The Public's THE VISITOR - Previews

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 9:56am

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/the-visitor/

Newman TheaterOctober 14 - November 28, 2021

World Premiere Musical
THE VISITOR
Music by Tom Kitt
Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Book by Kwame Kwei-Armah & Brian Yorkey
Choreography by Lorin Latarro
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Based on the Groundswell Productions and Participant Media motion picture written by Thomas McCarthy

With heart, humor, and lush new songs, Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning team Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and Kwame Kwei-Armah bring their soul-stirring new musical based on the acclaimed independent film, THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy, to The Public for its World Premiere. Widowed and living alone, Walter is a college professor whose life has lost a sense of purpose. When Tarek, a vivacious drummer, and Zainab, an iron-willed jewelry maker, enter his life in the most unexpected circumstances, Walter is swept up into their struggle to stay in an America that they have made their home, but seeks to cast them out. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan directs this unforgettable new musical about friends and lovers caught between two worlds.

[DCDrama2]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 10:10am

I'm very excited to hear how this is. It looks beautiful from what I've seen so far.

[Samanthacq]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 2:18pm

Just got a email from the pubic saying the performance tomorrow (and tonight) is cancelled. They were still not able to complete the rehearsal even after proposing it once...
 

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 02:18 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 3:26pm

What the heck is going on over there at the Public? Isn't this a small chamber piece? Previews are the time to make changes, and the authors had an entire year and a half break to revise the show.

It's not like the Public doesn't know how to produce a new musical...unless the issue (as I have surmised before) is Dan Sullivan, who has directed very few musicals.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 3:34pm

either incredibly unprofessional or omen of a dumpster fire. 

[Soozie]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 4:00pm

I cannot speak to this show specifically, but am responding to this comment:

"authors had an entire year and a half break to revise the show."

During the pandemic, creatives did have time to revise a show (any show). That is not the same as the revision process once you get the cast in a room, which only resumed fairly recently for most productions. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 4:14pm

You're correct that it's not the same, but they had also had workshops and readings prior to the Public engagement. It's not like this was the first time it's being heard out loud.

[steven22]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 4:15pm

I'm very excited for this show and can't was it to hear reactions from the first few performance this week!

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 4:21pm

Whatever the reason may be for the cancelled performances, I wish everyone well. Opening a play can be challenge, especially under COVID circumstances. I trust they're doing what is best for the production and for their well-being.

[Soozie]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 6:52pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "You're correct that it's not the same, but they had also had workshops and readings prior to the Public engagement. It's not like this was the first time it's being heard out loud."

Again, I am not speaking of knowledge of this particular production, but workshops and readings likely happened before the pandemic.  Then, revisions are often made AFTER the workshops and readings (in this case, during the pandemic), and so the latest version will have only been tried with actors on stage for a fairly short while as things only recently opened up to being able to do that in person. 

 

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 06:52 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 8:10pm

Goddamn, Ive had to change dates like 3 times. They had SO MUCH TIME to perfect this during 18 months of shut down. What is going on?

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 9:37pm

Sutton Ross said: "Goddamn, Ive had to change dates like 3 times. They had SO MUCH TIME to perfect this during 18 months of shut down. What is going on?"

Yes, as we all know, arts workers were so well taken care of during the pandemic. Everyone’s pockets were overflowing, there mental health was extraordinary, and they were all able to really gather in big groups and really workshop and perfect the material.


Art isn’t easy. We are living in unprecedented times. Try not to act so entitled. Please. People are doing the best they can. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 10:08pm

Sutton Ross said: "Goddamn, Ive had to change dates like 3 times. They had SO MUCH TIME to perfect this during 18 months of shut down. What is going on?"

Seriously?  Just…clueless?  Words. Fail. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 11:48pm

Yes, as we all know, arts workers were so well taken care of during the pandemic. Everyone’s pockets were overflowing, there mental health was extraordinary, and they were all able to really gather in big groups and really workshop and perfect the material. Art isn’t easy. We are living in unprecedented times. Try not to act so entitled. Please. People are doing the best they can."

 I'm a donor, other people have had similar comments and they had 18 months to rewrite and allll that over Zoom. So, nope it's not cool, but that's just me. And it's okay to feel disappointed. Feel free to have a different opinion. Thanks.
 

Updated On: 10/15/21 at 11:48 PM

[2]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 7:06pm

Ari’el Stachel is not in the show tonight.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 7:14pm

2 said: "Ari’el Stachel is not in the show tonight."

Oh wow...at the risk of jumping to conclusions from circumstantial evidence, do we think it's likely that this has to do with the most recent round of delays? And how much might that have to do with what we know led to the first round of delays? 

