"Three Days Of Rain" Press Night - 4/19/06
"Three Days Of Rain" Press Night - 4/19/06
#0"Three Days Of Rain" Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 10:56am
The most interesting performance at “Three days of Rain” last night happened outside the theatre.
After the curtain came down.
Police on horseback.
Hundreds of people.
Michael Musto kvetching to a TV Camera.
Minivans coming to complete stops in the middle of the street.
When “she” came out of the stage door you could hear the screams from here to Poughkeepsie.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to scream about inside the theatre. “Three days of Rain” is a nice, little play with some nice performances that simply was never meant to be a media event or an event of any kind.
It’s a play about miscommunication and misunderstandings within a small familial unit. Has this been done a million times before? Yes. Has it been done a million times better? Yes.
If the play had been stronger, if the direction had been steadfast, there might have been something for the actors to hold on to but it’s paper thin story and it’s half sketched out characters would have given even the most seasoned theater veteran a run for his (or her) money.
Joe Mantello’s direction also seemed incapable of giving his actors any real sense of purpose, intention or connection.
The usually reliable Paul Rudd seemed to be lost at sea for most of his performance. Playing both the damaged father and son, Rudd never finds the ache that should be there in both characters. Again, he was not given much to work with.
Bradley Cooper gave the most assured performance of the night. Full of fire and bluster as Pip and weighed down by self loathing as Pip’s father, he makes the most out of very little.
And how was Julia? Her first act character, Nan, is little more than a cardboard cutout designed basically to stand there and react to the goings on around her.
It is this part Miss. Roberts seemed to have the most trouble with.
When one thinks of Julia Roberts, passive, is not the first word that springs to mind. Even as far back as “Mystic Pizza”, Robert’s excelled at playing characters who have grit, guts and determination.
Julia Roberts excels at dominating and only when she subjugates her natural gusto and star quality, (“Closer”, “Full Frontal”, “Ocean’s Eleven”) does she fail. Her Nan simply goes nowhere because that’s where Nan is written to go.
She is much more at home in the second act as the loony but likable southern belle Lina. Here, Miss Robert’s shows what she could do if given the right words to speak and the right character to play. Her performance springs to life.
Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to make the play into a gem.
One hopes Miss. Roberts has enjoyed her time here and learned a great deal from it. One also hopes that the right part in the right play comes along for her the next time around.
What joy Robert’s could bring to us with something like “The Philadelphia Story”! What pathos she could find in “The Country Girl”!
May Miss. Roberts consider Broadway another home for her talent and may Broadway give her that home in the future to flourish in.
#1re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:29am
Julia Roberts excels at dominating and only when she subjugates her natural gusto and star quality, (“Closer”, “Full Frontal”, “Ocean’s Eleven”) does she fail.
I disagree with that, but okay. Good review.
#2re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 12:01pm
It is so WEIRD that the thing people keep bringing up in their reviews how weak the play is... before this I thought for sure Three Days of Rain was quite wonderful... should I re-evaluate?
kmc
#3re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 12:04pmI didn't like the play per se, as much as I thought I would. Though it's completely different, I preferred the writing in Greenberg's "Take Me Out" as opposed to "Three Days of Rain".
Auggie27
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
#4re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 1:13pm
The play probably seems weak because the Roberts presence sets up a level of audience expectation about the dramatic throughline the fragile story cannot deliver. This is a tale about a kind of emotional power struggle, two actually, between men. The women are tangential, though the 2nd act character must inspire one of the men at a key point. So the balance is way off.
The Roberts persona isn't really needed, but it damages the play, paraticularly in the first act, since her limited, reactive stance is appropriate, but we keep watching her,always waiting with baited breath, for her to *do" something. That's not part of Greenberg's intention here, and it's not the play's fault that Roberts makes us look at the story from the wrong point of view. But I see how it's impossible to judge the way on its own merits with her tacked on.
#5re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 1:17pm
Auggie, THAT's it. BRILLIANT!
We keep watching her when we should be watching the men. It's not her fault. She literally has to stand in a corner for 10 minutes - wordless.
and yes, I looked at no one else.
#6re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 1:50pm
We keep watching her when we should be watching the men. It's not her fault.
Exactly. As Greenberg said, she didn't get cast necessarily because she was Julia Roberts. She was cast because we was perfect for the role(s).
#7re: 'Three Days Of Rain' Press Night - 4/19/06
Posted: 4/19/06 at 2:13pm
i quite forgot about her in the first act when she sits upstage and listens to the men talk. i had no focus problem whatsoever.
my reaction to her onstage is very similar to my thoughts regarding her film work. whenever she has moments where she is "angry" or "frustrated" she makes negative, downward choices that are often petulant and close her off. in actI her character is pretty buttoned up, but she shouldn't have been such a cipher onstage. in act II where the character is more "bemused" and flamboyant, she is more engaging. it is acting 101 -- she needs a coach. she should call me.
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