Posted: 9/29/26 at 12:05am
Her social media makes it clear she had this production in her sights for a while based on what she perceived was an anti-disability message.
Posted: 9/29/26 at 8:57am
Kad said: "Her social media makes it clear she had this production in her sights for a while based on what she perceived was an anti-disability message."
I love that, someone read a title and description and they knew all they needed to know about the play and its author, who had a chronic disability and who died while performing the play which comically examines illness.
Posted: 9/29/26 at 3:51pm
I love this story. It’s the NYC equivalent of the western Massachusetts lesbian bar drama.
Posted: 10/4/26 at 4:14am
THE “DOCTOR” IS OUT (OF HIS MIND)
Bill Irwin continues his streak as one of the most underrated, yet masterful scholars of the theatrical idiom with this streamlined adaptation. I went in knowing nothing other than it was Moliere and that probably meant some aristocrats were gonna look real stupid in the next 90 minutes. After an elaborate opening (including dance and chanting) to reveal a gorgeous period set, Irwin takes the driver’s seat and immediately starts firing off musings about paying healthcare bills and the frequency of his enema treatments. (As a nurse, the latter got me downright giggling from the jump). Then the fun begins with the ensemble members each playing 1-4 parts during the course of the play.
There are wills at stake, lovers in peril, doctor’s abound, and Rachel Bloom as one very fed-up housemaid. I do think she contributes to the overall slightly sluggish pacing of this farce, but I didn’t think her performance was bad at all. The main standouts are Crystal Dickinson as the scheming second wife, decked out in a gown that I could only describe as a steampunk nod to SIX (a compliment) and Hiram Delgado, who plays all three of his roles with such distinction that he probably got the most laughs from the audience - even more than Bill and Rachel. I would honestly not be surprised if he was in contention for the Featured Actor/Play category next year because he really is that good.
This is definitely a show I’m making a revisit to. I’m giving it a solid A-/B+. Once it shakes off the preview jitters, it’s definitely a hit for me at least.
Posted: 10/5/26 at 6:39am
I'm sorry to say that, as I was on an aisle in the rear of the Orchestra yesterday, I took a swift exit about 45 minutes in. I found it to be a slog with little to say and a wide array of performances from completely different introductions. And I know that Bill is beloved on these boards but I found him quite unintelligible at times. The mumbling bumble stick might be funny but I'd like to hear the text.
Updated On: 10/18/26 at 06:39 AM
Posted: 10/5/26 at 10:33am
TheOtherOne2 said: "quizking101 said: "According to Reddit, the 3pm matinee yesterday was apparently disrupted by a Karen to the point where police were called.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/s/gRptqJSLVs
…and her victimhood response
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdzniCFBTrW/?stkn=MXAxdG52NjRtZ2RwZw=="
A Karen?"
Could anyone fill me in on what the Reddit post said? It's been deleted.
Posted: 10/5/26 at 11:50am
Basically, a woman in a wheelchair decided she was the sole arbiter of what a "reasonable" accommodation was and further decided that gave her license to wantonly disrupt the performance when her demands were not met, causing a show stop, the audience to yell at her, and her refusal to leave until the police were called (at which point she claims she left voluntarily, though I think that ship sailed when she refused to leave in the first place).
This is an individual who clearly suffers from mental in addition to her physical issues. I was at the performance and applaud Roundabout's handling of the situation, and her horrid behavior was an embarrassment to all of us who ever need any extra assistance.
Updated On: 10/5/26 at 11:50 AM
Posted: 10/5/26 at 1:55pm
I saw it Sunday afternoon, no audience interruptions. Just a more than decent production of a Moliere play that I have never seen before and now realize that it is one of his most powerful. I think the first half is a bit rocky still, but around mid-point it springs into gear and comes to a satisfying conclusion. There are some great ensemble turns with Hiram Delgado doing three deliciously distinct and hilarious characters. My full review linked below.
