THE PRESENT Previews — Page 4

Saw "Wild Honey," and even have the script (Fireside Theatre, illustrated with stills). It's not first tier Chekhov (I know, 5th tier is still Chekhov) but it was enjoyable, and the company was stellar. In addition to McKellan, Kate Burton, J. Smith Cameron, and an unknown, Kim Cattrall. 

I went tonight and felt very "eh" about it. I saw Blanchett and the STC's "Streetcar Named Desire" at BAM a couple years ago and that was insanely good. I also saw their "Suddenly Last Summer" when I was in Sydney. Maybe I just like Williams more, but I found this to be pretty dull. I've never really left a Chekov show thinking "Wow, that was exhilarating." They all feel very drawn out and minimalistic. I didn't think the design/direction in this one was particularly interesting, and it often times felt very cheap. The play just isn't interesting. They say that Anna (Blanchett) is a mastermind and playing everyone like a chess game, but I don't feel like that every really came across? She had a few instances, but it never felt like some master plan. 

I thought Roxburgh was the highlight. Really dynamic performer. Blanchett, as you'd assume, was phenomenal, but isn't really given much to do. Scene 2 (technically Act 2) was her highlight and really the best scene of the bunch. The play got a little better after that, but it still was a bit of a bore. 

I counted about 10 walkouts during the show, and a number of seats around me were left empty after intermission. 

I'd say it's worth seeing for Roxburgh and Blanchett is always a treat. The entire ensemble is great! I just think the play is rather "eh." 

I meantn"dull"

I caught this a couple weeks ago. Well, most of it, I should say. I left at intermission even though there was only an hour or so left. I found this to be one of the worst things I have seen in quite some time. Blanchett was great, but not great enough to save this horrible production. The set looked like it was out of a community theatre production. The story and family tree were convoluted beyond comprehension (at least for me). This was definitely my biggest disappointment of the season thus far.