Posted: 10/17/21 at 12:13pm
Posted: 10/17/21 at 12:17pm
I sincerely hope Ari'el is still involved with this. I remember his beautiful Oscar speech and how important his heritage was to him. He asked that his accent be removed for this show which did happen, I just sincerely hope nothing else occured to have him leave the show he's worked for years on at this point.
"And while the artist isn’t purposefully politicizing his work, he knows that’s how it will be received. “In this environment, it is going to be a rather political statement to see my brown body on stage as a Syrian character who is undocumented but also American just like everyone else.”
Source
Posted: 10/18/21 at 10:52am
Any more word on the Brian Yorkey and Ari'el situation?
This is why we need Michael Riedel (or equivalent)!
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:29pm
Sutton Ross said: "I sincerely hope Ari'el is still involved with this. I remember his beautiful Oscar speech and how important his heritage was to him. He asked that his accent be removed for this show which did happen, I just sincerely hope nothing else occured to have him leave the show he's worked for years on at this point.
Oscar speech? Did he really win an Oscar and I missed it?? LOLZZ
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:35pm
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:47pm
The show page is saying "general error" when you click on it on the Public's website. I sense an announcement coming.
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:51pm
The Distinctive Baritone said: "The show page is saying "general error" when you click on it on the Public's website. I sense an announcement coming."
The show page still opens for me and nothing seems to have changed yet.
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:52pm
Posted: 10/18/21 at 1:56pm
It was offline for a bit, so I'm guessing they were just changing the matinees in the system to 1:00 p.m.
Posted: 10/18/21 at 7:15pm
Does anyone who has seen it know the running time? I’m seeing it on Thursday, and I’m wondering if the change in the matinee time means it’s running long.
Posted: 10/18/21 at 10:12pm
Harriet Craig said: "Does anyone who has seen it know the running time? I’m seeing it on Thursday, and I’m wondering if the change in the matinee time means it’s running long."
2 hours, including a 15 minute intermission. Show started about 10 minutes late. It was the first preview (7 pm performance), so the start time may have been delayed more- I think it ended around 9:15.
Posted: 10/18/21 at 10:21pm
Obsessed with your user name.
Can you speak to the production elements? Anything interesting happening design wise?
Posted: 10/19/21 at 11:59am
Tomorrow night's show is on TDF ($38.50) for anyone interested.
Posted: 10/19/21 at 9:36pm
So, it it safe to say that Ari'el has left the show? He's not in tonight's performance again and it appears has deleted the rehearsal photo from his social media.
Posted: 10/19/21 at 10:31pm
I wish we knew the story here. The lack of transparency is making things seem worse than they might be... and if they're worse than they seem I'd really like to know so I can avoid the show and perhaps the Public altogether.
Posted: 10/19/21 at 10:35pm
In the email I got today about The Visitor, his name was still listed in the cast.
I hope they haven't lost him. He's incredible.
Updated On: 10/19/21 at 10:35 PM
Posted: 10/19/21 at 11:44pm
gibsons2 said: "So, it it safe to say that Ari'el has left the show? He's not in tonight's performance again and it appears has deleted the rehearsal photo from his social media."
Oh wow. I just saw that he deleted that IG post too. Definitely not a good sign pointing to him still being involved.
Posted: 10/20/21 at 8:25am
Posted: 10/20/21 at 8:31am
KJisgroovy said: "I wish we knew the story here. The lack of transparency is making things seem worse than they might be... and if they're worse than they seem I'd really like to know so I can avoid the show and perhaps the Public altogether."
I think things must be pretty bad - my guess is strong creative differences that couldn't be resolved that made Ari'el feel he needed to walk out. I doubt it was anything to do with issues of capability or anything like that, he is a strong performer and as little as I know about the show probably perfect for the role.
I also guess that Brian Yorkey is having similar issues. My guess is that after the world has shifted forwards RE: attitudes towards race/representation/story telling about racial issues there are some individuals who don't think the material is right for off-broadway NYC in 2021 - causing (rightly or wrongly) chaos backstage.
