THE WAVERLY GALLERY (2018) Previews — Page 3

Are these the personal hearing aid devices of individuals in the audience? Or some sort of augmented sound system that is provided by the theater?

And are they reacting to each other? Or the tech equipment in the house?

The irony of the issue at this particular play is pretty rich. Lonergan better keep hold of his temper--the optics of him swearing at an older theater patron would not be good...

I know this is going to come off as unkind, but optics hell. Lonergan was trying to focus on his work and his play in previews. The rest of the audience deserved no interruptions-- not to mention the actors and the rest of the creative staff. Mr. Longergan could have said whatever he wanted. In his position, I would have been just as annoyed.



A lot of Broadway audiences don't seem to give a sh*t anymore. People complain about younger people in their 20s and 30s, but the older crowd is mostly completely inconsiderate. As Cromer's character says in the play, "It's no fun getting old", but I link it's less about old age and more about not caring.



Most of the people upstairs under 40 seemed really engaged. The lady in her 50s checking her email at the beginning of Act 2 had other things on her mind, I guess....

The ovation tonight was so huge that the actors had to come back out for another bow. The audience literally wouldn’t stop clapping until they did. I haven’t seen that in a while, but the cast truly did deserve it. There wasn’t a weak link in the bunch.

Elaine May was so natural that it didn’t even feel like watching a performance. It made me uncomfortable at times, which is exactly what the role calls for. I’d be pretty shocked if she isn’t remembered come Tony time.

I’m a big Lucas Hedges fan and he didn’t disappoint at all. He’s a truly gifted stage actor (I LOVED him in YEN as well). He delivered the amazing final line of the play in such a heartbreaking way that I heard sniffles all around me when he said it.

This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen Joan Allen do, and she’s always very solid. It’s a gorgeous, gut-wrenching performance.

Cromer was stellar in another amazingly real performance. My friend, who had a family member with Alzheimer’s, said that he played the role of the annoyed (but trying his best to keep it together) family member to perfection.

Yes, Michael Cera did have a fairly small-ish role and his Boston accent came and went, but overall he was very good. I liked him in THIS IS OUR YOUTH better, but I think that could be because he just had a better, meatier role in that.

The audience wasn’t too bad tonight. And TDF gave us Row K in the orchestra, dead center.

Updated On: 9/27/18 at 07:18 AM

After seeing the raves here, I just jumped on a TDF ticket. It's back up for Tuesday 10/2 through Thursday 10/4.

Also, and I'm going to be that guy, did anybody do the stage door?

>This is a good play but it’s not covering any new ground, imo. We’ve seen this story before.<

I'd argue that Lonergan's take on it - the play's naturalism, lack of sentimentality, and compassion for its characters, for all of their flaws - still feels startlingly different from the way such material is generally treated in other works of theatre, film and television. The messiness, the aggravation of dealing with an ailing family member, and some of the dark humor all is sharply realized. Vogue touches on what makes The Waverly Gallery different from other works about illness a bit in this piece.

https://www.vogue.com/article/lucas-hedges-interview-vogue-october-2018

"Lonergan renders this problem with an unwavering gaze and no false sentimentality. “There’s no beautiful, comforting Forrest Gump moment where she peacefully smiles and says, 'It’s my time,’ ” he says. “There are so many sentimentalizations of the most difficult parts of life in movies and TV and theater that I think it makes people feel as if they’re the only ones experiencing this the way that they are, and the truth is they’re not.”

Updated On: 9/28/18 at 08:09 AM

Saw Waverly Gallery tonight with a TDF ticket (orch row N) and agree with a lot of what has been said on here. Mainly: set changes take a long time, Cera misses it with the accent, Allen and Hedges are fantastic and worth the price of a discounted ticket alone but my main, big takeaway is James Franco was there wearing a black denim jacket with big zippers

Scarywarhol said: "Just end me when the first or fifteenth thing I say upon seeing one of the legends of the entertainment industry performing on Broadway for the first time in half a century is that the scene changes took a long time. "

Agreed.

Wow. I was not prepared for this one.

For whatever reason, I went into this thinking this was just another show to tick off the box for this season. Boy, was I wrong. This is an immensely special production with some of the finest stage performances I have ever seen. What hit home for me the most was how real everybody was. This did not feel like an act-y, act-y, look-at-us-acting Broadway play. This felt deeply intimate and real, like we were truly watching this family's story unfold before us.

The sheer reality of the show might be why I almost burst into tears during:

There are moments of Elaine May's performance which will be forever seared into my memory. That is all I can say about her.

Lucas Hedges and Joan Allen are giving master class performances in what it's like to constantly being right at the brink of wit's end (without ever fully exploding, because their characters know an explosion won't lead to anything productive). Hedges is wonderful to follow throughout the show as Gladys' steadfast grandson. Allen is also wonderful throughout the show, but her acting during the Act 2 "don't feed the dog" scene is especially noteworthy.

David Cromer is excellent as well. Michael Cera is good in a small role.

My only real criticism of this production is the painfully long scene transitions with lighting that doesn't really make any sense. It looks like it's supposed to be like natural lighting or something, but it's not? But it is a small qualm to have with performances like these that really punch you in the gut by the end of the show.

In terms of Tonys, I see this getting a Best Revival nomination easily, and I especially hope we see Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, and Joan Allen remembered come Tony time.

Updated On: 9/29/18 at 04:45 PM

Bwayfan292 said: "Would you suggest this to someone who doesnt really watch plays?"

Since I know you're more of a musicals fan, if you're able to pick up on nuanced, thoughtful acting performances in musicals, then you would probably appreciate this. This is not a show with performances that reach out into the audience and shake you or anything, but if you can lean in and soak up beautiful performances, then you might like this. If you liked The Band's Visit, for example, you would like this.

In terms of keeping with a general "musicals" attention span, this play is definitely not a slow, dreary show. I think it moves pretty quickly (and it's rather short—currently running two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission).