UNCLE VANYA 2024 Broadway Reviews — Page 2

sppunk said: "It’s quite amazing this season with so many new shows they all basically aren’t good. We have wasted so much money thisseason on mediocrity, itreally makes me question buying tickets for next season before shows open. And we see 15+ shows each year.

What adrag of a year. Appropriate, Mary Jane andMerrily not included …"

Stereophonic and Prayer for the French Republic got pretty much unanimous raves too

Between this and “Primary Trust”, Harper should be top on the list of anyone wanting to cast a play, now.

i know im in the minority, but i thought this was a solid season. Even ignoring some incredible stuff Off Bway (Dead Outlaw, JOB, Connector, all thrilled me), Hells Kitchen, Suffs, Outsiders were all solid in very different ways despite their obvious flaws. I enjoyed Lempicka and Here Lies Love, too (and I havent seen Illinoise yet, which people have gone nuts over).

And Stereophonics, French Republic, Jaja, were all fantastic new works, I enjoyed even the more pedestrian remounts of Spamalot and DOUBT (and I havent seen Appropriate or Enemy of the Ppl yet...) Oh, and Purlie! And Gutenberg was a hoot!

anyway I get that with a glut of stuff all coming in at once it feels overwhelming but there was plenty of good in there (and Im not even including Merrily and Days of Wine/Roses, which everyone went nuts for, but that I didnt love at all). Seems like a strong crop to me.

I think new MUSICALS have been crazy disappointing (I did fall in love with Illinoise yesterday...but nothing else new) but all other categories have brought some beautiful stuff.

Chris Jones's NY Daily News review was paywalled, but the Tribune version is finally up:

Review: ‘Uncle Vanya’ on Broadway leaves a talented cast stranded

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/04/24/review-uncle-vanya-on-broadway-leaves-a-talented-cast-stranded/

"the new Lincoln Center production from the typically reliable director Lila Neugebauer is so disconnected and alienating that, frankly, I spend most of the production wondering how on Earth such a collection of famous, talented actors — Steve Carell, Alfred Molina, Anika Noni Rose, Jayne Houdyshell, Alison Pill, for goodness sake— had so failed to cohere. Did something go wrong?"

Elisabeth Vincentelli for WaPo:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2024/04/25/rachel-mcadams-mary-jane-steve-carell-uncle-vanya-eddie-redmayne-cabaret/

"The good news is that he has presence — something else you can’t learn — and handles himself well. The bad news is that he’s stuck in a rudderless staging (by the usually sharper Lila Neugebauer) that feels like a series of acting-school scenes held together by rough string.

Frustratingly, Carell’s every utterance seems to be greeted by a smattering of guffaws from the audience. Yes, he can lean into a line’s humor, and his Vanya has a sardonic bent, but Carell also commits to the character’s resentment and resignation.

The last is especially difficult to render onstage because it doesn’t lend itself to acting tricks. As Vanya’s niece (Alison Pill) fatalistically muses about the drudgery that awaits them — stuck in place and doing accounts for their estate — Carell remains silent, a cryptic look on his face. At one point he flashes a tight little smile. He makes the act of listening compelling, and that is hard to pull off."

Was there tonight and I greatly enjoyed this production. I disagree with most of the reviews and think they missed something that Heidi pulled out on purpose of a Chekhov play.

Carell is good but William Jackson Harper is absolutely a scene stealer. What a performance!

This is Chekhov - it should not have bells and whistles. It is a deep interpersonal play that is true to heart of so many - life is a failed experience but we must march on

I actually liked this more than Enemy of the People which we saw at today’s matinee.