TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Previews- Page 3

[rclocalz]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 7:01pm

Actually, now thinking about it, the second act is shorter than what I said. We started at 7:30pm, intermission was at 9pm and the curtain was at 10:25pm. So I forgot to factor in the 20 minute intermission. I guess Act 2 was more like 65 minutes.

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 7:19pm

Totally appreciated rclocalz. The feedback AND how respectful you’re being about not over sharing based on a dress rehearsal. It’s been so long since I have read the novel that I somehow just remember it feeling like a pretty contained story, so I was expecting a shorter play. I’m not seeing it until December so I’ll be very curious to hear more!

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 8:44pm

I hope some of ya'll are there tonight. I'm super excited to hear about this one. I'd love to hear about Adam Guettel's score.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:09pm

Soooooooooo?

[zachvandyke]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:15pm

Someone has to have been there tonight?!

[thealtoslament]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:21pm

....soooooo, how was it? Or did everyone go to The Cher Show or opening night of Torch Song tonight?

[Elegance101]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:35pm

The big question of the night: Did WhizzerMarvin go here or The Cher Show?

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:36pm

Elegance101 said: "The big question of the nightid WhizzerMarvin go here or The Cher Show?"

Whizzer usually posts by now, so mabye they didn't go to either.  

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:39pm

Im suprised we have not heard anything from the cher show as well.

[thealtoslament]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:48pm

Looks like Whizzer saw (and enjoyed) Cher tonight. 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 11/1/18 at 11:56pm

It really do be like that sometimes, huh?

Updated On: 11/1/18 at 11:56 PM

[thealtoslament]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:07am

dearalanaaaa said: "It really do be like that sometimes, huh?"

I am actually very anxious to hear reports on this, since my mother bought tickets for our whole family for my father's birthday months ago, before everything with the lawsuit and even casting announcements, iirc. We love the book and my dad and I especially are big fans of Aaron Sorkin's work, and I just want reassurance that we made a good decision so if I seem on edge, that's why, lol. 

but yes, as us kids say, it do be like that. 

[Catsbroadwayfan]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:33am

Im dissaponted BWW, only one review out of the two previews tonight smh. We can do better ya’ll.

[FutureDirector]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:49am

I'll jump in and say that I was just as blown away as the previous poster. It's a truly incredible evening. I put it on the same level with Ferryman. It's another one of the tightest ensemble casts I've ever seen. Daniels turns in an almost perfect performance, never once making me think about Gregory Peck. He captures Atticus' optimism in a way I'd never noticed was there. in my mind he's currently the tony front runner, and we could see any combination of Celia, Latanya Richardson-Jackson (probably a lock for a nomination), Gideon Glick, Frederick Weller, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Erin Wilhelmi, Neal Huff (A personal favorite) and Stark Sands get nominations. All of whom are giving tony worthy performances, some with all of 10 to 15 minutes of stage time.

I don't want to say too much about the adaptation to keep from spoiling, but it lets Sorkin do what Sorkin does best. It's equal parts funny, heartfelt, devastating and politically relevant (there's a scene towards the end with Calpurnia and Atticus that had my jaw on the floor) and its complete with all of the mile a minute talking and other Sorkin-isms you'd expect, all of which Bart Sher and co make feel completely justified and organic.

Visually it's a stunning production, but that should be no surprise to anyone. My only knock for the evening is the transitions need finessing which I'm sure they will get over previews.

Updated On: 11/2/18 at 12:49 AM

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:53am

Anyone know or hear how the rush seats are?

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:53am

Anyone know or hear how the rush seats are?

[rclocalz]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 12:56am

I completely agree with FutureDirector, well said. The performances are remarkable. And yes, those scene transitions were a bit loud, almost felt like Scout had to yell over it at times. 

[thegamesiplay]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 1:00am

Hi! Rush person here. Sat front box, almost unobstructed view. It’s “partial view” but without spoiling much you just can’t see townspeople sitting at the very far ends during the court scenes or the two musicians on the sides. All the action happens center stage. Felt like I was a part of the action too.

Overall a really fantastic production. I can’t decide if I loved this or Ferryman more, as this book is beloved to my childhood but Ferryman gave me chills. To Kill a Mockingbird translated very well to the stage but it needs some minor tweaking. It would be a shame if Celia wasn’t nominated for her astonishing performance as Scout.

[Fanboy99]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 2:04am

How are the LincTix seats?

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 2:13am

What time for the box seat at rush?

