TIME AND THE CONWAYS (2017) Previews

Previews for the first-ever Broadway revival of J.B. Priestley's Time and the Conways [1938] begin in two days (Thursday, September 14, 2017) at the American Airlines Theatre. Directed by recent Tony winner Rebecca Taichman (of Indecent) and starring Elizabeth McGovern (of Downton Abbey), Time and the Conways will open officially on October 10 for a limited run through November 26.

Who's going?!

Updated On: 9/12/17 at 09:17 AM

Is this the official thread though? :P

Thanks for the heads up, wolfwriter! Grabbed seats for Friday. I haven't seen them release these tickets so close to opening. Must be looking to fill the house. Not complaining for $10. And there are still seats available.

I'll be there

Going tomorrow night.

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Is there anything to report from the first preview?"

Pretty sure it was an 8 p.m. curtain, so it might just be getting out now.

For some reason, this show really interests me. Is there some "time travel" portion? I'm kind of interested in seeing it, but it also sounds rather boring.

BroadwayConcierge said: "RippedMan said: "For some reason, this show really interests me. Is there some "time travel" portion? I'm kind of interested in seeing it, but it also sounds rather boring."

Exactly how I feel, LOL! The idea of journeying throughtime with afamily sounds fascinating, and Elizabeth McGovern as a period character also sounds wonderful. But I worry this is just a bore."

Yes. Yes to all of this. I felt kind of drawn to this play but now I'm not sure.

I think "interesting and boring" is a good way to describe it. I was interested on a cerebral level, but bored on an emotional one. The characters are mostly well-drawn, but I wasn't invested in what happened to them, save perhaps Ebert's Alan.

I mean, I could say something else, but I think if you're going to go you might as well not read that much more about it. Basically it deals more with a theory of time than time travel itself. Ebert lays out the theory in his monologue at the end of act two and we get a greater understanding of how it works at the end of the play.

The first scene was boring in the extreme; the second and third were very good. Elizabeth McGovern was excellent, bringing thought, shading, and vitality to her characterization. Gabriel Ebert knows how to play feckless characters to perfection, as he shows here.

In the end, i think it offers a worthwhile evening at the theatre, with a moving overall theme.

I am no expert in reviewing/analyzing plays (I’m much more familiar with musicals and see them much, much more), but here are my two cents:

Everything whizzer said is true. The first half of act 1 is “set” in 1919 Brittain; second half of act 1 is in 1937 Brittain. Second act is in 1919 Brittain again. I write “set”, because this is where the concept of time kicks in. I can’t say anything else without giving too much away.

Downton Abbey watchers will definitely remember Mrs. Crawley watching Elizabeth McGovern, who did a terrific job, by the way. The rest of the cast were great as well. Not mind-blowing, but good enough. I thought their British accents were a little off.

Yes, there is a lot of exposition. Very little action occurs (there’s singing and one slap on the face). To my own surprise, I did not get bored or lose attention throughout.

To summarize it terribly: first part of act 1 is joyful and everything’s okay; second part of act 1 is “oh no, everything is wrong and terrible”; act two, we go back to the time of the first part of act 1 (1919), but because we know what’s going to happen, it’s “aaw, they have no idea “

I guess the interesting part of the show is the fact that we’re shown the same timeline (1919) but see it in different perspectives during act 1 and act 2 respectively.

No Doctor Who-style time-traveling occurs.

I can confidently review that the theater design aspects of the show are fantastic. Neil Patel’s set of the living room(s) reflect the passing of time. Paloma Young’s costume are colorful and compliments the set very well (also helps differentiates the characters). Christopher Akerlind’s lighting takes the cake though. There IS a cool set change where all of these come together, and, yes, it is quite possibly one of the coolest set change I’ve ever seen.

Overall, I had a great and entertaining time, and the show was well worth $79.

MY GOD, I ADORED THIS PRODUCTION.



It shocked the hell out of me. I have to say, the thought of sitting through yet another antiquated drawing room Roundabout show was not something I was particularly looking forward to. But this play just really touched me on a pretty deep level tonight. The themes on time that it explores are themes that I've always been fascinated with and drawn to. I've always had a very deep emotional connection tonplays like OUR TOWN and SIDE MAN and shows like that and this fits very nicely in there.



The cast is uniformly strong, led by McGovern who deserves a Tony nomination and I'll riot if she doesn't get it. But everyone is so strong and perfectly cast here. The set, very simple at first, is extraordinary in how it changes throughout the show. I can see where people might say it drags in a few spots and I can't argue with that but the sum of the piece more than makes up for those very few moments.



I can very easily see myself next year saying that this was my favorite show of the 2017-2018 season.