Twelfth Night - Shakespear In The Park- Page 8

[heo1128]

Posted: 6/18/09 at 11:52pm

Wow, has a performance been rained out yet? That's really surprising, considering the spectacular weather we've been having.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 12:02am

Nope, they haven't been rained out yet. Tonight an usher said the longest rain delay they've had is 25 minutes, and they haven't finished later than 11:30pm. He said it's very unlikely for a performance to be rained out; they'll wait as long as possible to start the show, and they can go until midnight.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 12:18am

About the rain delay stuff...I work at The Public, and the performance that is rained out is an extremely rare one indeed. I think in all three years working at The Public, I've only seen them cancel a show before it began once, and cancellations after the show began maybe two or three times. I think it's always worth showing up. Anyone who waited hours on lines could have showed up five minutes before the show this evening and got good seats and the full performance. Always worth a try.

Emcee, I've seen maybe five productions of Twelfth Night now and only seen one really good Orsino who I thought was quite thrilling and moving (I forget the actor's name, but he was in the recent Donmar West End production in London). I think I'm with you on the directorial stuff, mostly...I feel that most of the things that Raúl is doing in this show that make me go "blech" are things that are clearly directorial choices (though I'm inclined to not go into specifics, for spoilers). There ARE a couple of choices he makes here and there that, I think, he does more for the audience's amusement than the development of a strong character, though.

Also I have to say, this:
"But it seems like Sullivan really kept that very toned down, so, in the end when everyone finds out that Viola is a girl, it comes off as, "Oh, you're a girl? Well, I love you now!" as opposed to the idea of, "Oh, you're a girl? Okay, I love you. And it's okay for me to love you now" that I had expected"

to me, is spot on. I think the ending is a very difficult thing to pull off convincingly, and I too wish they had explored more of Orsino's feelings towards Viola earlier on, and that sense of "WOAH, well that explains a LOT about why I was feeling this way about you!" Orsino may feel in the end. I think the Viola/Olivia relationship in this production is more defined in that way. Olivia works herself into a fit, and when she finds out Cesario's a woman, there's the realization that "OH, this was actually a sisterly love," and the lust she feels makes great sense with what Audra is doing, particularly with the way she initially reacts to being close to Sebastian (who she is actually lusting after). In fact, I think it's funny that often I'll hear the audience "Aww" when Viola and Olivia hug at the end, but not so when Orsino offers Viola his hand. (Granted, the Viola/Olivia relationship is a littler easier to unravel)

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 8:13am

David Cote of Time Out NY posted this humorous account on his blog: http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/upstaged/2009/06/shakespeare-in-the-park-umbrella-etiquette/.

This is press weekend (beginning tonight) for the show, so they'll be particularly reluctant to cancel, even in tomorrow's rain (which is supposed to taper off tomorrow night). Luckily, it's not like Mother Courage or Hamlet and they can start the show as late as, say, 9.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 9:13am

There ARE a couple of choices he makes here and there that, I think, he does more for the audience's amusement than the development of a strong character, though.

Yeah, that's a habit that he seems to need a director to continually knock out of him (less and less so since Doyle cracked the whip, though; I think what he learned from Doyle has remained evident in his work since). It's that actor impulse to go for the laugh and grab yourself some attention. That was one of the things that had to fade before his performance in The Homecoming really worked. My reservation here is that they only have a month. I honestly didn't see too much of it in the performance I saw, but I've definitely in the past seen him go for things that make me think, "What are you doing? You're better than this."

And about the ending, it is complicated, for sure. For whatever reason, I simply assumed they would go that way. And I know Daniel Sullivan is perfectly capable of tackling the complex and doing so beautifully, which almost makes me go "wtf?" even more. It seems like he chose the Olivia/Viola relationship over the Orsino/Viola/Cesario relationship, but to me, it doesn't really have to be one or the other. Yes, if you focus more on Orsino's conflict you have to be careful not to let it detract from the main story, but I don't see why it has to. You can strengthen his story and his character without making it all about him; it'll just make the overall plot more complex.

In fact, I think it's funny that often I'll hear the audience "Aww" when Viola and Olivia hug at the end, but not so when Orsino offers Viola his hand.

Exactly. If his feelings aren't revealed enough leading up to it, it's not a resolution so much as, "PS, I love you now, yay!" It really dampens the potential impact of that moment, which, IMO, could be really strong. I want it to feel like a resolution. Otherwise the you risk the audience being a little bit like, "eh, whatever." (I mean, I awwwed, but, it was Raul being romantic, he and Anne are adorable together, and I'm a dork.)

