THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA Off-Broadway with Tim Daly, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Lea DeLaria

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/16/23 at 4:43pm

I missed when this was announced and don't see a thread for it. Currently in previews, opens tomorrow night. Anyone seen it?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Daphne-Rubin-Vega-and-Tim-Daly-Will-Lead-THE-NIGHT-OF-THE-IGUANA-Off-Broadway-20230919

https://playbill.com/article/tim-daly-daphne-rubin-vega-lea-delaria-more-will-star-in-the-night-of-the-iguana-off-broadway

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/16/23 at 11:27pm

Surprised the boards have been so quiet about this. Had tickets for last night but last minute family emergency kept us from going. Hope to try again soon, but very curious to hear peoples thoughts here.

[The Other One]

Posted: 12/17/23 at 9:50am

I don't know if this means much to you, but it's scoring well on Show Score. 

[dan94]

Posted: 12/17/23 at 5:49pm

I saw this a few days ago. Rubin-Vega is terrific in it. Delaria is fun. Pendleton as reliable as ever. Beautiful set.

Unfortunately, there is a performer on stage in a key role whose acting leaves much to be desired. As the character is on stage for such a large amount of time, the evening becomes extremely tedious. A shame.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/17/23 at 6:50pm

dan94 said: "I saw this a few days ago. Rubin-Vega is terrific in it. Delaria is fun. Pendleton as reliable as ever. Beautiful set.

Unfortunately, there is a performer on stage in a key role whose acting leaves much to be desired. As the character is on stage for such a large amount of time, the evening becomes extremely tedious. A shame."

So...Daly? Or Lichty?

Updated On: 12/17/23 at 06:50 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 12/17/23 at 7:47pm

dan94 said: "I saw this a few days ago. Rubin-Vega is terrific in it. Delaria is fun. Pendleton as reliable as ever. Beautiful set.

Unfortunately, there is a performer on stage in a key role whose acting leaves much to be desired. As the character is on stage for such a large amount of time, the evening becomes extremely tedious. A shame."


What is the content warning of the show? Bloody? Loud noises?

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/17/23 at 10:33pm

Daily Beast is negative

Review: Tennessee Williams Gets Lost in ‘The Night of the Iguana’

BEACH, PLEASE!

The power and poetry of Tennessee Williams’ words flicker into only occasional life in an unfocused new production of his 1961 play, “The Night of the Iguana.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/review-tennessee-williams-gets-lost-in-the-night-of-the-iguana

 

Vulture is negative

Cold-Blooded Tennessee Williams: The Night of the Iguana

https://www.vulture.com/2023/12/theater-review-night-iguana-tennessee-williams-tim-daly.html

 

Theatermania is negative

Review: The Night of the Iguana, the Tennessee Williams Drama Tied Up Under the Porch

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-the-night-of-the-iguana-the-tennessee-williams-drama-tied-up-under-the-porch_1724178/

 

NY Stage Review has one four-star review

The Night Of The Iguana: Tennessee Williams’ Last Great Play Shines in Starry Revival

By Roma Torre

★★★★☆ Tim Daly, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Austin Pendleton lead La Femme Theatre’s production of the classic drama with impressive flair

https://nystagereview.com/2023/12/17/the-night-of-the-iguana-tennessee-williams-last-great-play-shines-in-starry-revival/

 

And one two-star review

The Night of the Iguana: Williams at his Best, Production Not

By David Finkle

★★☆☆☆ Emily Mann directs a prosaic revival, Tom Daly, Daphne Rubin-Vega. Lea DeLaria act

https://nystagereview.com/2023/12/17/the-night-of-the-iguana-williams-at-his-best-production-not/

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 12/18/23 at 8:50am

"Tom Daly acts."

I hope they keep the typo. Olympic diver Tom Daley in Night of the Iguana is the type of camp I'd pay to see.

[George in DC]

Posted: 12/18/23 at 9:44am

MrsSallyAdams said: ""Tom Daly acts."

I hope they keep the typo. Olympic diver Tom Daley in Night of the Iguanais the type of camp I'd pay to see."

As who? Charlotte? Yes, he would be most fetching.

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/6/24 at 11:16pm

This was really quite dreadful. A lot of walkouts at intermission. Weak direction, ghastly pacing, and some really strange acting. Jean Lichty is doing a Moria Rose accent that is so distracting it left me totally perplexed. I’m a big fan of Daphne Rubin-Vega but she’s in a totally different play than everyone else. The two Mexican “concubine” boys looked more suited for a pool party on Fire Island. A big snore and a sad disappointment.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 12:45am

I was there tonight, and I can't disagree with the poor pacing, and some awkward performances, but I actually kinda enjoyed myself? I think the problem is the play, which lacks any momentum/drama. Williams' lyrical writing cant get this over the finish line, and I'm not sure thats Mann's or the actors' fault. 

