THE WAVERLY GALLERY (2018) Previews- Page 4

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 9/29/18 at 4:58pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "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 upbeautiful performances, then you might like this. If you likedThe Band's Visit, for example, you would like this.

In terms of keeping with a general "musicals" attention span,thisplay 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)."

Thanks BC! Im sold! 

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 9/29/18 at 6:46pm

For anyone interested in Rush Tickets.  I got there this morning right at 10am and was 3rd in line.  I got 2 tickets for the evening show.  $40 each.  Front row tickets.  


The 2 people in front of me got for the matinee and also got front row.  

[teatime2]

Posted: 9/29/18 at 6:56pm

Saw the matinee. The last fifteen minutes were absolutely unreal. I need more time to digest it, but I can easily say it was brilliant.

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 9/29/18 at 11:12pm

I saw this tonight and thought Elaine May was outstanding. To paraphrase BroadwayConcierge, it truly never felt like she was acting. A beautiful, heartbreaking, realistic performance. I'll be thinking about it for some time.

Lucas Hedges also turned in a nice performance, walking the line of frustration, desperation, and admiration quite adeptly.

I'm glad I caught this. Easily my favorite of the Lonergan Broadway offerings over the last few years. And for those curious, I was there through TDF: Front Mezzanine, Row A.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 9/30/18 at 7:52pm

Not to be annoying but are there ANY other stagedoor reports since first preview?

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 9/30/18 at 8:09pm

I did see one person with a picture with Lucas Hedges but I’m not positive it was after the show or not, though I’m assuming it was.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 10:23am

Flash sale on TodayTix, $30 rear mezzanine seats.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 10:35am

CT2NYC said: "Flash sale on TodayTix, $30 rear mezzanine seats."

I just saw that! Makes me mad that I didn't wait and jumped on the TDF seats. And they are for Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the end of the month, it looks like.

The rear mezz isn't bad in this theatre so it's a solid sale.

[bfreak]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 10:38am

This is a good sale, but I'm sure that more tickets will be released on TDF very soon as well.

[lostphantom]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 6:48pm

Regarding to stage door...

I was there this weekend and here's my experience...

Joan Allen came out first, but she had her hoodie over her head and clearly didn't want to disturbed. No one stopped her or asked for signature, either didn't want to disturb her or just didn't recognize her. David Cromer came out next and was happy to sign for anyone who asked. Elaine May came after and everyone cheered for her. She graciously waved and heading for her car. (Some lady asked for her to sign, but didn't have a pen. Elaine looked hesitant and the lady asked me for my pen and I was like Elaine does not seem to want to sign, so I didn't give her my pen... the lady was pissed at me for miss her "opportunity", but I think if Elaine didn't feel like signing, then she shouldn't be..)  The guard later told us that Elaine May does not sign ever (at least since the first preview). 

Lucas Hedges came out after. He was very generous with signatures and photos, but he did mention that he needed to go somewhere soon. Lastly, Michael Cera did not came out of the stage door.

[broadwaynerdnewbie]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 12:50am

I went to the show tonight and I thought the play was really solid. I thought that the cast gave really good performances and the last fifteen minutes were heartachingly real. The only annoyance I had was I sat in front of two pool who work with the show and they were taking notes and whispering furiously to each other, they seemed upset at someone’s lack of urgency in speaking but I didn’t catch who. I understand the show is in previews and they need to take notes etc but they were really quite loud. But alas.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 1:19am

Saw this tonight, outside of the transitions i think this is a real special evening in the making give it a few weeks and its going to be stunning and I mean its worth it if only for Elaine Mays heartbreaking performance

as for the stagedoor, Joan Allen seemed happy to sign if you asked her, which she did for several folks and took a photo, I by some miracle got Elaine May to sign my Nichols and May Examine Doctors album that Mike signed for me shortly before he died, Nichols and May means EVERYTHING to me.

David Cromer and Lucas Hedges also were happy to sign if you asked, they also both couldnt believe I got Elaine to stop, especially David who upon seeing her signature exclaimed "YOU GOT HER?!"

Michael Cera didnt come out, i think hes over the stagedoor because he also rarely came out during Lobby Hero

Updated On: 10/2/18 at 01:19 AM

[Danielle49]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 8:03am

Such a strange audience last night. The audience applauded after every scene, and laughed at most everything. That said, I very much enjoyed the evening, but it the direction is sorely lacking.

