pm
It was a good play, but I don't think it was at all up to the standards that most reviews have it. I definitely was expecting a lot more out of it, same with Noises Off.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 2:06pm
Hand to God also had the misfortune of being produced in the same season as Curious Incident, which is not only an easier sell due to the content, but had much more buzz and picked up a lot of Tony Awards. While obviously Eclipsed and King Charless III will offer competition, The Humans could easily win Best Play, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jayne Houdyshell win either.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 2:26pm
^Though Mantello is likely to have some serious competition from Ivo van Hove.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 2:42pm
I'd love to see Birney win! I'm assuming he'll be placed in Featured Actor, and I don't that category is so strong this year that he wouldn't stand a very good chance.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 2:44pm
Posted: 1/26/16 at 7:45pm
I really would honestly be kind of disappointed to see this show win best play, no less be nominated. It was just very underwhelming. King Charles was much better, and I do have high hopes for Eclipsed. Also, I'm very excited for Blackbird.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 10:20pm
Oh geez, you guys. I had such high hopes for this play but now I want my $82.00 and 95 minutes back.
I guess I get it. The author is a NY Times darling, but seriously? This thing counts as a play?
This is is the quintessential "nothing happens " play. A bunch of boring people stand around and talk. Barely any conflict of any kind. It takes place in Thanksgiving so we are supposed to relate and say "oh, this is just like my dysfunctional family". We are all "humans". Hey, what a great generic title for a generic play.
But wait! There's morel!!! There is some sort of ridiculous and undefined supernatural element to the whole thing. Why? Impossible to know. No answers shall be provided here for your ticket price Sir and Madame.
There are two excellent elements to this entire thing and that is the wonderful ensemble who do such heroic work here that you might even be fooled into thinking some sort of plot is happening. The second is the lighting. It is sublime. Of course, the designer has to deal with a wacky supernatural element that adds nothing to the non-plot, but it is spooky to look at, even if it makes not a lick of sense.
I am so disappointed by this and by the previous glowing critical reaction.
Buy tickets at your own risk.
Posted: 1/26/16 at 10:21pm
Seeing Sarah Steele in Speech and Debate was one of the highlights of my entire theatrical career, so I'm very excited for this. Considering rushing tomorrow. Does anyone have any time advice?
Posted: 1/26/16 at 10:27pm
I revisited The Humans tonight after catching it at the Pels; everything is the same from the set to the direction to the text to the beats from the actors, but these are all reasons to rejoice and not signs of complacency from the creatives and cast.
The second time around only deepened my appreciation for the script and more importantly Mantello's direction which is first-rate. Birney and Houdyshell anchor the piece, but I don't think there's a weak link in the bunch.
Sadly, I haven't seen a single ad or poster up around town and think this will be a tough sell. The sides of mezz were completely empty, but those in attendance seemed to be engaged and responsive. It is nice to see them attempt to make a commercial run with the production because it truly does deserve to be seen by a wider audience and these are types of works that should be able to find a home on Broadway.
Posted: 1/27/16 at 8:29am
Thanks, as always, Whizzer.
Updated On: 1/27/16 at 08:29 AM
Posted: 1/28/16 at 11:19am
Caught the matinee yesterday. I liked it, but I feel a little bit like I did when I saw Dave Malloy's Preludes: I know what this playwright is capable of, and so I hold his work to a higher standard than usual, and I can't tell if I would have been disappointed with it otherwise.
It's pretty all over the place, snatching elements out of nowhere and tossing them in to the mix. (SPOILERS AHEAD.) I was most perplexed by the inclusion of the 9/11 backstory. It just seemed like a cheap, easy way to explain a lot of Eric's rage, and I didn't buy it. Equally uneven is the play's sudden turn into the supernatural, a little bit more than halfway through. It's just so odd that a play that's kept its feet on the ground for so long will suddenly give credence to what until now has just been a joke among the characters. (END SPOILERS.)
I came to see Sarah Steele, since seeing her in Speech and Debate is one of my brightest theatrical memories. She's not disappointing, but she doesn't have as much to work with as Cassie Beck does.
Posted: 1/28/16 at 12:00pm
Did you end up rushing? I'd like to go tomorrow and I'm wondering if it's worth it to arrive much earlier than when the box office opens.
Posted: 1/28/16 at 12:02pm
I agreed. The girlfriend and boyfriend have so little to do.
and I agree about the supernatural element. It felt very... slight? I remember we had this whole discussion when I first saw it about how I wouldn't consider it a supernatural play at all. It's just a small element in the play.
Posted: 1/28/16 at 12:43pm
I too felt
the inclusion of 9/11 seemed tacked on, and contrived.
Posted: 1/28/16 at 4:06pm
Saw it yesterday. I enjoyed it, especially some superb acting from the entire cast. But I found it all rather "slight". What are we supposed to come away with specifically other than "there's another dysfunctional family"? I just don't see it as being a "best play" of the season. Miles from plays like Curious Incident or even Vanya, Sonia, et al. And doesn't compare to King Charles III as far as I'm concerned.
Posted: 1/29/16 at 11:06pm
Saw this tonight- I loved it off-Broadway, and tonight's performance was excellent as well. I didn't notice any cuts or major changes, but the performances, which were already solid earlier, have deepened considerably. In particular, Cassie Beck's performance stood out to me much more here than it did when I first saw it. The whole cast though, has easily got to be one of the tightest ensembles on Broadway. And I swear to god, if this performance doesn't win Jayne Houdyshell a damn Tony, I don't know what will.
I got a rush ticket which appear to all be in the first row. They aren't lying when they say it's limited view, but it's only a problem during the first five minutes or so. Having seen it from the mezz at the Pels, it was nice to catch the little details of the set and some of the quieter acting moments. I know this may be a hard sell, but the house seemed full and vocally appreciative, especially at the play's funnier moments. While it's clearly not everyone's cup of tea, I hope it succeeds- if only to see a small American play with no major stars have a great run.
Posted: 1/30/16 at 2:08am
I just can't seem to like this play because Stephen Karam turned down my FB friend request! We have lots of mutual friends, but for some reason he said no dice. So after that, I've never liked him.
Posted: 1/30/16 at 11:14pm
"Buy tickets at your own risk."
Better yet, don't buy them at all --- unless you like slogging through the muck and mire.
Actually, there should be a sign outside the theatre warning unsuspecting patrons that the contents on stage may be hazardous to one's theatregoing health.
For if the inept, bum writing doesn't exasperate you, or the inert boredom doesn't benumb you into a stupor, then the repeated references to stinking up the bathroom without windows or air freshener will turn your stomach.
The show's (or any show's) nadir comes when a character airily exclaims to the company at large that she just stank up the bathroom, as if she were some ingenue arriving on stage to tell us the lilacs in the garden had just come into flower.
It was at that moment that you knew this play was assured of getting raves. How could it have been otherwise?
The only way to endure sitting through this horror is to come to the theatre with an eye mask, earplugs, and a gas mask. And to use them all!
Posted: 1/31/16 at 4:31pm
Braniff Forever said: "I just can't seem to like this play because Stephen Karam turned down my FB friend request! We have lots of mutual friends, but for some reason he said no dice. So after that, I've never liked him. "
Do you know him...?
Updated On: 1/31/16 at 04:31 PM
