Posted: 4/7/26 at 1:02pm
Has anyone seen The Adding Machine at The New Group?
Thoughts?
Posted: 4/7/26 at 1:14pm
I saw it last week. The acting is superb: Daphne Rubin-Vega (almost unrecognizable playing a man) goes for broke, and Sarita Choudhury is heartbreaking. The production makes nice use of the New Group's new space, and the direction is generally well paced, although it would have been tighter without an intermission.
I don't love Thomas Bradshaw's adaptation/revision of the script, which includes multiple explanatory monologues (performed by Michael Cyril Creighton, who also functions as the show's ensemble) that often blunt the sardonic message and expressionist tone of Rice's original text. I was kind of surprised, given Bradshaw's reputation as a provocative playwright, how sappy some of his additions came across. The original play is challenging and might feel alienating to a modern audience, but maybe that's also sort of the point? I kind of wish they'd just done it as written.
Still, as an opportunity to see a rare classic (even in a revised guise), with some great stage actors, it's absolutely worth it for my money.
Updated On: 4/7/26 at 01:14 PM
Posted: 4/7/26 at 1:14pm
Yes, I saw this the other night. As a lifelong Jennifer Tilly stan (am I using that right, kids?) nothing was going to keep me away from this show. I went into it actually not knowing the material at all, oddly. Somehow I’d never seen a production of it or the musical based on it. It’s a very odd show. Afterwards when Tilly came outside to see the people waiting for her, her first words were “It’s a weird one, isn’t it?” - and yes, it is. I can’t say I fully “got it” all in the moment but I haven’t stopped thinking about it and the morning after, I found myself doing a deep dive on the history and themes of the play. I was even on the treadmill reading critical analysis which is something I can’t say I’ve ever done before lol.
So with no prior exposure to it, maybe I’m not the best one to say if it was a good production of the play or not, but it’s something that has really stuck with me and made me think more than most theater I’ve seen in a while.
Oh and Tilly is the sweetest, kindest person. If you want a photo with her she has her favorite spots to take them where the light is best and will talk your ear off about anything you want to talk about. She’s a dream.
Posted: 4/7/26 at 1:31pm
I ran out and bought the Off-Broadway cast recording the day it came out and listened to it constantly for a while. I never got to see the show. And yes, just listening to it, it is a weird one! But even just listening to it, it sticks with you.
Unfortunately I won't get to see this production either. It closes before my planned trip back there which I have now scrapped due to the jump in airfares.
Jordan, have you listened to the 2008 Cast recording yet? I love it.
Updated On: 4/7/26 at 01:31 PM
Posted: 4/7/26 at 5:23pm
I’m not saying you’re outright assuming so, but to be clear, this is not the musical version of the adding machine, it is a play, no music beyond scene change music/background atmosphere. While the source material is the same, i wouldn’t assume this version will be anything like what you’re familiar with.
i personally, going in not at all familiar with the material, did not enjoy the show very much when I saw it last week. Maybe it went over my head, but I was bored most of the time. And I too wish it was without an intermission. Not that I would’ve or did walk out, I’d never do that, but the extra 15 minutes of my night back would’ve been nice.
Posted: 4/7/26 at 5:38pm
Tilly’s opening monologue is L O N G yet fascinating. I caught the pay-what-you can Sunday night performance, April 5.
It‘s a good script that I’m still thinking about several days later.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 3:31pm
"i wouldn’t assume this version will be anything like what you’re familiar with."
The musical is VERY similar to the play except for the singing, obviously. This production sounds like it deviates from the original play quite a bit more than the musical does.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 11:24pm
Boy this was BAD and the blame lay squarly at the feet of Scott Elliotts terrible production choices and direction and Thomas Bradshaws confounding script revisions.
Michael Cyril Creighton is the best, but boy why is Mr Zero being played by Daphne Ruben Vega in drag? What play is Jennifer Tilly in because it is a different one then everyone else.
This production tries to modernize the story without actually modernizing it and just pastes a bunch of Radiohead songs onto the script that has added narration for no reason.
The New Group is usually a mixed bag but boy this was confoundiing.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 11:33pm
That’s interesting to read your thoughts. Makes me want to see a “normal” production of this play even more, now.
Posted: 4/8/26 at 11:39pm
I had that thought too when they were dancing around to Creep in some of the worst dancing I have ever seen onstage
Posted: 4/9/26 at 8:34pm
BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I had that thought too when they were dancing around to Creep in some of the worst dancing I have ever seen onstage"
lol - this was the one show I let my bf dictate on our Broadway trip and he HATES Radiohead! Suffice to say I’m a massive fan so this is another win for me!
anywho
The Adding Machine has been extended by a week to 17th May (which is balls as we had tickets to the last night)
Updated On: 4/9/26 at 08:34 PM
Posted: 4/9/26 at 11:52pm
This was not great and we almost fled at intermission, but decided to stick it out...mostly because at intermission the people sitting next to us were having a very heated debate about the fact that they assumed they were coming to see the musical version which they had seen in 2008. Then they started to have a debate about whether or not Nick Offerman was in the 2008 production at the Minetta Lane. I don't remember if he was or not, I almost interrupted to suggest they look it up on the Lortel archives, but then I remembered that entire website has been revamped and is almost unusable.
Michael Cyril Creighton seems to always play the same character in everything. I enjoyed Jennifer Tilly a lot more than I thought I would.
Posted: 4/14/26 at 4:12am
The database from IOBDB is now at https://www.spectra.theater/library instead of the Lortel's website.
And yes, it shows that Nick Offermann was a replacement in the musical at Minetta Lane.
Posted: 5/10/26 at 10:15pm
Just awful. Left in the interval and then the bf went crazy in the taxi on the way back to the hotel. I blame the director
Posted: 5/10/26 at 10:44pm
I don’t know what to make of this - I actually quite liked it, but I wasn’t sure if I was watching the same show as the rest of the audience was. I thought this was a rather darkly humorous piece with plenty of absurdity to laugh at. The audience seemed very somber, and I attribute that to Sunday night as well as a missed/botched opportunity on the director’s part who perhaps set the tone a bit too dark from Creighton’s introduction.
If it’s a dark comedy, I thought it was actually quite wonderful with plenty of profound moments amongst the absurdity. The crowd seemed lost or too timid to laugh.
Or it wasn’t supposed to be comical and I’m just an asshole but I enjoyed myself either way.
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