The most disturbing theatre experience of my life--A Raisin in the Sun

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 11:47pm

Updated On: 3/30/04 at 11:47 PM

[Qfan]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:13am

he enver appeared like he was a bad actor in made and his other films but wow that audience was terrible

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:22am

*cough* (no reviews til opening night) *cough* (someone might bit your head off)

But the audience sounds horrible, they are going to have to beef up their preshow spiel about being quiet during the show and being respectful.

Updated On: 3/30/04 at 12:22 AM

[Al Dente]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 1:28am

I'm glad I'm 3,000 miles away. That was a truly disheartening post. SAD!

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 1:40am

Hmm. Describe the crowd, TheatreBoy. Be more specific... "Hip hop fans"?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 1:45am

Wow, I would love to comment, but since this was only a dress I don't think it would be approriate. But...Yikes.

[zagat3]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 7:02am

What show were you at? This was not an audience of hip-hop fans or Sean Combs fanatics; the producers invited groups of COLLEGE STUDENTS to attend the final dress; they gave ALL four leads tremendous entrance applause, laughed in all the right places, and sat rapt and respectful during the entire performance. Your post smacks of both racism and condescension and smacks of the most obvious kind of Combs-bashing; there were no cell phones ringing or hollering at the stage. This audience loved the show, and was right there with it every step of the way. It was an amazingly exciting dress with a thunderous standing ovation. As for the Boy From Oz, what a foolish comparison... I won't even go there.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 7:52am

ok, im tired of causing controversy. my review is gone.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 8:15am

Theatreboy33--assuming you were telling it like it was--I think you were being attacked by a shill or 2. Granted, some feel that a show should not be reviewed before opening night, but then again, you are not a critic (this is not a media outlet), you are an audience member who was allowed to see the production, and therefore, allowed to share your opinion about what you saw--we all can take the context of its being a preopening performance in context. If you were indeed telling it like it was, please repost. =)

And, I read theatreboy's review. It was not racist in the least. He referred to the group in the audience as Sean Comb's fans. One could clearly expect that most of Sean's fans are not your average theatre goer, likely to be the same level of understanding of theatre etiquette as we all experience anytime we go to see a movie or a concert these days--cell phones, talking, etc. etc. As many student matinees as I have had to wrangle in my Education & Community Outreach days, I immediately recognized the type of audience and behavior that theatreboy33 was describing--merely young uneducated-about-theatre audience members.

Nowhere in that does it say anything of race. To assume that Sean Comb's fans are of one color and not many (as they are) is where the racism lies.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 8:20am

thank you. being labeled a racist was a true INSULT.

[lvlas0n]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 8:35am

I was also at the final dress performance. I have to come to TheatreBoy's defense and say that I had a sense that many of the members of the audience had come to see a person, and not a performance.

There is nothing surprising about this. I will confess to you that part of the thrill of getting the tickets was that I would be privileged to watch Sean "P. Diddy" Combs at his first attempt at stage acting. I went in expecting very little from Combs, and I came out even more disappointed then I had planned.

True, the audience was excited, and I too felt the tension in the air as the curtain rose. I couldn't help thinking of when P. Diddy would immerge and of the screams and applause that would likely follow. Well, the moment came, and the screams came, and eventually they died down, and eventually it came time for Combs to speak. His voice was assertive, loud enough to be heard, but lacking (as I had expected) a real connection to the actors around him. Then it came time for P. Diddy to move, and this was when things took a turn for the worse. Mr. Combs had little, if any, connection to his body. He was subject to the nervous actor habit of not knowing what to do with his hands. Watching him perform, I found myself squirming in my seat, Combs was so uncomfortable that watching him soon became painful. This must have been clear to director Kenny Leon, who made a wise decision in turning Puffy’s back to the audience and leaning him against a counter during one of the plays more challenging scenes. Truthfully, I had expected much more of a stage presence from a musical artist like Mr. Combs.

When it comes down to it, it is admirable for an artist like Sean “P. Diddy” Combs to expand his own horizons in addition to expanding the target Broadway audience, not to mention the budget of the theatrical world. However, I can not help but think of the talented actors around the world waiting tables, dreaming of the day when they can do a role like this justice on a Broadway stage. Casting Sean Combs is a slap in the face to an artistic community that needs new and undiscovered talent to thrive.

As for the audience, I agree with JRB and TheatreBoy. There were cell phones, and talking, but these things were due to a misunderstanding of theatre etiquette that will always be present whenever you invite students new to the theater experience.

I feel now that I am doing the show too much disservice. For fear of reviewing the show before opening night, the rest of my comments will be brief.

The talents of Phylicia Rashad, and Audra MacDonald illustrate the other side of the spectrum. They are clearly two trained actors, committed to their craft and to the work as a whole. MacDonald brings Combs wife to life as a woman filled with strength and hope for her family. Rashad, playing the matriarch of the family, is so invested in her performance that she makes up for what P. Diddy lacks. These fine actresses made the play as a whole an engaging revival.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 10:38am

Never be afraid to voice your opinion after viewing a preview or dress. If you were a member of the press, you would not be invited. Those who read published reviews knwo who the critics are. Anyone else is an audience member with an opinion and that is the entire purpose of previews and invited dresses. To find out what is working and what isn't. I can't stand the elitists who throw a hissy fit whenever some nobody posts about a preview performance like they're from the Times or something. If they can't tell the difference, then they need a serious reality check.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 10:53am

I'm with Matt. Good grief, this board is built on such posts! Remember, what ARE we here, if not "...word of mouth..."

