The Trip to Bountiful Reviews

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 8:34pm

The Trip to Bountiful opens tonight at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Post the reviews here!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 8:44pm

AP is positive:
http://online.wsj.com/article/APd0e7d413a6874c5ab8412df7ade1bb09.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Hollywood Reporter is mixed to positive: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/trip-bountiful-theater-review-444832

AM NY is positive with three out of four stars: http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theater-review-the-trip-to-bountiful-3-stars-1.5128555

LA Times is mixed to positive: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-cicely-tyson-trip-to-bountiful-review-20130424,0,7640443.story

All, it should be noted, are all out raves for Tyson. Updated On: 4/23/13 at 08:44 PM

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 8:50pm

This is the play I want to see!!!!!i love Miss Tyson

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:07pm

At age 88, Cicely Tyson has taken on a part first portrayed on the stage by Lillian Gish (then just 60), in a performance in 1953 that the critic Brooks Atkinson called “a triumph of skill and spirit.” That seems exactly right for Cicely Tyson as well. Hers is a vibrant performance – very far from the arthritic old maid she portrayed in the 2011 film “The Help” – and a fresh interpretation...
New York Theater Review

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:10pm

NewYorkTheater, you do realize you're not an actual critic? Put your reviews in the regular threads like the rest of us.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:15pm

Clyde
Actually I am a critic -- a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Outer Critics Circle, and the Drama Desk, and on the Broadway League list. Whether I'm a *good* critic is for others to judge.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:19pm

Cicely Tyson is 79.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:22pm

Matt,
Not according to the New York Times, nor Wikipedia, which added this sentence to its entry on her recently: "According to United States Petition for Naturalization 248743 (William Augustine Tyson), 'Cecily' Tyson was born December 18, 1924. This date corresponds to statements made by Ms. Tyson in the media that she was in her late 80s in 2013 while starring in "The Trip to Bountiful" on Broadway."




Updated On: 4/24/13 at 09:22 PM

[bobs3]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:23pm

^^Matt, that is debatable. Surely Ms. Tyson is not the first actress to lie about her age. Lillian Gish went to her deathbed claiming she born in 1896 (she was actually born in 1893). Dorothy Loudon listed her official year of birth as 1933 (she was born in 1925). Doris Day recently celebrated her 89th birthday (she is actually 91 years old).

Updated On: 4/23/13 at 09:23 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:37pm

Cicely Tyson's age is "None of your damn business". At least that's what she told me when I asked her how the hell old she was.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:39pm

NewYorkTheater, just about every reference cites her as 79. USA Today published an interview with her and her castmates this week and headlined the article "Stage and screen veteran, at 79, returns to Broadway 30 years later in new revival of 'Trip to Bountiful.' I'm sure they checked their facts before publishing.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2013/04/21/cicely-tyson-trip-to-bountiful/2091567/

[ArtMan]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:47pm

She did a CBS Sunday Morning interview a couple of weeks back. The interviewer stated that her age was debatable but probably in the upper 80's.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:48pm

Bob,
Well, she's splendid in this role, whatever her age is.

Here's the NY Times article, dated April 12th 2013, that says she's 88 (see second paragraph)
http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/theater/cicely-tyson-at-horton-footes-home.html

[751guy]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 10:26pm

When did you ever hear of anyone, let alone an actress, not try to embrace an earlier birthdate? Maybe at this point in her life, with no more mountains to climb, Ms. Tyson is accepting her true age. Doesn't matter, this is THE performance of the season.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 10:49pm

Brantley is mixed but with a RAVE for Tyson:

"Like the current Broadway revival of Lyle Kessler’s “Orphans,” “Bountiful” often undercuts itself by broadening comic moments, especially in the early family-friction scenes in the Houston apartment. The appealing Mr. Gooding is too perky and boyish to convey the crushed spirit of Ludie, Carrie’s son. And Ms. Williams is such a knockout in Van Broughton Ramsey’s 1950s dresses and peignoirs that it’s hard to believe that Jessie Mae never found Hollywood stardom or at least a richer husband.

By the production’s end, Ms. Williams, as ravishing as she is, has some competition in the looks department. Ms. Tyson’s Carrie has blossomed into genuine beauty during her nostalgic road trip, which makes the play’s final moments considerably less sorrowful than they usually are."

http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/theater/reviews/the-trip-to-bountiful-at-the-stephen-sondheim-theater.html?ref=theater&gwh=3A38528DDBA45F73B1BA05FF241A16E9

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/23/13 at 11:34pm

NJ Newsroom is positive: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/the-trip-to-bountiful-broadway-review-cicely-tyson-glows-as-a-soul-returning-to-her-roots

Entertainment Weekly is positive, with a B+: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20693848,00.html

USA Today is positive with three out of four stars: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/04/23/broadway-review-trip-to-bountiful/2103213/

Newsday is positive: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/the-trip-to-bountiful-review-cicely-tyson-is-radiant-1.5124735

TheaterMania is positive: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/04-2013/the-trip-to-bountiful_64987.html

Time Out NY is a rave, with five out of five stars: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/the-trip-to-bountiful-1

NY Mag is mixed: http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/theater-review-the-trip-to-bountiful.html

NY Daily News is mixed, with three out of five stars: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/theater-review-trip-bountiful-article-1.1325172

Wall St. Journal is positive: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324874204578440540234119324.html

NY Post is positive, with three out of four stars: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/trip_well_worth_taking_clEZjHUIpHfkeSiHyKcXhK?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Theater Updated On: 4/23/13 at 11:34 PM

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 1:37am

very happy to see all these positive reviews, is it safe to say Tyson is a front runner for lead actress?

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 1:41am

Tyson
Shaw
Morton
Metcalf
?

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 2:20am

^ light?

[wesleystewart]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 6:42am

Reading these reviews makes me 1) want to get up there to see Tyson in it and 2) pisses me off yet AGAIN at the ridiculousness of stunt casting. If an actor who has some name recognition comes in and nails a part or has previous decent/good stage experience, great. Sign me up. But if you are putting someone on stage JUST because of the name recognition, you are screwing with the integrity of the show as a whole. It just gets to me. I know its the economic reality in which we live, but I guess I'm just an idealist when it comes to this kind of stuff.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 9:03am

Light will be featured. The last spot will go to either Bette or Holland. Hecht is a long shot.

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 10:43am

well Metcalf didn't show up at Drama League or Outer Critics so I think she may be forgotton. and yes Hecht is a way longshot.

I think it's

Cicely Tyson *
Amy Morton
Bette Midler
Holland Taylor
Fiona Shaw

I mean how can they resist Bette Midler ? and Holland and Fiona

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 10:58am

Metcalf was probably considered last year for those awards (since the show ran at the Lortel last season).

I was at the opening last night. The first act is a bit clunky, but the second act is truly beautiful. Tyson is so very moving, and I would have no problem with her taking the Tony (though, if I were being completely honest in regards to acting fire-power, the competition should really be between Morton and Metcalf).

And I'm OBSESSED with Condola Rashad. She's absolutely perfect here, and she's like 900 feet tall and I just want to be her.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 11:12am

If Cicely wins the Tony, she may or may not be the oldest winner ever, because ... "none of your damn business!"

[followspot]

Posted: 4/24/13 at 12:08pm

It doesn't really take a lot of imagination: You're a working actress (onscreen since 1951) who finally gets your big break at 48 (Sounder, 1972), so you shave 9 years off your age to be 39. Forty years later, same disparity.

How old is Cicely Tyson?

Updated On: 4/24/13 at 12:08 PM