The Public Theater - Ethan Lipton’s “The Seat of Our Pants”- Page 2

[No Leg Room]

Posted: 10/27/25 at 11:59am

No way this would be a financial disaster if moved uptown.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 10/27/25 at 12:25pm

chrishuyen said: "I'm curious why you don't think it would fit a traditional space, since I didn't really think there was anything to be gained by having audience on both sides of the stage. A smaller venue might benefit it, and CITS would provide the intimacy, but it's a large cast and it would hard to justify the Broadway costs in a small venue. I suppose the main question would be what to do with the band, but I think they could still have a similar set up in a proscenium house."

It’s a large cast and an epic story, but it’s ultimately a pretty small show. Even the band doesn’t sound big; it sounds varied. If anything, the musical adaptation shrinks the play down and brings us closer to the family at its center. I think it comes down to intimacy and the ability to really look at the actors on stage.

The recent revival at the Beaumont felt appropriately big - the performances were huge and so everything was huge. By comparison, Lipton’s adaptation feels like a chamber piece exploding at the seams with other people trying to break through, and so the smaller scale and closeness feels right.

To be fair, I don’t think the audience on stage was played to enough, and therefore wondered about the effectiveness of it (I sat on the main side). So maybe there would be something gained by having more space to work with - who knows. I found Fun Home kind of meh in the Newman and revelatory at Circle in the Square, so perhaps I’m also just associating that memory.

Updated On: 10/27/25 at 12:25 PM

[inception]

Posted: 10/27/25 at 12:52pm

I think that basing predictions on the third preview of the first tyout of anything wouldn't exactly be fair.

Let's see how it is in a month.

I had reservations about how this would work as a musical, and I know the play.  I finally bought a ticket based on the cast. I'm not seeing it for another month.

In the meantime I would suggest that people unfamiliar with the original play read it.  It's an important work in the American theater/Broadway canon. 

[round2]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 10:37am

inception said: "It's sort of Our Town on poppers."

Can see this quote on a sign hanging below the marquee!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/28/25 at 10:41am

A handful of performances are on TDF.