The Public Theater's Brothers Size/ Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet

Saw it tonight and was blown away. Anyone else check it out?

I guess I'm confused on how it all works. Do you need to see part 1 before part 2? And it's two shows, correct?

Sauja,

I guess I agree with you on the interconnectedness of the pieces, but the first into the second play is the same way. The sense I got, perhaps incorrectly, from reading it was that the play is one play. That the characters we see in one stage of life has changed in the next piece. Some die, some vanish, but they're all connected.

I though the older brother was mesmerizing. Younger bro I could have taken or not... The actor who played Marcus was definitely charismatic... I loved the older women, though... Especially the psychic.

The inventiveness of the staging was very impressive. Very.

I agree. I actually saw the Artistic Director there, taking notes. I'm sure it will go over well..

I saw this last night and was also blown away. I felt like I was witnessing the debut of a great new writer -- one who will win many prizes for his plays in the years to come.

THE BROTHERS SIZE is definitely the more developed of the two plays but I enjoyed both parts. However, it was the heartbreaking story of those two brothers that left me devastated. The acting, especially by the actor playing Ogun Size, the older brother, was fantastic. The older women in the second piece are wonderful as the previous poster said. It was fun to see the characters age in the second play. I loved how they handled the rhythms of the language and the way people in the Delta speak. There's a musicality to their vernacular.

The marketing materials say that you don't need to see the two evenings in order, but I wish I had waited to do exactly that because I enjoyed watching the progression of the characters lives. It's really strange that they would start with Part 2 rather than Part 1. Not sure why that choice was made.

But I agree - GO. TDF has tickets as does Goldstar (1/2 price so it's a great deal.)

They also have rush tickets for $20 an hour before showtime. I saw Part 1, In the Red and Brown Water, over the weekend. If anything, I was even more impressed by it than I was by Part 2. Tina Landau's exceptional direction highlighted the musicality of the piece and also struck a balance between realism and fantasy that I thought benefited the piece tremendously. Where Part 2 was grounded in a more relatively naturalistic style, Water is allowed to be a bit more magical in presentation which I found benefited the already fantastic material.

During intermission, I already found myself wanting to go back to the other plays to see how all of the pieces and characters fit together. Truly, this play stands entirely on its own, but the characters are all living in one community. Some overlap from play to play; some don't. I'm curious what the experience of seeing them in the reverse order would do to the experience. I imagine it works tremendously either way because the layers are so delicately intertwined.

Regardless, I loved The Brothers Size and liked Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet. In the Red and Brown Water, whether because of its own greatness or because it contributed to the cumulative effect of the whole piece, completely dazzled. These are great plays.

Just a side note: WOSQ, you mentioned the Pulitzer. I wonder if any of the plays are actually eligible, though, as I think they've all been seen before. I actually don't know if those were workshops (or what makes something eligible for the Pulitzer), but I'd be curious if anyone happens to know.

so the show opens tonight? any bets on the reviews?

Fantastic review! Thanks for posting. I agree. Love these plays and I hope they extend or move. I do believe he will be on the short list for the Pulitzer.

IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER is about 1:45 with one intermission.

I can't remember exactly but THE BROTHERS SIZE & MARCUS are around 2:30 with one intermission.