The cast is great, as expected. Elaine May is turning in a lovely performance, Joan Allen got exit applause for her final scene. Both women are truly fantastic. Cera uses his comic timing to his advantage, despite how oddly cast he is here. Hedges either isn’t yet comfortable with the material or is still very nervous about the Broadway thing. I hope he gets into more of a rhythm within the next couple of weeks. Cromer does the job.

Lila Neugebauer presents the play as the play and doesn’t really dig into it or find new meaning. Much of the comic reaction at all times as well as the slipped lines onstage are a result of this. Some folks on this board were questioning relevance: why revive this NOW? I agree. And Neugebauer doesn’t answer that question for us.

The show ran about 2 hours including intermission - it started around six after and curtain call was over at around 10:10.

As for the stage door, the set up is dreadful. I was against the barricade but couldn’t see anyone or anything because a man refused to move from the street side of the barrier and was in the way, so none of the actors moved past him. Wasn’t able to speak with anyone or get signatures. Oh, well.

Updated On: 10/2/18 at 08:03 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 11:12pm

I thought the play was great, all the performances were top notch, and I loved the quirky sense of humor of the script. But I think the direction is lacking. Those transitions are terrible. This could have been such a simple turntable set. I don't know why they feel the need to fly in this giant brick wall and show us lighting patterns. There could have been some interesting direction with losing memory, etc. 

To the above who said Elaine May wasn't acting, I agree. I honestly couldn't tell if she flubbed a line, improved a line, or that's what was written. It was quite remarkable. 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 11:29pm

Caught the Tuesday Oct 2 performance.

Wow. Elaine May! In any multi-person scenes, my attention was always on her. I could watch her sad fall into Alzheimer's for a long time, even after the performance ended.

Alzheimer's affected my Vincennes IN grandmother, so I'm aware of its heartbreaking course.

Sat in the top row - H - in the upper mezzanine. A few minutes before showtime, the ushers encouraged everyone in rows G and H to move down to the empty upper mezzanine seats in rows E and F. Thought it was silly to move down 2 or 3 rows, so I remained. But nearly everyone else welcomed the small upgrade.

The show technician along one of the railings was very distracting with his loud page turns.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 11:38pm

I wish they could stream-line those transitions. I think it would be kind of nice to just keep the curtain up and have it all in plain view with our focus on the monologue. 

[East Village]

Posted: 10/3/18 at 6:43pm

I enjoyed the direction and the transitions

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/3/18 at 11:33pm

THIS. IS. A. MUST. SEE.

I’m simply gutted. As a psychiatric-mental health nurse, I’ve seen this scenario play out more times than I care to. (SPOILERS AHEAD - No box since I’m on my phone)

This show is probably the BEST portrayal of Alzheimer’s and mental decline without veering into parody or caricature. Elaine May is simply doing fantastic work and is already a strong contender for the Tony. Even when she isn’t on the stage, her actions are palpable and can be felt at a deep level.

The supporting cast also does magnificent work, because you can see the different degrees of grief when they are with dealing with Glady’s illness. They run the entire spectrum of numbness, objectivity/reasoning, and anger, with each of them eventually coming around to acceptance. Lucas Hedges’ character reminded me a lot of me and how I approached this situation at work and with my own family, so I was a little haunted to see it play out on stage in front of me. But, boy, does he have a hopefully long stage career ahead of him. Joan Allen reminded me a lot of my mother, who worked her butt off to keep everyone at home together and happy while dealing with the effects that the decline had on everyone, including herself. David Cromer had some of the funniest lines, with his strength being more in the first act.

Unlike some here, I didn’t mind Michael Cera’s character at all. Yes, he did have that typical awkward schtick he’s known for, but to understand his character is to remember that he’s walking into this family catastrophe already in progress. He’s working hard to stay out of it, even though he is roped in by proxy of May’s character. And what makes him so unlikeable in the second act is that he finally takes the opportunity to break away when the rest of the family can’t, and he can be seen as callous for that. I was juggling the fact that he continually mentions his sister with a disability, and he thinks he is able to relate on that level, but ultimately can’t when he stays in denial about her mental decline.

SPOILER: When Allen’s character has her breakdown, and Hedges rushes in and says “I love you, Mom” - that is a moment that grounds them both from the chaos around them and I was in complete tears. The ending monologue brought me back around.