Imaginary Invalid Review - singleticket's substack
Posted: 10/11/26 at 9:37am
iluvtheatertrash said: "I'm sorry to say that, as I was on an aisle in the rear of the Orchestra yesterday, I took a swift exit about 45 minutes in. I found it to be a slog with little to say and a wide ray of performances from completely different introductions. And I know that Bill is beloved on these boards but I found him quite unintelligible at times. The mumbling bumble stick might be funny but I'd like to hear the text."
Couldn’t agree more. If there had been an intermission the 6 of us would have booked out of the theater but as our subscription seats are row E center orchestra we couldn’t leave during the play. Other than the opening moments when the set gets created by what I guess is a troupe of renaissance actors (and was quite wonderful), and the costumes which were terrific, this was an unfunny, slog of a farce.
Posted: 10/18/26 at 12:09am
Posted: 10/18/26 at 12:26am
I didn’t think it was laugh out loud funny most of the time, but it was still funny. It also made fun of itself, I thought it was a little too shticky at times but it really won me over. A solid production of a beautiful play. Overall, an enjoyable evening.
Posted: 10/18/26 at 3:39pm
Agreed Irwin and Bloom dragged this down but all of the supporting cast were a total laugh riot.
Posted: 10/18/26 at 4:12pm
PipingHotPiccolo said: "this is a fine production of what i guess we can call a classic, but i found it pleasant, never hilarious, and never farcical.
a huge kudos to Bill Irwin for adapting this into something fairly modern, occasionally poignant, not at all creaky. hes incredibly lithe and bright for 76, and he won me over in the last few minutes. but he is overall miscast here: hes hard to understand, and he isnt known for his witty delivery or comic chops. the mind races thinking of the various directions this could have gone with someone else in the central role?
i have NO idea why Rachel Bloom chose to do this--shes wry, but never out and out funny, and the role has no real heft to it. another miss. whenever the play tries to make us laugh by way of Irwin or Bloom, it fell flat.
but comic relief abounds. Brooks Ashmanskas and Hiram Delgado are SUBLIME, and when they enter the story together (after a sluggish 30 mins), things pick up. I thought both were just plain hilarious, and they are the hinges that make this production swing forward and bring us to the clever conclusion.
beautiful set, beautiful costumes, neat bow at the end, i've seen worse."
Saw this last night and this is basically my exact thoughts
Posted: 10/18/26 at 5:51pm
I thought Brooks was fine. He does exactly what you’d expect him to do, the best part of the show was Beline when she finds out her husband is “dead” and takes off her pants. That whole scene was a riot. The follow up with the daughter character punching her dad was also hilarious. It was a highly enjoyable show. I’d be curious to read the original play.
Posted: 10/18/26 at 11:34pm
PipingHotPiccolo said: "this is a fine production of what i guess we can call a classic, but i found it pleasant, never hilarious, and never farcical."
I said basically the same thing after I saw it. Pleasant, but never reaching a comedic fever pitch I associate with farces. Strange, too, to have Irwin, a performer known for his physicality, just… sit in a chair for 90% of the play. The young lovers opera scene really doesn’t work.
Posted: 10/18/26 at 11:45pm
I enjoyed this, but I think I had more fun at Jeffrey Hatcher's 90-minute adaptation of it at Red Bull a year and a half ago with Mark Linn-Baker, Sarah Stiles, Arnie Burton, and Russell Daniels.
Posted: 10/19/26 at 7:33am
understood, but please note that in terms of comic machinery, not every actor or role is supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny. Argan is a hypochondriac dupe and Toinette is a sensible, saucy servant. They are not the most grotesque or ridiculous characters in the piece, nor should they be. For my part, Irwin was working extremely hard to be zany, and mostly succeeding, whereas Bloom was being tart and skeptical, which is her character. If everyone was gut-bustingly funny, we wouldn't hear any lines. SHEESH
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