THE PHILANTHROPIST Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:30am

Today is Sunday, April the 26th, marking the official opening night of Roundabout's revival of THE PHILANTHROPIST. Let us also take a moment to welcome Matthew Broderick back to the boards! Break legs, all! Best to all involved.

[mc1227]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 11:44am

Having seen the first night preview on this, I'm really hoping the reviews will be kind but not too sure they will be.
Regardless, it is always great to see Matthew back on stage. He does bring a special presence there regardless of the play. Best wishes for a good run.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 12:33pm

I was at the final preview last night, and the audience was very responsive. Lots of laughs, some spontaneous applause. If the reviewers like it as much as the people last night, then the show will be in good shape for a successful run.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 3:13pm

Hm, interesting. I saw it last weekend and thought it needed work; based on what I saw, I can't see it getting great reviews. But hopefully they've made adjustments. I guess it's a good sign that the final preview went well.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 6:23pm

Variety is Very Negative:

'Director David Grindley had a hit in 2005 with his Donmar Warehouse revival of Christopher Hampton's "The Philanthropist," its cast headed by Simon Russell Beale, an actor who could locate the emotional undertow in even the most distancing role. There's no reason to question the endorsement of London critics, but every reason to suppose the change of venue and lead actor must have taken a dire toll on Grindley's production. With Matthew Broderick reducing the title character to a cartoon, performing in his own hermetic space that excludes everyone else onstage, the play sits inertly, its poignancy lost and its clever dialogue hollowed into empty banter.'

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940132.html?categoryid=33&cs=1

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 7:19pm

The Associated Press is Negative:

"Philip, the title character in Christopher Hampton's "The Philanthropist," is enamored of words, words, words and more words.

They are the downfall of this professor of philology, and, come to think of it, the problem with the Roundabout Theatre Company's sleepy revival of this English comedy, which opened Sunday at its American Airlines Theatre...

...You can see what attracted Broderick to the role. He's excelled at portraying geeky guys in such works as "The Producers" and the 2005 revival of "The Odd Couple." And the actor, despite an odd British accent, has Philip's shy nerdiness down pat.

But what's missing in Broderick's performance is the man's emotional destitution, the extra oomph that pushes Philip from being a sad-sack cartoon into a man bereft, a human being with no convictions except to please. It's a big hole to fill, and this production, directed by David Grindley, seems more stodgy and talky than it should be as it strains to fill that void."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090426/ap_en_re/us_theater_review_the_philanthropist;_ylt=AmPE9MjpxoVfwaObrqqfvBA9FRkF

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:01pm

The Hollywood Reporter is Very Negative:

"The older he gets, the more Matthew Broderick seems to be receding from existence. The youthful dynamo that was "Ferris Bueller" has become increasingly weak and passive in his characterizations, especially in his stage work. His latest star turn, in this Broadway revival of "The Philanthropist," continues a downward cycle that has continued from "The Producers" to "The Odd Couple" to "The Foreigner."

Not that the play helps him much. This satirical comedy of manners, written by Christopher Hampton as a sort of inverted riposte to Moliere's "The Misanthrope," lacks the thematic focus to overcome its more lugubrious passages."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/theater-review-the-philanthropist-1003966530.story

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:03pm

Ouch. Sadly to say, though, I'm not surprised by these reviews.

[mc1227]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:09pm

I'm not surprised either. The play is just not a good one. However, blaming Broderick for the mediocrity of this play is unfair. The few good moments in this one are because of him, certainly not the playwright.

Updated On: 4/26/09 at 08:09 PM

[kookiem305]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:16pm

i guess we can cross of Broderick from best actor in a play, can we?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:23pm

We could have crossed him off after the first preview. He was nothing special at all.
Updated On: 4/26/09 at 08:23 PM

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:07pm

Eep. Off to this post-opening party, hope the moods aren't too somber.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:15pm

Three words - Matthew Broderick Sucks.

He has done the exact same schtick in every play and movie he has been in for the last 15 years.

Why does he still get hired?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:19pm

I am not surprised at all by the negative reviews thus far. It was not a very good evening at the theater...

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:28pm

Roundabout has not had a good year... Sucks for everyone involved.

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:31pm

When has ROUNDABOUT had a good yeah?

