Twelfth Night and Richard III reviews on Broadway

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 9:21pm

After a Romeo on a motorcycle, Macbeth in an insane asylum, and Julius Caesar in a women’s prison, Mark Rylance decided to bring his own high concept to Shakespeare’s plays – presenting “Twelfth Night” and “Richard III” the way the Bard intended.
Twelfth Night and Richard III Review: Mark Rylance Brings Shakespeare to Broadway

[CapnHook]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 10:49pm

To sum up all of the reviews from the major media outlets:

Mark Rylance is a triumph.
The ensemble is magnificent.
The direction is superb.
This is how Shakespeare should be done.
Mark Rylance will win the Tony.

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 11:58pm

I so happy to read the great reviews! I love these productions.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 1:23am

Brantley at the NYTimes is a love letter...
Boys Will Be Boys (and Sometimes Girls)

[devonian.t]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 3:19am

Twelfth Night is delirious perfection- I'm so glad it has been released on DVD.

[After Eight]

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

Who is the bigger disgrace? An actor who gives a disgraceful performance, or critics who fall all over themselves bowing and scraping before it?

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:27am

^ OH SHUT UP. get back to me when you can memorize a 20 minute monologue and have two tony award, then will talk about Rylances capabilities as a performer

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:30am

^

Shut up yourself, and I'll get back to you right now.

The proof is in the pudding. What he did in these two plays was a disgrace, and an affront to both the audience and the theatre.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:54am

Just use the ignore feature and block him. A8 will never have anything constructive to say.

There is no "proof" in an opinon, A8.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 4:54am

double post

Updated On: 11/11/13 at 04:54 AM

[devonian.t]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 6:01am

The biggest disgrace is the oaf who takes a superior stance to anything that receives praise, apparently with the aim of "knowing" more than everyone else.

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 6:44am

^

Just telling it like it is. And what is more constructive- or instructive - than that?

My Fair Lady, Mary, Mary, Dolly, Fiddler all received praise, and I agreed wholeheartedly.So did Rylance in Boeing-Boeing, and I agreed there as well.



Updated On: 11/11/13 at 06:44 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 6:52am

After Eight:

The proof is in the pudding. What he did in these two plays was a disgrace, and an affront to both the audience and the theatre

I wonder what "proof" he is alluding to. I'd also be curious to know why it's an "affront" to audiences. No one I know found this production to be insulting. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to take his poorly worded blurb at face value.



The NYT

This is how Shakespeare was meant to be done"... Because they know what they're saying - and where what they're saying comes from - we do, too. And even if you're an inveterate bardolator, you may find lines that you never fully grasped before making sense...Mr. Rylance's Olivia, the best I've ever seen, is a vulnerable woman newly come into power after the deaths of the men in her family...His interpretation of the crookback king is as thoroughly thought out as it is daring

Or, we could always read a real review by a journalist who seems to understand Shakespeare, the theater, and how to use English.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 6:56am

I may regret this, but OK, I'll bite. After Eight, what is so disgraceful about what Rylance does?

I've seen some say his efforts in Richard III are too broad or bawdy, but others say this production simply brings a more comedic interpretation to the source material. I don't believe I've seen anything that much criticizes Rylance in Twelfth Night unless it is refers to the degree/intensity of how he plays his role.

And while most critics do indeed heap praise and focus on Rylance overall, a fair number of them also focus on other members of the ensemble and discuss how these productions really rely on Shakespeare's language to create the stage experience rather than sets, props, or special effects.

Updated On: 11/11/13 at 06:56 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 7:48am

Who is the bigger disgrace? An actor who gives a disgraceful performance, or critics who fall all over themselves bowing and scraping before it?

Or a compulsive kvetch?

[tazber]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 8:27am

Well the compulsive kvetch of course!

[Kad]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 10:31am

So After Eight's opinion has gone from, "Mark Rylance, gifted as he is, seems to be acting in a style wholly different from that of everyone else, engaging in exaggerated little bits to liven things up and score laughs. He scores them, but it jars." to "disgrace" and "affront."

I wonder how worse the performance will have gotten next time he posts.

[Kbradstein]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 10:44am

Ahhhh AfterEight. The famous troll

[Kbradstein]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 10:47am

http://nypost.com/2013/11/10/mark-rylance-leads-all-male-casts-in-new-shakespeare-shows/

NY Post- praises for Rylance, rave for productions. Harsh On Fry.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 2:53pm

I found both productions to be thrilling, once-in-a-life-time experiences. Both texts are illuminated in ways I have never before witnessed. Bravo to one and all!

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 2:53pm

I found both productions to be thrilling, once-in-a-life-time experiences. Both texts are illuminated in ways I have never before witnessed. Bravo to one and all!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 8:18am

Seeing Richard iii next week after Twelfth Night yest. matinee - delightful, I was just a bit underwhelmed, given the hype, with Act I, but Act II completely won me over. Rylance once again makes Milwaukee and London proud! And Samuel Barnett, whom I've loved since History Boys, is the perfect Viola, and I so look forward to his White Queen in Richard III, his scenes with Liam Brennan's Orsino (can you say HOT? I know that you could!) were as heartbreaking as they were hilarious, touching just enough on Brennan's homoerotic discomfort without ever veering into cheap homophobic yucks, and Barnett's every move here and elsewhere shows he is one hell of an actor with a great career ahead of him. The Belasco has never looked as beautiful with this set and natural lighting. WHAT A SHOW (with an pitch-perfect turn by Stephen Fry seeming just another great performance in a flawless company!) AND WHAT A SEASON THIS IS TURNING INTO!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/26/13 at 6:57pm

Just saw Richard III this afternoon and seeing Twelfth Night next week.

I knew Rylance would be good--but what a different and powerful Richard he played!

But I was unprepared for how good Samuel Barnett is as Queen Elizabeth. Even seeing him in History Boys and a few other things and liking him, I had no idea he was capable of such a powerful performance. In that final confrontation scene, he was every bit Rylance's equal.

[macnyc]

Posted: 12/26/13 at 7:09pm

You said it! Also, I have to also commend Joseph Timms. Although his part was smaller, he conveyed such a sense of devastation in his scene with Richard, I found it heartbreaking.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/26/13 at 7:41pm

Saw Twelfth Night about three weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I enjoyed Act 1, though with a few reservations, but was then completely blown away by Act 2. Rylance and Fry are both excellent, but I NEED to give some special attention to Paul Chahidi, who is fantastic as Maria and will be the standard to which I judge all future Maria's. I'm seeing Richard III in February as that was the only time I could find any decent seats. This thing is selling out like crazy. So fantastic to see a production of Shakespeare sell so well without having to rely on movie stars to do so.