THE NOTEBOOK Broadway Previews — Page 3

“Probably the fact that he's directing two other shows besides this one this spring. Kind of irresponsible really.”

It’s probably not his fault. Directors generally develop several projects at once, but have no control on when they get to production.

Re: Greif's stage directing

For those who have already seen both this & Hell's Kitchen:

How much stage time in this taken up with serving food and pouring water into glasses?

I almost thought Shoshana Bean was just trying to stay in practice in case she has to ever go back to waitressing.

Even in Wine and Roses, there’s a scene with a waitress pouring water while BDJ is talking to the doctor. Her arm goes right in between them to grab the glass and pour the water. What the hell?? Why is this here??

I saw last Sunday evening's performance and I truly thought it was magical.

Let me first say that I did rush. Arrived at 10:20am and was #8 in line, but by 10:40am it was over 30 people long. The first seats they sell are front row and I must say that it was great view because of the "lake" and rocks added where the pit usually is, so you are not that close to the actors. Only when the staging requires them to be there right in front of you, But no stiff neck. You do get a mist on you from the splashing of lake water in Act 1 and the famous rain scene in Act 2, but by no means wet. It was beautiful.

I saw the Chicago production and fell in the love with the show. That cast has only grown talent wise and you can tell they have been working on the intensity of the main story. The show is at least 5 minutes shorter and changed a few short scenes into song (Middle Noah). Maryann Plunket I truly believe has a good chance of winning. Even when she is on the stage watching she is breaking your heart. Joy Woods is a standout and has the audience in the palm of her hands (and I do believe the Tony nominators). But even the ensemble, Andrea Burns and Yassmin Alers (Broadway vets), who I can see why took smaller roles to be in this piece of theatre, grabbed your heart. The music is gorgeous and the set is simple yet effective. I did love the lighting as well.

The reason Schele Williams is the co-dirctor is for diversity. Direct from a cast member "Production wanted someone to connect on different levels with all cast members and to be a true team with Michael. This piece needs to represent everyone being seen and heard, it's a perfect match."

I am normally not a crier at shows, but I was in the front row with tears streaming down without me even knowing. You could hear audible gasps, sniffles and deep crying from the audience throughout the show. Fully standing ovation before the finale ended! Not one cell phone went off (THANKFULLY)! That audience was into that story and music for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Give it a chance! - Thanks for reading!

No need for them to take away Tony Sunday from the schedule. They won’t be nominated.

Broadway Flash said: "No need for them to take away Tony Sunday from the schedule. They won’t be nominated."

It seems like you have some sort of personal vendetta against this show. All other reviews show it to be one of the more acclaimed productions of this season.

Updated On: 2/13/24 at 05:06 PM

Acclaimed? According to who, theatre influencers?

Wow they got some good reviews. Surely they will get stiff competition from others. We’ll see

PipingHotPiccolo said: "I assume front mezz is fine for this piece?"

per Jordan’s comments, I would not go with the front mezz.

Jordan Catalano said: "Even the action on the far sides of the stage is set too close to the foot at times that could be blocked by heads. Maybe it was just the certain seat I was in (center front mezz) and the exact people in the few rows directly in front of me and it was more annoying to me than anyone else. *shrug*"

binau said: "Maybe it's a joke to illustrate this very point butAaron and Tviet get an 'it sucked' based on 10 seconds of misleading bootlegs recordings and The Notebook get an 'it sucked' from people who don't appear to have seen it and barely any other info yet. LOL what is going on???"

People enjoy being cruel and believe their word is law without even seeing the show.

Apart from being a fan from Ingrid, the biggest draw for me is Maryann Plunket. Her performance in the Richard Nelson plays at Public was mesmerizing and I revisit the PBS recordings of the Apple Family and Gabriel Family series from time to time. Truly magical. If her performance in this show is half as good, I would consider it 200 bucks well spent.

That’s what’s wrong with broadway today. Catering to non theatre goers. What happened to the days when Julie Taymor took The Lion King and turned it into REAL theatre.