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:35pm

Backstage is Very Negative:

"In Roundabout's revival, Philip is played by Matthew Broderick in a retread of his Leo Bloom?Felix Ungar pathetic-nerd persona, only this one has a slight British accent. It's an almost impossible role to bring off. You have to garner sympathy for a dry-as-toast intellectual whose passions are limited to words. During the course of the play, Philip witnesses a gruesome act of violence, is seduced by a beautiful undergraduate, breaks up with his equally gorgeous fiancée, and is inadvertently betrayed by his best friend. Through all of this, he barely reacts outside of offering to freshen everybody's drinks, which is what drives everyone around him bonkers. Granted this is quite a restraint for an actor, like playing golf with a tremendous handicap. Even so, Broderick fails to display much of Philip's inner life, and his witty dialogue rings hollow."

http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-ny-theatre-broadway/the-philanthropist-1003966555.story


USA Today gives the show 2 1/2 Stars out of 4:

"At a glance, the lead in Christopher Hampton's "bourgeois comedy" ? produced by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, where it opened Sunday ? might seem like a perfect fit for Broderick, who has done well for himself playing innocuous beta males. But the play, which addresses the limits of civil contemplation, requires a more complex protagonist. Even with gray hair and a tentative English accent, Broderick can't convey sufficient weight or weariness.

That's a shame, because the ensemble here generally thrives under the thoughtful direction of David Grindley, who helmed a production of this play for the U.K.'s Donmar Warehouse in 2005. Anna Madeley, the one holdover from Donmar, is a pert, winning Celia, and Steven Weber brings a convincing ennui to Philip's more comfortably cynical colleague, Don. Jonathan Cake nearly steals the show from everyone as a smug, flamboyantly miserable novelist."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2009-04-26-stage-reviews_N.htm

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:38pm

TheaterMania is Negative and an altogether awkward review. Basically no comments on the show itself; mostly devoted to panning Broderick's performance.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm a big Matthew Broderick fan. I've liked him since his early stage-acting days when, among other assignments, he was the bemused teenager in Torch Song Trilogy. I've admired him in everything since, including his underrated turn as Felix Unger in the Odd Couple revival. (Treasuring his Leo Bloom in The Producers goes without saying.) That's why I expected he'd be ideal as the title character in the Roundabout Theatre's revival of Christopher Hampton's 1970 comedy The Philanthropist, now being presented at the American Airlines Theatre. But I'm mystified at the problems he's having as he portrays reticent philologist Philip -- problems that loom rather large when the character is focal but lacks demanding focus.

...

Sadly, Broderick practically disappears in this crucial first act get-together. Granted, Philip is intended to disappear while Braham prattles on with shock value in mind, but it's the character, not the actor, who is supposed to fade from focus. Broderick does better in the second act, particularly in a one-on-one scene with Don, when they both unburden themselves of personal misgivings. For the most part, however, The Philanthropist is a missed opportunity for both Broderick and the audience. "

http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/04-2009/the-philanthropist_18740.html

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:38pm

"When has ROUNDABOUT had a good yeah?"


Well it had Sunday in the Park with George last year... and that's about it.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:51pm

Roundabout has had hits (SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, ASSASSINS, THE 39 STEPS, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, TWELVE ANGRY MEN, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG), but they're not that noticeable among the sea of Mediocre surrounding them.

And even most of their hits are imported: if GODOT gets good reviews, it'll be one of the few recent "good" productions that was originated here (albeit with a British director).

I said it before, in a long and too-early rant (after the first audience review for GODOT was negative), but I don't understand what the Roundabout is doing. If the general mediocrity of their productions is even partly because one limited-run production out of four or five won't catch the audience's attention for long, and directors don't want to expend too much energy on them, that's shameful.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:56pm

NY Times is Negative
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/theater/reviews/27phil.html

Watching The Philanthropist is quite literally a matter of being stuck in a stuffy room with a bunch of pompous, malicious or dreary writers and academics. Or at least actors portraying them. For sheer dullness, this putative comedy, directed by the talented David Grindley (The American Plan) for the Roundabout Theater Company and starring the talented but increasingly mannered Matthew Broderick, beats just about anything on Broadway this season.
Updated On: 4/26/09 at 09:56 PM

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 10:01pm

The New York Times sent Isherwood, and his review is, despite praise for the supporting cast, a straight pan. He HATED it.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 10:04pm

"and starring the talented but increasingly mannered Matthew Broderick"

Or as he should be known as "Mannered Blahderick"
Broadway producers - Stop hiring this hack.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 10:04pm

I think Waiting for Godot will be a hit. I absolutely loved it, and it seems like it's gotten pretty positive audience feedback (that review about the first preview seemed to be written by someone who had more of a problem with the play than with the production). I hope it's a hit, because Roundabout really has had an awful season so far.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 10:08pm

I had a problem with both the play and production of GODOT.

And it's okay to have a different opinion of something than others, which is, I guess, what happened with me and the rest of BWW and GODOT. I hated it. Others loved it. I wish it the best of luck; I love Roundabout and hope they finally get a hit sometime soon.