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 2:18am

Mezzanine, row J next Wednesday evening, 11/7.  My matinee performance that day will be King Kong.  Compare/contrast.  Or no room to compare, most likely.  Oy.

[thegamesiplay]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 8:40am

MadsonMelo said: "What time for the box seat at rush?"

I posted about rush on page 2 of this thread. I got there at 7:30AM and was 2nd in line.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 9:09am

Sho-Tunes-R-Us said: "Mezzanine, row J next Wednesday evening, 11/7. My matinee performance that day will be King Kong. Compare/contrast. Or no room to compare, most likely. Oy."

I have a similiar theatre day as well with my mom. Pretty Woman and The Waverly Gallery at night. Pretty woman is one of my moms favorite movies plus Elaine May is one of her favorite comedians. Figured why not 

[MarilynMonroeSmash]

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

Any mercy? I'd love a window card.

[Parade3]

Posted: 11/2/18 at 6:01pm

I tried to post this earlier on my phone, but I don't think it went through. I am new here, though I have read on and off for years. I registered last night after seeing To Kill a Mockingbird. 

I cannot agree with the high praise that has been posted on this thread for To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought the play was awful. I thought it failed in every single way - as a play, as an adaptation, in its acting, in its story. There is too much for me to cover here, but I'll start here: Atticus Finch is a nonviolent character. He classically turns the other cheek. That is Atticus Finch 101. This play takes that premise and laughs at it. In this play, Atticus Finch begins a physical altercation with Bob Ewell. The play begins in the middle of the trial. Boo Radley is practically an afterthought. Scout can't recall who actually killed Bob Ewell despite the text making that clear at the end of the novel (she definitely knows). Calpurnia, Tom, Jem, and Scout all speak with 2018 voices, not those Lee wrote for them, not those you would have found in 1930s Alabama, and certainly nothing you remember from the book. All the characters are presented as caricatures of themselves, and the play as Aaron Sorkin writes it seems like To Kill a Mockingbird fanfiction, or a book that Aaron Sorkin wished had been written but wasn't so he "fixed" it. Link Deas and Dolphus Raymond are unsuccessfully merged into one character who shares superficial traits with both and then adds in some more, new traits for bad measure. When Dill, who for some reason is from Louisiana instead of Mississippi in this version, leaves town after one summer, Scout says she never saw him again, despite the fact that this is not hinted at in the book, Lee and Capote stayed in each other's lives well into adulthood, and Scout lives in the same town as Aunt Rachel, who presumably could inform the Finches about her nephew's whereabouts. In the novel Atticus NEVER thinks he will win the trial. He may think they have a good chance on appeal, but he never thinks he will win the first trial, saying, memorably, that just because you're licked before you begin is no reason not to start. In this play, Sorkin creates an Atticus Finch who unrealistically wholly believes he will win the trial on the first go-round. If any of these ideas are from Watchman, I have blocked that first draft of a novel that was never intended to act as a sequel or serve as 'canon' from my mind, having read it once and then never again. That draft (not novel or book) should have no impact or influence on a dramatic adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's not related, it's a first draft. The "win" in the novel at the trial is the fact that the jury takes the whole day to decide Tom is guilty; in the play, Atticus says it took just 37 minutes. I could go on. 

Sorkin, Sher, Rudin, and I'll throw in Daniels here, too, have a lot to be ashamed of here. They gut Lee's work, Sorkin replaces Lee's own fine sense of storytelling (and humor) with his own version, telling a story he wishes was true. 

The fractured way the play is told never captures the vigenette style Lee employs in the first half of her novel. The actors (particularly all the 'children,' Calpurnia, and, of course, Jeff Daniels as a parody of Atticus Finch) are smug and sanctimonius in their roles. I felt preached to all night long. The genius of Lee's novel is imparting heavy truths in ways children can understand. Instead I felt like a finger was wagging in my face all night. 

No merchandise. Thank God. I would have bought it as I walked in and trashed it on my way out. I don't understand the adulation seen thus far on this thread for this play, nor the comparisons to The Ferryman, which is a finely structured and acted play, and which I loved last week when I saw it. To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite novel. It is an American classic. It is relevant today in its original form. I am sorry for the myopia that prevented Sorkin, et. al., from seeing that. 

I waited 25 years or thereabouts from my first reading of TKaM as a child for it to come to Broadway. My disappointment is profound. I hope to see it honorably adapted within my lifetime.