I hesitate to speculate any further, because I don't want to inadvertently contribute to any unsubstantiated rumors. But it's a bit strange. 

In any case, whatever is going on, I do hope everything works out in the end. 

[mattmarkowski99]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 10:23pm

A lot seems to be going on over at the Public. Someone who was at the performance tonight tweeted that Brian Yorkey is only mentioned on the title page and isn't given a bio or reference in Oskar's note even though he mentions "Kwame, Tom, and Dan."

https://twitter.com/YoniWeissNYC/status/1449506516759949313

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 10:25pm

Another weird detail I noticed: Brian Yorkey does not have a bio in the Playbill. He is billed as lyricist and co-librettist, though there was a note in the Playbill written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, billed as book(writer), not co-bookwriter. I saw Tom Kitt in the audience, but there was no sign of Yorkey. I may be ready by way too much into this, but it feels like a pretty major oversight to be omitted from the bios. 🤷‍♀️

[mattmarkowski99]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 10:26pm

ahhrealmonsters said: "Another weird detail I noticed: Brian Yorkey does not have a bio in the Playbill. He is billed as lyricist and co-librettist, though there was a note in the Playbill written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, billed as book(writer), not co-bookwriter. I saw Tom Kitt in the audience, but there was no sign of Yorkey. I may be ready by way too much into this, but it feels like a pretty major oversight to be omitted from the bios. ?‍♀️"

What did you think of the show? (If you attended)

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 12:14am

I was at the show tonight.

As already reported, Ari Stachel did not perform. I am assuming that was why the extra 2-day delay. To get the understudy ready to perform? But I'm just assuming that. Since the first delay was reported by Playbill to be because Stachel and other cast members were unhappy with certain aspects of how the production was being handled, I wonder if Stachel has left the show for good? (to be clear, I have no additional information on the subject, just stupid speculation on my part)

Any way, the show was OK, IMO.

I do agree that the show kinda weakens itself by centering this important topic on the one white character, and spending the majority of the time on him.  Personally, I think the story and message would benefit a lot more from giving some of the other characters more specificity and backstory. 

With that said, David Hyde Pearce does a great job with the role.  He is given an 11:00 number (maybe called something about Fallen Angels?) that is quite moving and performed clearly very heartfelt from Pearce's soul.

I am a huge Next to Normal fan, but I was kinda disappointed in this Kitt/Yorkey score.  Kinda unspecific I thought. Generic post-2000 musical theatre. And I thought the subject matter deserved more. Some of the individual numbers are quite effective, but as a whole, the score doesn't take me on the journey I would have liked.

I don't exactly know how to verbalize my feelings on this matter, but I kinda felt like this story and this crisis we are in as a country, are very high-stakes...but some times, the music lowered the stakes rather than raising them.  Does that make sense?

Some of the movement is great. The ensemble is fantastic. And it does feel like it's coming from a very honest place of trying to move us all forward in this area as an American society.  So kudos for that.  Unfortunately, it didn't seem to know what can/should be done, so for me, it kind of just sits there at the end.  Which i guess could maybe be the point???

Over all, I think it's worth seeing, if for no other reason, then for the discussion you will probably want to have afterward.

Oh, loved seeing Jacqueline Anteramian. What an icon.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 12:32am

MrJNLong said: "I am a huge Next to Normal fan, but I was kinda disappointed in this Kitt/Yorkey score. Kindaunspecific I thought. Generic post-2000 musical theatre." 

 

I haven't heard a single note of the Visitor score, but the way you just described it is exactly how I've described all of Tom Kitt's post-Next to Normal work. Sadly, he's proven so far to be a one-hit wonder. Though the snippets of Flying Over Sunset music have been somewhat encouraging. I'm really crossing my fingers that his Flying Over Sunset score is different, because right now I'm utterly baffled that people continue to hire him when he's spent 10+ years writing the most boring music imaginable. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 3:28am

Agreed, J Broadway. But I feel like DEH is also just bland musical theater, they just maybe found some better melodies. 

How was the design/direction? Anything interesting? 

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 9:33am

I'm sending good vibes and thoughts to everyone involved with this production.  Certainly sounds like something is up and it is a complete bummer that after restrictions, lockdowns and so much uncertainty in our wolrd that the Artists involved in this production seem to be having a bit of an issue.

So looking forward to seeing this next month

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 10:30am

Updated On: 10/17/21 at 10:30 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/17/21 at 12:13pm

The narrative in the film revolves around the white-savior cliche.

They should have known this is already not a product for our time, yet here we are.