Updated On: 6/19/09 at 09:13 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 9:46am

Also, the mix tape piece if anyone is interested:

http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/summer-in-nyc/74330/raul-esparza-twelfth-night-star-makes-a-mixtape

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 12:32pm

#1Elphie ~ Did they alter any of the staging with the wetness ~ like the running up and down the hill? It seems like that would become more dangerous the more moisture there is...

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 12:36pm

No, they didn't change any of the staging, which surprised me! I kept waiting for someone to fall. The actors seemed to be careful with their footing, and it was actually much easier for them to slide down the hills when they needed to because of the rain. One audience member actually fell down the stairs exiting the theater during intermission, but there were no problems onstage.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 12:43pm

Wow, impressive! Yeah...I would have been worried about them falling down the hills. I hope the audience member was ok!

[winston89]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 1:02pm

Would it be a bad idea for me to wonder over to wonder over to the box office in an hour or two and see if they have anything left? or is it just not worth it?

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 1:04pm

It's been pretty nice all morning, so I doubt that they will have anything left to give away until the distribution of the stand-by tickets.

But if you're in the area it can't hurt. It's a nice day, go for a walk.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 6:43pm

The weather looked iffy earlier, but it's turned out to be a really nice day! I was going to go over there this afternoon, but I feel like I have narcolepsy, and I don't think a three hour play is the antidote. Jig at the end or not.

As I understand it (this may well be misinformed), the only tickets you can get after they distribute to the general line at 1 and before they release the stand-by tickets at 6 are virtual line tickets. Virtual line tickets have to be picked up by 6:00, but other than that, I don't think they give anything else out between 1 and 6. So if you wander over mid-afternoon, you'll just have to wait on (or begin) the stand-by line until 6 p.m.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 7:34pm

Emcee, virtual line tickets don't have to be picked up until 7:30pm (6:00pm is the earliest you can pick them up).

They would only give out tickets between 1:00pm and 7:30pm if they didn't give all the tickets away during the general distribution at 1:00pm (which obviously is very rare but happened yesterday).

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 7:38pm

Oh, oy, I knew that. I totally reversed what I wrote. See, exhaustion.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/19/09 at 11:21pm

I will be there tomorrow, in the rain it rainith.

[pattilupuppy]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 12:21am

WOW what a great show

realy enjoyed it.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 11:51am

I was there last night and the Publics publicist called all of the journalist to reschedule their tickets to see if they could come last night instead of this weekend. Charles Isherwood was there for the NYTimes, and Oscar Eustis and Andy Hammingson were there, as well as Jeff Goldblum! There were lots of faces in the audience.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 11:51am

I was there last night and the Publics publicist called all of the journalist to reschedule their tickets to see if they could come last night instead of this weekend. Charles Isherwood was there for the NYTimes, and Oscar Eustis and Andy Hammingson were there, as well as Jeff Goldblum! There were lots of faces in the audience.

[I'mseeingbraille57]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 1:01pm

So question, I have been reading this thread lately, and is it not that hard to get tickets at the moment? What time do you need to be in line in order to get the ones they hand out in the morning. I'm heading up next week, I know I read that once the reviews come out things could start to get crazy, but I'm hoping to go the 26th. Thanks!

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 1:03pm

So I won the virtual lottery for tonight... I'm glad that weather.com has a flood watch alert out for now through tomorrow afternoon! And a 90% chance of rain. Awesome!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 2:03pm

I'll be there tonight. Not terribly worried. What's the worst that happens?

And for the record - a number of journalists were not asked to reschedule; in fact, the Public's press people told David Cote to bring a poncho! Updated On: 6/20/09 at 02:03 PM

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 2:17pm

I won tickets for the virtual line for tonight. Guess we have to wait and see what happens. In any case, it will be an adventure!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/20/09 at 2:42pm

Great show!

Saw it a couple nights ago with a brief interlude rain pause, no biggie.

Go!

[Plum]

Posted: 6/21/09 at 12:20am

I was incredibly lucky, rain-wise - it didn't start coming down until the very end, when the fool starts singing about "the wind and the rain". That really got a roar out of the crowd. :)

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 6/21/09 at 12:44am

I was totally thrilled tonight. There was one teeny tiny bit of blocking change that I missed due to the rain (i'm assuming), but in any case I enjoyed tonights performance more than last Wednesday's.
I love how the rain adds an entirely new element, or character almost.