Posted: 3/2/18 at 11:45am
I was gobsmacked for the entire two hours last night.
Laurie Metcalf is a truly gifted and remarkable actress. She can make you laugh from your gut then immediately make tears stream down your face the next second and then laugh again. It's a presence I've only seen a few times in my life.
Glenda. Jackson. wow. Anything I can say will not do her justice. If anyone was worried delays were caused by "memory issues" can rest easy. This woman knows this dialogue insane and out and is making a buffet banquet out of it. Truly a mesmerizing performance and one for the books.
Allison Pill was...there. Certainly not awful, but she didn't seem to be as with it as Metcalf and Jackson.
The direction was beautifully done. Subtle things in staging like how they'd sort of sync up how they sat or held up and arm at the same time.
The set (and act 2 change) are beautiful, especially the final moments. I overheard waiting for the bathroom (long long lines since two stalls in the ladies were broken they were all using the mens) that previews were delayed because the set did not fit on the stage and they had to make adjustments.
I was sitting in front of Mantello and production members. They were ecstatic and beaming after. In fact, when the ladies left the stage after their bows the audience kept applauding until the came out again, looking surprised and very happy. It wasn't a staged come back like most shows do now, it was genuinely a curtain call and they probably could have gotten another if they didn't raise the house lights immediately.
See it. See it again. See it a third time.
