The River Previews

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 4:18am

Previews for The River start tonight. Is anyone going?

Seeing this next Thursday, so hoping for good word!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:31am

I'll be there tonight.

It got some great reviews in London; here's to hoping the magic transferred with it on the trip across the pond.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:39am

But surely, at 85 minutes, it's not enough theater, no matter how good it is.

Just keep that in mind.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:52am

Ha, for you Growl, I will.

I will also make sure to include a cost-benefit analysis of each minute based on the price of my ticket, which is sadly the most I've ever paid to see a Broadway show.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 9:04am

I'm going tonight, too. Like Carrie Pipperidge, I hope I acclimate to the aroma of gutted raw fish. Such are the perils of being both a Jackman and Butterworth fan.

[IanMorton1]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 6:26pm

Sounds fishy

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 6:28pm

They should be getting out soon, no? Where are the reviews?!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 6:29pm

The performance doesn't even start for another 90 minutes.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 7:57pm

I got a Riverbank seat for tomorrow! Can't wait to read tonight's reviews.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 7:59pm

Still nothing, this isn't a good sign...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:11pm

To Whiz

You will not be able to justify buying the ticket in the long run. I will not see this and somehow I will survive.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:13pm

Anyone can hate any and every show, and somehow everyone will survive.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:16pm

I do not hate it. I simply have no interest in it.

Updated On: 10/31/14 at 08:16 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 8:42pm

Having no interest in something doesn't make a person superior.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 9:00pm

Very interested in reading what everyone thought of tonight's show. Still trying to decide if I should see this show or not.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:03pm

I'm back from tonight's performance and the play is a bit of a mind fvck. I feel like it didn't even fully hit me until I was walking home; my brain still processing the piece, as the surreal world Butterworth created collided with the melange of costumes roaming down 9th Ave.

It's hard to discuss the text without spoilers, so I'll comment on the physical production and the acting first. The stage is set up not fully in the round, but more like Lady Day/Spelling Bee. Jackman's Cabin juts out into the center of the theater like a runway. Lanterns and candles are lit in the cabin, but the audience is kept in such a darkness creating both an immediate intimacy with the characters and stark sense of isolation.

The characters are simply called The Man, The Woman and The Other Woman. Cush Jumbo was excellent as The Woman, finding lots of humor in the first half and shifting to the more dramatic material in the later portions quite well. Laura Donnelly is the only one who transferred from the London production and was more subdued, but gave a nice scene near the end.

I've got to give it to Jackman for taking on a part like this. It's nice to see a star take a risk and originate a role, rather than show up in a safe, well-trodden revival. He's not relying on his charisma and flashy smile. He's really pushing himself and what was a fine performance tonight could grow into something great over previews. The highlight of his performance was a monologue about the first fish he ever caught.

Hugh basically never leaves the stage and each scene alternates between him and each of the women. Slight? SPOILERS ahead...




At first I thought the two women were existing in two parallel stories, but it soon became clear that they weren't. Then I thought they were each playing different women through the years at the cabin. Then I thought they were both one woman and then I was convinced they only existed in Hugh's mind by the end.

I think there's lots of room for interpretation. The play is laden with symbolism and the dialogue has lyric often eerie quality. If you're looking for a straight-forward narrative you will walk away very frustrated.

END SPOILERS



I wish I could see it again because I think a lot more could be absorbed on a second viewing. I think I'll just have to settle for reading a copy of the play, but I'm glad I saw it and I'm sure will be thinking about it all weekend.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:08pm

Any insight on the Riverbank Seating? Too close? Looking straight up, etc.?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:13pm

I wasn't in the Riverbank seating section so I can't say for sure...it seemed liked they were right up in the action, which I think would be exciting. You will occasionally have the backs of the actors turned towards you.

I was sitting in the curve of the oval with basically a straight on view on the cabin. It gave me a great stage picture, but if your goal is to be as close to the actors as possible then the Riverbank is the way to go.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:19pm

Well, cost sort of determined my choice of the riverbank. I'm right on the corner of the stage in the front row, so I guess I'll find out.

As for actor's back, so will the people who paid a lot more behind me, so that's just the nature of the staging. OK, you've confirmed that this is something worth seeing, as opposed to a ticket worth flipping, so I'm out of this thread until after I see the show in December.

Thanks for the review! Updated On: 10/31/14 at 11:19 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:25pm

Perhaps readers of Field and Stream might find something of interest in this play, since it discourses knowingly about such matters as the thrill of the catch, the use of baits and lures, and the migratory patterns of sea trout. In all likelihood, though, they would probably be happier using the exorbitant cost of a ticket to buy a sturdy new fishing rod to go with a couple of worms they could dig out of the ground for free.

Interspersed between the fishing lessons is a thoroughly moribund, gimmicky "mystery" love story, that proved not of the slightest interest. Personally, I preferred the fishing lessons. It's all portentous, pretentious, and terribly, terribly dull. Adding even further to the overall gloom is a brooding Yeats song that recurs as a mournful leitmotif throughout the proceedings. As if the play weren't doleful enough on its own.

The actors do a creditable job with the material.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:31pm

That song reminded me of some of the music in Jerusalem. I enjoyed the singing this evening- serene and peaceful, verging on hypnotic at times.

After Eight, when are you and I going to meet up and grab a drink after one of these shows?

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/31/14 at 11:37pm

^

The 12th of never. Updated On: 10/31/14 at 11:37 PM

[inception]

Posted: 11/1/14 at 12:13am

^
maybe something has a preview scheduled for February 30th?

[musicman_bwayfan]

Posted: 11/1/14 at 1:40am

Any merchandise?

[teresa2]

Posted: 11/1/14 at 8:32am

Yes. They have a hoodie, t shirts and a mug from what I saw. There might have been a magnet and key chain that I didn't see. Will update if there is more stuff.