Updated On: 10/20/21 at 08:31 AM
Posted: 10/20/21 at 10:15am
I saw this last night and I have to say I was really looking forward to it going in. I love Tom Kitt and David Hyde Pierce and Ari'el Stachel! Well I can't comment on Ari'el Statchel as he was still out as of last night.
But overall this is one of the worst shows I've seen in a long time and it isn't because of the talent on stage. I think by musicalizing the story we lose character development and thus any reason to care. The book feels so empty and definitely has that feeling of many Hollywood films that have gone back and been edited by the studio. You can feel 15 hands on the material. The design is also really, really ugly. Drab metal which I understand the material calls for in some scenes but not for 2 hours.
Nearly no one in the story seems actually get a real character. David Hyde Pierce is giving a lovely heartfelt performance but it feels so hard to care because we are given nothing to work with.
Ahmad Maksoud is also giving a nice performance and perhaps has the most fully developed character, but I think needed more time in act 1. He also leads some of the better songs of the show, particularly Drum Circle. I will say I appreciated Tom Kitt's score didn't sound exactly like his other shows here, he does make an effort to cover some new musical styles even if sometimes the results aren't great.
I truly didn't understand the opening of act 2 which isn't a great song and strangely references moments that the audience should have seen when these two meet! Act 2 is really where I found the real problems of this show as it whimpers to an ending that had me wondering why the show exists at all.
I feel bad for the Public as they clearly thought this was going to be a breakout hit for them but it just doesn't work. I wonder if it had been a play with music rather than a musical if it would have worked better.
Posted: 10/20/21 at 10:26am
Can we break down Brian Yorkey's weird career for a second?
– Trains at BMI and then is associate artistic director of a theatre in Issaqua, Washington.
– After the success of N2N at age 40, he was hired to show-doctor Catch Me If You Can (which flops).
– If/Then is received with a shrug, and his book/story is to blame.
– Gets replaced by John Logan as bookwriter on The Last Ship.
– Creates a buzzy, controversial Netflix series (13 Reasons Why) and now has various other screen projects in development.
– Does just the lyrics for Freaky Friday and Magic Mike; the whole writing team walks on Magic Mike.
– Starts out as sole lyricist/bookwriter on The Visitor, then they bring in Kwame Kwei-Armah as a collaborator on the book. Yorkey is allegedly gone now.
Meanwhile, Kitt writes several more shows with other lyricists/bookwriters (sometimes writing his own lyrics) and becomes the go-to music supervisor/arranger for jukebox musicals.
Updated On: 10/20/21 at 10:26 AM
Posted: 10/20/21 at 11:40am
binau said: "KJisgroovy said: "I also guess that Brian Yorkey is having similar issues. My guess is that after the world has shifted forwards RE: attitudes towards race/representation/story telling about racial issues there are some individuals who don't think the material is right for off-broadway NYC in 2021 - causing (rightly or wrongly) chaos backstage."
Brian Yorkey is the man behind 13 Reasons Why, a tv show that glorified teen suicide. I don't think he cares about any social responsibility. In the little I've interacted with him, he seems like a very difficult collaborator, not a nice person, and maybe a narcissist. I think it's more personality clashes. Has anyone noticed that (like ErmengardeStopSniveling breaks down) he doesn't really work with Tom Kitt (who is lovely, by the way) anymore?
Posted: 10/20/21 at 12:07pm
Brian Yorkey is the man behind 13 Reasons Why, a tv show that glorified teen suicide.
What a huge lie.
Anyways, they don't owe up an explanation or anything but I would like to know if he's out of the show and who will be replacing him permanently. The silence is telling.
Posted: 10/20/21 at 1:11pm
I've requested a refund. Money is very tight right now, and I'm being choosey about what I see. And honestly, I wanted to see Ari'el, and I don't appreciate the lack of transparency from The Public. So, I'll skip it.