And I hate seeing the review deleted because it might offend. Plenty of stuff posted here and elsewhere offends me. To censor, why, it's like ... like padlocking shut a paper in Baghdad.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 11:36am

"thank you. being labeled a racist was a true INSULT."

well, thank you...because that's how I felt a month or so ago when people here tried to pull out the racist card on me when I was expressing similar feelings as to how I thought the audiences for this particular show might be. I NEVER once labled anyone by color or religion, yet I was told I was being racist because I thought Sean Combs might attract a crowd that doesn't usually attend theatre.
It seems to me that when someone refers to another person as a racist, that accuser usually has racist feelings towards others themselves.

[musicaltheatreman]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 11:37am

where is your review???? its not up anymore!

[Al Dente]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 11:43am

There was nothing racist about your post and if Puffy was a white actor, no one would have thought your description of the audience was anything but spot on. i've seen and been in the middle of such audiences more times than I care to remember and I don't recall Puffy every being the man on stage. Most of the times I hear a cellphone ring, it's some white "society" lady or *Z* list celebrity who wants to be seen as too important to shut off their phones for even 2 hours. Sorry you felt intimidated enough to erase your post. Are we back to defending the undefendable? There are FAR more gifted and deserving actors for the role and NO, I don't have to see it to know.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 11:56am

As for posting a review of a preview, or in this case a dress rehearsal, yes they are free to post. But not all people who read this (and other boards) can discern the difference between an established critic reviewing a production and a simple a theatregoer posting an opinion, and thus may write this show off as a flop even before it opens. Unfortunately, many people think that if they read it, it is true. So I am of the opinion that until a show has “opened” we should refrain from posting our detailed reviews. These shows have a lot at stake and the Internet has more power than we sometimes remember. So PM your opinions, and let them work out the problems in the previews before we call the Drama Police on them.

Don’t forget, Matt and Auggie, not everyone is a smart as we are.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:04pm

MisterMatt I love your new signature!

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:04pm

Regarding the posting of opinions before opening is a good debate. I just want to point out that even opinions expressed after opening are sometimes that of a pre-opening performance. I guess the idea is that after opening night there will be a larger array of opinions to draw from? Makes sense.

And, I just want to make sure that people realize that the terms "hip hop", "urban", "thug", even "ghetto" etc. are inclusive of all races these days referring to a style and persona that has nothing to do with race. Maybe this is less true outside NYC, but please understand the difference.

[zagat3]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:11pm

Perhaps calling someone racist is very provocative, so I apologize. But more provocative were the comments made in the now missing post, which prompted my response. They were misleading, mean spirited, and did not AT ALL represent the audience I sat with last night. I heard one cell phone ring before it was quickly shut off, I did not see one flashbulb go off, and I did not hear any inappropriate talking during the show. RAISIN has always incited audience response -- it asks its audience to connect deeply with its characters and react strongly to the choices they make. That's what I heard and saw last night -- I had the polar opposite experience as Theaterboy -- it for me was thrilling to watch that show with an audience full of college students -- who, by the way, TB described as an audience of hip-hop P Diddy fans who behaved inappropriately. It just didn't happen that way. That audience was with that show from start to finish and gave it a thunderous standing ovation. It seemed incredibly sour to start spreading rumors. But I guess that is what this board is for.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:14pm

How much ARE you being paid for these posts, zagat3??

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:25pm

No, zagat3, this board is not for “spreading rumors”, it is about discussing theatre with people we have gotten acquainted with over a period of time. For you to join this board today and attack someone’s opinion and then slam the whole board for being gossipmongers is as much of an insult to me as labeling someone racist who clearly did not have that intent. I hope RAISIN will be a success, as I do with all shows. There is no need for the likes of you shills to come on here and promote something that needs very little publicity. I would be careful of pissing off a lot of the posters who have actually taken the time to get to know the people here before they start slamming them. Sometimes you all do your shows more harm than good.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:36pm

i for one have had it just about up to here with these shrills (not a mispelling but if you don't get it read your bww.com history) coming in here, acting as if we're too dumb to see through their patently pathetic posts. everytime a new freakin' show gets close we have a whole new batch of company management interns who are too stupid to realize that their over the top spewing does more harm than good to their shows in the eyes of the denizens of the message baords. but i guess it's just a fact of life on broadway message boards. regardless, zagat, to quite taboo, "i see through you!" now run back to the other site and see if they'll put up with you there.

[robbiej]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 1:01pm

Speaking of shill:

Last night I started rehearsals for PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE. It will be fabulous. Come see it!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 1:21pm

now there in robbie's post we have an excellent example of the difference between a shrill and a shill. 'course it's robbie so he can get away with more than most.