The Return of Small Mouth Sounds

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 7/10/16 at 7:53pm

Hi all, 

I am fascinated by the idea of this play but haven't heard much about it aside from critics reviews and the reviews on Show-Score which haven't given me much aside from that there is "very little dialogue and some male nudity." 

Can anyone tell me more about this show? Should I see it? Thanks! 

[thomaspaine]

Posted: 7/10/16 at 8:00pm

It's really lovely. It's not entirely silent--there is a little dialogue at the start and end of the retreat and the yoga teacher delivers sermons via intercom. I found it easy to follow the story from the actors' impressive facial and body language, and I believe it's most of the original cast. Not sure if they kept the same long hallway-ish staging with the audience on either side, but I felt it was a great way to observe a little bit of all the plot lines going on at once. It's definitely a bit more challenging than your usual show, but I loved it.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 7/10/16 at 10:00pm

Don't do it - for just about all performances starting next week (for the next 8 weeks), just about every seat is still unsold.  Also, part of the show has the "stage" at the very far left, so if you're in the right section, you're looking about 40 seats over and will get a VERY stiff neck-ache.  The seats are not the normal comfortable seats that Signature uses, rather folding chairs that are very uncomfortable and are literally TIED next to each other.  So if you want to move your chair over, you'd have to bring scissors to cut the band they used to tie the seats to each other.  You'll end up with a neckache and a very tight squeeze next to your neighbor. This is a show that started out with $10 tickets at an off-off-Broadway theater and now they have the nerve to charge up to $99 for it.

I'm quite curious how show-score has tons and tons of positive reviews, when just about every performance for the next 8 weeks is completely unsold.  Just who ARE these people who all just happened to post reviews for the show in the past week?

It's not worth sitting in these seats for over 2 hours straight (no intermission) just to see the naked guy prance up and down the aisle fully nude. It's a very slow-moving show.  It's fine to charge $10, but this is definitely not worth $99.

Also, I'm willing to bet there will be 20 or 30 posts below mine stating "wow, this is the greatest show there ever is", all posted by people who joined Broadwayworld in 2016. 

Updated On: 7/10/16 at 10:00 PM

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/10/16 at 10:30pm

I haven't seen the show, but I do participate in Show Score. They sometimes offer comps or reduced price seats to people who score shows. I'm guessing that is how so many reviews are available if seats don't appear to be sold.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 2:46am

DOes this offer a rush? 

[HBBrock]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 6:41am

I was there last night, and minus a couple singles, it was just about sold out and received a standing ovation. 

I joined BWW long before 2016.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 9:06am

Thanks for the reports!

Can anyone share any insight on the seating? Where is best to sit? Does it matter which side you're on? 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 9:22am

If it's selling so poorly, why isn't it on TDF? Am I missing something?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 9:43am

neonlightsxo said: "If it's selling so poorly, why isn't it on TDF? Am I missing something?"

I can't say why it is not on TDF although obviously a producer might have reasons, but what I can say is that Theater3232's premise (" just about every seat is still unsold" is demonstrably incorrect. I did not find the show slow moving at all; it is a show that asks more of its audience that some homogenized drivel, but I found it very rewarding. All 3232 seems interested in is the extraneous-ticket price, comfort and the like. And finally, how lame is it to suggest that any positive comments on the show are from newbies. Whether that's intended to suggest they are somehow unsophisticated or that they are shills, I'll add my "wow" as someone who is not a recent arrival to these shores. Pre-condescending to people who disagree with you is contemptible. 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 9:48am

I am in the minority here, I think, but I did not care for this play when I saw it at Ars Nova. The "gimmick" of having characters put into a situation where they can't speak is undermined by predictable sitcom-ish plotting- and also having characters gesture, mouth words, and mime so effusively the fact they aren't verbally communicating is totally meaningless. It also ends on a totally unbelievable plot turn for one of the characters.

[gimlet2]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 11:01am

RippedMan said: "DOes this offer a rush? 

"

I did the TodayTix rush for $35 (includes $5 fee) on Saturday and it was a full house except for 2 seats. As stated above, there's a raised stage area to the left (east?) and the performance area is a lane running left-right (E-W). The seats are set up like bleachers on either side of the lane; I think the best seats are in the middle, 2nd or 3rd row. If you have to be on the ends, I think the left would be more preferred (lower numbered seats). My rush seat was all the way to the right/west but I didn't have any problems seeing as the people around me were kinda short and I have questionable posture.

I am a newbie (only started going to shows in volume a couple of years ago) so maybe I'm not qualified to say whether it's good/bad but I had a decent-pretty good time. The long silences reminded me of John with more action/plot and more obvious humor.

Tangent: Speaking of John, is there a proper term for the "theatre titter" and why does it happen? To a newcomer (me) there's an awful lot of laughing or chuckling at shows for no obvious reason. It's more noticeable but not limited to quieter shows so it may be more than simply filling the void; e.g. people were laughing after just about every line of Little Shop of Horrors at NYCC. This doesn't seem to happen as much for other media in similar settings, like movies or concerts.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 12:46pm

I'm also in the camp that thought this was pretty blah. Granted, I was on the verge of peeing my pants for about 50% of the show and hated that I had to walk directly into the action to bolt to the bathroom in the last 2 minutes, but still. Agree with Kad's sentiments exactly. Not the play it advertises itself to be, nothing special, and ends with an incredibly contrived character revelation.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 1:55pm

If you have to crane your neck to look 40 seats over to the "stage" on the far side and get a major neckache, they don't care about your neckache.

If your neighbor weighs more than 140 lbs, and you want to move your seat over, you can't, since they tied the folding chairs together and they don't care about your comfort.