The transitions didn’t bother me, except for the fact that people in the Orchestra were TAKING OUT THEIR PHONES DURING THEM. (I could see them all from my side perch in the mezzanine - one guy actually squeezed in a few moves on Candy Crush, no joke.) What I love the most was how the set seemed to get smaller as May’s character declined further, in a way representing that the world around her mind was closing in.

Okay, and now the long awaited Stagedoor Report:

From the words of the stage door guy, “they are really a group of signers”. May came out, waved, and blew kisses before going into her car. Cera did not come out at all (and don’t expect him to). Joan Allen was the first out and surprised to see so many waiting. She did sign a few down the front line. David Cromer came out unnoticed at first, but then came back and signed a few after a few minutes (He said he was looking for his friend and forgot to stop off). Kenneth Lonergan himself was there and signed for a few people that stopped him. Finally, Lucas Hedges came out after about 40 minutes (per security, he was talking to someone in the alley, and usually just goes straight to his car), but if you politely stop him, he happily obliges to sign, along with the occasional selfie. I should note that the crowd had thinned out considerably by this point, so maybe that played a factor. There were also people waiting for THE FERRYMAN in the mix too.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/3/18 at 11:52pm

They also debuted a new Playbill tonight, which is Black and White, with just May sitting in a chair on the cover

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/3/18 at 11:55pm

Playbill for first week of previews:



 

Playbill now:

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 12:11am

OMG that looks hedious in comparison.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 12:18am

I’m not one given to hyperbole and amazing is now my least favorite word in the English language, but what Elaine May did on stage tonight is nothing short of amazing. What she did, was also extremely difficult to watch, having just lost my Mom a few weeks ago, after 15+ years of Parkinson’s and dementia.

Ordinarily, I’d critique the writing, and I have my quibbles, but substantively, I’ve never seen dementia and the reactions to it, so accurately portrayed on stage. Kenneth Lonergan must have known someone with dementia to get the specifics, so right.

So much of this was just devastating to watch and I am still having a hard time trying to find a place for my brain between the “reality” of the play and the reality of my life.

The hallway scene was almost too real, remembering how my Mom would wake me at 4 in the morning because she thought it was 4 in the afternoon and she was ready to go for a ride in the car.

Even the most minor details, like emptying her handbag as they’re ready to leave. My Mom would get in the car and proceed to empty the entire glove box. Or, when Lucas Hedges says she moaned day and night for 2 years. So did my Mom and the psychologist told us it’s common to dementia and is a form of self-soothing, even if they’re unaware they’re doing it.

The cast is uniformly good and until the final scene, I wanted to slap Joan Allen (that’s a good thing) as she reminded me far too much of my sister (that’s a bad thing).

The transitions need to be shorter because they’re too short to give you time to contemplate what just happened and so long, that they take you out of the play (and give many people time to check their cell phones).

This may be a play where your personal frame of reference is directly related to your reaction to it, but, even if you have never known anyone with dementia/Alzheimer’s (and I pray you never do), go see this and Elaine May will give you a master class. I don’t know how she does this 8x a week and not ever once does it appear that she’s acting. I can’t envision a better performance by anyone, in anything, this season.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 12:22am

I’m glad someone else brought up the hallway scene. In the week or so since I’ve seen the show, that one scene still keeps popping back into my head. I just can’t shake it.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 12:22am

"What I love the most was how the set seemed to get smaller as May’s character declined further, in a way representing that the world around her mind was closing in. " 

Sort of noticed this, but also didn't. I just wish the transitions were in full view. I think the bringing in the whole curtain just kills any momentum. It makes it feel like vignettes. 

[Addison D.]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 5:40pm

Jordan Catalano said: "In the week or so since I’ve seen the show, that one scene still keeps popping back into my head. I just can’t shake it."

This show haunts me--awake and in my dreams--like no other show I can think of.  The script and the performances and the way they echo my personal experience is uniquely powerful. 

I was devastated by Glenn Close's Blanche in London, but I was a voyeur watching someone else's tragedy--there's no Southern Gothic in my family history.  'Waverly Gallery' is my family, my story and my town.  When posters here make reference to particularly powerful scenes--and we all seem to connect to the same moments--I find myself crying at my desk. 

I walked out of the theater thinking I *had* to see it again, but I wonder if I have it in me.