I rushed this Sunday afternoon and I certainly didn't hate it, but maybe I went in with low expectations after reading the comments here.
I totally agree with the shifts of mood being totally wrong. The Boeing-Boeing farce scene in act two was so out of place. When Groff slowly edged the shrink couch while underneath it, I could help but roll my eyes.
I was interested in the story, although I may not have actually felt for the characters. I can never say that I was bored, or confused for that matter. You did have to pay attention to the connections, but I followed it all well enough.
The first act was just so much exposition. Lucas took Officer Lockstock's advice and didn't give too much exposition at once; he took a full hour to set the scene. Then instead of diving into the flashbacks and advancing the story we were subjected to the second act farce section. The third act got back on track a little bit, but then everything ended so quickly and the storylines were wrapped up in nice little bows by the end. All these crazy people were all "ok."
I agree with WBaF...there's a lot of promise here, but it needs some work.
I did enjoy the acting, especially Olympia. I actually thought she was wonderful and really built a nice character. Groff was good too, and made you feel for his character the most out of the bunch.
After seeing this and Prayer For My Enemy, I feel like Lucas has a lot he wants to say, even a lot of thoughtful stuff he wants to say. I'm just having trouble connecting with his style 100%. I'm in no way ready to give up on him though, and would rather see a play like this trying to say something different than some other generic piece of crap.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!