Thomas Kail to direct Michelle Williams, Tom Sturridge, and Bryan D'Arcy James in ANNA CHRISTIE- Page 3

[pathman2]

Posted: 11/27/25 at 10:17am

WldKingdomHM said: "Really I found her to be amazing along with Emma Stone, but she was stunning in Blackbird and deserved that Tony Award"

Tony Award for Blackbird? Nomination yes, win no (went to Jessica Lange). For me, Michelle Williams in Cabaret lacked the fun and charisma behind what makes Sally irresistible to those around her. Emma Stone nailed it though, she was an amazing Sally.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 11/27/25 at 10:27am

Williams is the actress of our generation as far as I’m concerned, and I’m sorry to hear this is awful. I was really looking forward to it.

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 11/27/25 at 2:49pm

The first preview was a very odd experience to be sure. The show felt very under rehearsed, almost like we were watching an early run through. And as others have stated; when the glass bottles started falling people thought perhaps it was a metaphor, but then when they had to stop, everyone realized that it wasn't supposed to happen. I'm not sure why the people on the payroll whose job it is to make sure things like that don't happen let that happen,  but as a rule you never put real glass on stage anywhere for that exact reason. My partner and I were fascinated by the fact that no one in the tech rehearsal process or dress rehearsal process ever thought that maybe they should do something about it. I would hate to think that last night was the first time they had the full set in place, but perhaps that was the case.
I went specifically for Brian D'arcy James, who was good but seemed a bit miscast. I wonder if he was a replacement for someone else? 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 1:14pm

Has this improved since the first preview? Any other reports?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 1:47pm

The text is very dated, it's not a great play, Thomas shouldn't direct his wife in literally anything, and the embarrassing accents were.....a choice. Everyone involved is better than this, so it was a puzzling evening. Great space as always.

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 1:56pm

I thought I posted mine from Sunday. Whoops.

I actually enjoyed it, despite the initial reviews giving me some second thoughts. It’s not mind-blowing, must-see fantastic, but it does function as a showcase for four actors to do what they do best and take a crack at a seldom-done O’Neill play, albeit one that could have benefited from adaptation and revision (it’s public domain) as opposed to a straight revival.

Williams does still look remarkably young for being 45. However, unless you missed the math in the beginning that reveals Anna is only 20, even Williams’ youthful appearance only knocks off about 10-12 years, not 25. If it were revised, though, I can’t imagine that increasing Anna’s age would be dramaturgically feasible since women in the 1920s over a certain age were expected to be married and/or were a spinster, and the fact that she’s a sex worker would make her an “old whore”. 

Sturridge has always played damaged, somewhat brutish rogues well and so I could buy him as a longshoreman in his prime (though he is 39). D’Arcy James was, reliably, excellent - he can be gruff, tender, and conflicted whenever he needs to be. The Swedish accent does muddle some of his lines, but usually you can use context to piece together what was said.

I was a bit bummed by the lack of Mare Winningham, but what I did get of her was pitch perfect. She has really cornered the “folksy/Americana” market in theatre the last few years and I look forward to her on stage at any time and the first act (which she was in mostly), she made a meal out of her interplay with Michele and Brian.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 2:59pm

Was the glass bottle thing resolved?

Frankly, it's kind of astonishing that such a choice would have made it to any public performance without having been totally secured and made safe. It's hard to believe anyone signing off on something so obviously risky. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 3:11pm

Not a glass bottle in sight aside from the ones used by the actors

[east side story]

Posted: 12/2/25 at 7:13pm

Woof. Looks like I’ve got two tickets available.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 12/4/25 at 12:39pm

When is opening night?

[pathman2]

Posted: 12/5/25 at 9:37am

Late start last night (audience had to hang out in the lobby until about 7:45) so maybe they're still changing things up. Preshow with the actors assembling the barroom set while we were taking our seats. The glass bottles are caged along the back of the space (kinda looks like the Reddit pic but with a metal fence added, did they ever actually remove the bottles?). The first half was just okay for me, but I thought the second half was excellent with the exception of:

 

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the silly busy work being inflicted on the actors. Williams, James, and Sturridge were all doing fantastic work in Act 3 (the marriage proposal/Anna's reveal) and midway through the supporting male actors enter and start moving the platforms/flooring around. And then James and Sturridge take their exits by doing trust falls onto those guys. WTF?!

 

Updated On: 12/5/25 at 09:37 AM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/5/25 at 11:56am

The glass bottles are now "fenced in" at the back wall of the set.  There seemed to be issues with the lighting cues last night, but when the lighting hit in just the right way, it created a really effective mise en scene with the bottles.

Overall, I thought this was very uneven.  Agree that the first two acts are slogs.  Act Three was by far the best of the four.  The direction is unnecessarily distracting, as mentioned above.  Kail seemed to be so focused on the flourishes surrounding the action that he ultimately neglected the meat of the play.

I really liked Tom Sturridge, although everyone around me was complaining they couldn't understand his accent.  Michelle Williams was a disappointment, I'm sad to say. Come to think of it, I've yet to be blown away by any of her stage performances to date.  I guess my favorite performance of hers was CABARET, but even then I had qualms. 

The two best performances came from Brian D'Arcy James and Mare Winningham (who has nothing to do after the first act, sadly).  D'Arcy James was transcendent, honestly.  He delivered moments that were worth the price of admission alone.  If only the rest of the proceedings were at his level. 

Updated On: 12/5/25 at 11:56 AM