And if you need to use the restroom since the show is over 2 hours long with no intermission, they won't let you back in, as there is "no reseating".  They don't care again.

Also, the seats are on risers that are very awkward to get to.  If you're on the far side, you may have to climb over 15 or 20 people in your (very narrow) row.  I can only imagine someone falling down one of the risers.  This is a major lawsuit waiting to happen.

This is a major example of what NOT to do when you're doing a theater show. 

Updated On: 7/11/16 at 01:55 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/11/16 at 2:15pm

@Theater3232 Respectfully, it sounds like you didn't have a good time and you're angry. We've all been there. This is a summer rental and maybe they could have made some better choices but had you liked the show I don't think we'd be hearing about what would happen if people tripped on the riser steps. P.S. The show is under 2 hours (long without an intermission, yes, but the hyperbole does not help your cause).

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/12/16 at 11:49pm

I saw this tonight. I think it's a lovely piece, with some hilarious moments, as well as some touching ones. It reminded me of Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation. Excellent direction and acting. I can see how not everyone would enjoy a show like this, but I liked it a lot. 

The problem is, my seat was terrible. If you can, avoid the "mezzanine" at all costs. The fact that they're selling those seats for full price is ludicrous. You can't see the stage at all unless you lean forward all the way. They have a bar that you can lean on, but it gets very tiring to spend the whole should like that, especially when you have to crane your neck to see something on the far end of the stage. Additionally, there is very little legroom, especially since you'll probably want to move the chair forward to get a better view. Lucky for me, I got the seat heavily discounted, and I'm young and spry, so my body was able to handle the strain of leaning forward with no leg room for 110 minutes. 

Actually, the fact that I was able to enjoy myself at all from that seat speaks volumes about how much a liked the show! 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/13/16 at 7:07am

3232 -- they are required to link the seats together for safety reasons.  You can't move a traditional theater seat over either.

 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/13/16 at 10:56am

JBroadway said: "I saw this tonight. I think it's a lovely piece, with some hilarious moments, as well as some touching ones. It reminded me of Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation. Excellent direction and acting. I can see how not everyone would enjoy a show like this, but I liked it a lot. 

The problem is, my seat was terrible. If you can, avoid the "mezzanine" at all costs. The fact that they're selling those seats for full price is ludicrous. You can't see the stage at all unless you lean forward all the way. They have a bar that you can lean on, but it gets very tiring to spend the whole should like that, especially when you have to crane your neck to see something on the far end of the stage. Additionally, there is very little legroom, especially since you'll probably want to move the chair forward to get a better view. Lucky for me, I got the seat heavily discounted, and I'm young and spry, so my body was able to handle the strain of leaning forward with no leg room for 110 minutes. 

Actually, the fact that I was able to enjoy myself at all from that seat speaks volumes about how much a liked the show! "

Keen observation about CMT. This is not the first time the mezz in that space has been criticized. Terrible design by the architects-I hope this was not a contribution of Gehry, although starchitects often don't do well beyond the big picture. My guess is that some theatre architect was engaged to design this space, however.

[cynthiastarlight]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 4:32pm

It is on TDF. 

[DressedInYourPajamas]

Posted: 8/10/16 at 6:24am

Saw this last night and thought it was just wonderful. Such an interesting piece with some fantastic performances (especially from Marcia Dubonis and Max Baker) but really the whole cast was just great. Can't wait to see more from Bess Wohl. See this if you can. It's been on TDF quite a bit. 

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 9/12/16 at 2:14pm

Review of SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS on HyperAllergic.com

~AndrewAndrew 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/18/16 at 5:38pm

Saw it last night and really liked it. BEST show of the 3 I saw yesterday. 

The seats were attached to each other, which is a safety regulation....at least it is in MA!  I was not uncomfortable at all.  Yes seeing is a bit odd, and only had problems when the man next to me would lean forward.

It's advertised as 100 minutes but ran close to 2 hours...there would only a few times it felt long to me.The 5pm show was sold out.

 

I'd recommend it!!

[mcsquared]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 11:07pm

Theater3232 said: "
It's not worth sitting in these seats for over 2 hours straight (no intermission) just to see the naked guy prance up and down the aisle fully nude. 

"

Yikes--hadn't read this anywhere else. So should probably avoid if we would find this offensive?

[Andy51]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 2:14am

mcsquared said: "Theater3232 said: "
It's not worth sitting in these seats for over 2 hours straight (no intermission) just to see the naked guy prance up and down the aisle fully nude. 

"

Yikes--hadn't read this anywhere else. So should probably avoid if we would find this offensive?

When I saw the play there was a family with an approx. 10 yr. old girl in attendance.  The actor's privates were flapping around within a couple of feet of her.  Unless it was a family of nudists, I thought it might not have been such a good idea to take her (and I'm pretty sure I saw the usher giving them a warning about nudity prior to the start).

 

 

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 7:02am

I finally saw the show on Saturday, and was really taken with it. The ensemble acting is superb, even with two recent cast replacements (Gibson Frazier has replaced Brad Heberlee and Jessica Almasy has replaced Zoe Winters) and an understudy (Carmen Zilles was on for Quincy Tyler Bernstine). The concept and production worked for me, and it was fascinating to watch the actors express complex emotions largely without words.

There was a pre-teen girl seated in the row in front of me. She and her family seemed largely nonplussed by the nudity. It's 2016; kids that age have seen it all already.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 8:22am

I had two ten year old boys next to me when I saw it, no parents in sight -- which I thought was odd.  They got a little antsy at a few parts, but nothing terrible.   They were not sure what to make of the nudity.  At all.

 

(Turns out their adults had seats in another section.)