Its a full three hours (cast took their bows at 10:58 pm) but I didnt find myself bored despite the inherent flaws here, and the strange performances sorta carried me away against my will. I'm talking mainly about Daly and Lichty, who are the leads of the show, and who play inscrutable, impossibly strange characters. Daly is fantastic (pun) in a tricky role, and while I totally understand how Lichty's odd delivery can turn people off, it worked for me. The end of the play is just Daly and Lichty talking at each other and they sold it, I thought.

Lea Delaria is a joy to watch on stage but is lost here, and Daphne Rubin Vega is truly in a different play. Both women are so captivating and commanding, but are in roles that do not work with those qualities. They are both perfectly and totally miscast at the same time? Hard to describe. 

This is a play I'd gladly never see again, but one I'm happy I saw, and i think this production serviceable delivers it for our consumption. Shrug.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 8:31am

Is there real rain during the storm scene? Would love to hear any details about that.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 11:34am

No rain.

[Owen22]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 11:38am

This is one of the few examples where a film's screenplay vastly improves upon the stage source. I love the very purple movie Night of the Iguana. .the play version though is...not good...

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 12:38pm

Owen 22, you are absolutely correct. The film version is vastly superior. The screenplay is a major improvement over the stage version, and the cast is incredible, especially Ava Gardner and Grayson Hall.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 2:48pm

The movie's power has to do with less of a superior screenplay to the play than a very successful and sympathetic collaboration between a playwright and a filmmaker. 

Updated On: 1/7/24 at 02:48 PM

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/7/24 at 3:22pm

Sinister Teashop, please elaborate on your statement. I always thought Williams had very little, if anything, to do with the Iguana film. The only thing I can ever remember reading about Williams and the film is that he objected to the casting of Ava Gardner.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 1/8/24 at 12:00am

FANtomFollies said: "Is there real rain during the storm scene? Would love to hear any details about that."

No, all offstage sound effects. Its a nice set, beautifully done. There are no bad seats, i think.

Forgot to mention Austin Pendleton. What a treasure. Just so reliably perfect every time. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/8/24 at 2:42am

Austin Pendleton was great and quite funny.

 

I do want to say that I didn’t think Lichty was bad. She was earnest and committed and was actually the cast member I felt truly knew all their lines and was most comfortable with the material. (There were many line flubs the night I saw it) She did a solid job, I just found that accent to be weird. “Mr. Shannon” became “Mr. Shonnin” and for anyone who knows the play it felt like she said it about 500 times.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 1/9/24 at 12:12pm

nmartin said: "Sinister Teashop, please elaborate on your statement. I always thought Williams had very little, if anything, to do with the Iguana film. The only thing I can ever remember reading about Williams and the film is that he objected to the casting of Ava Gardner."

I don't know anything about Houston and Williams' collaboration before shooting or what part Veiller played in it. Veiller worked on the excellent screen adaptation of "Stage Door" and some other less successful stage to screen adaptations. 

Where I think they had a successful and sympathetic collaboration was in the film itself. The movie is Houston's as much as Williams'. Houston loved Mexico and had a home in the area and there is both a sensual affection for and fear of the power of the natural environment that Houston brings to Williams' poetry that does not clash with it but harmonizes with it and makes the film soar. 

Houston's camera swings back and forth between different modes from documentary to deep focus surrealism but centers in fully engaged and smart coverage of Williams' play. Somehow it works beautifully even though it is kind of a wild ride. 

I don't think Williams ever had a film director other than Houston who found a visual and cinematic equivalence to Williams' ecstatic prose and vision. Kazan's "Baby Doll" tried but there wasn't an affinity for the environment that Houston had for Mexico. 

I think it is probably one of the greatest stage to screen adaptations ever made.

Updated On: 1/9/24 at 12:12 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/8/24 at 11:06pm

Man, this was a weird one. I enjoyed Tim Daly, LOVED Daphne, really enjoyed Lea DeLaria and Austin Pendleton (besides the VERY end which was like a cartoon and dreadfully staged) but Jean Lichty - I'm sorry but...no. She brings the entire production down. I'm just so confused by this casting. Even a "lesser" Tennessee Williams play can be thrilling but when the main character is this "off", it completely throws off the entire play. I can say that I'll never forget it - and her "accent"(?)

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 2/8/24 at 11:29pm

We also saw this tonight.  Completely agree Jean Lichty - very miscast and awful. Also she a founder and the Executive Director of the producing company for this, La Femme Theatre.  She drags down the whole thing.  The rest of the cast is doing the best they can around her awkward, stilted and bad performance.   Mann's production is poorly paced and executed but Lichty...wow.

Updated On: 2/8/24 at 11:29 PM