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#51

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 10:56am

I was actually fairly surprised that it received mostly shrugs from critics at the Newhouse. I have to wonder if they'll double-down on their initial opinions or find that the production has miraculously gained something.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#52

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 11:27am

I have to wonder if they'll double-down on their initial opinions or find that the production has miraculously gained something.

That's Brantley's specialty. I'm predicting with all the positive buzz critics will say the production has "found a new life" on Broadway even though it's basically the exact same thing.
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth! Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming You'll live forever here on earth.
#53

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 11:39am

This might be a stupid question but how familiar do you need to be with Chekov to see this?
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
#54

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 11:45am

Not familiar at all. You will still get most of the laughs. The play is certainly enjoyable to those who aren't as familiar with Chekov. The specific references just garner a few additional laughs for those who know his work.
#55

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 11:52am

Have to agree with PalJoey. That monologue is one of the greatest performances I've ever seen.

Was speaking to a friend this morning who saw it last evening and said the cheers after the monologue were rapturous. It's a tour-de-force.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#56

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 11:56am

After Eight, I wanted to PM you, but was unable to do so. I appreciate your comments. While I can agree that it is very rare to see you rave over something, your criticism is always astute. And I have found, on many occasions, myself agreeing with you.

On this instance, I heartily disagree as Durang's new work is my favorite play of the season so far. But please keep posting. I'd be interested in reading more long-form reviews of yours. Hell, I'd be interested in going to the theater with you. I bet you've had a lot of great debates!

Sorry to thread-jack. Let's get back to the rapturous praise of Ms. Nielsen.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#57

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 12:30pm

The monologue is great because it starts off seeming like it'll be one of Durang's trademark comic monologues. But then there comes a remarkable shift, which Nielsen pulls off perfectly. It's still awfully funny, but it's so much more.

I wouldn't be surprised if this picks up nods in all four acting categories. Or at least for Nielsen, Magnussen, and Pierce.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#61

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/8/13 at 9:42pm

He speaks pretty fondly of Chekhov in an essay in the Lincoln Center Review that was available when it was at the Newhouse.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#64

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/9/13 at 11:02am

In terms of the understudy question from way back when, I'm pretty sure that Equity insists that every named role has an understudy. Some of the understudies choose not to be named in the Playbill. Someone tried explaining it to me once about the actor not wanting people to know, but I didn't really get it, especially since sometimes the understudies end up putting the show in their bios anyway.

In terms of Tony placement, I wonder if the producers are going to put everyone in Featured or try to bump up Pierce and Nielsen (and possibly Weaver) into Lead. I hope they keep Nielsen in Featured. In Featured, I'd say she's currently the prohibitive favorite for a win, but the role is small-ish for Lead (especially given that there are 3 one-woman shows in competition) and the road to a win would be much, much tougher.

I think Magnussen is great (they all are), but I don't know if there's a Tony nom in his future. The role is a little one-note. He plays the one note perfectly, though. If he gets the reviews, the producers might petition Pierce for Lead, but otherwise, I think Pierce and Nielsen are pretty much locks for nominations but I don't think anyone else has much of a chance.



"What was the name of that cheese that I like?" "you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start" "well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"

Updated On: 3/9/13 at 11:02 AM

#65

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/9/13 at 11:45am

I would say that Pierce and Weaver would be considered leads, everyone else is featured.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#66

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/9/13 at 12:58pm

It seems Durang ruthlessly makes fun of Chekov and Chekov's playstructure in his play. Characters sit outside a house and bemoan their lives. For that reason, I suspected he didn't like Chekhov. He has one of the characters (without the script in front of me I can say who or what) say something derogatorily about Chekhov plays bemoaning that they were named after Chekov characters by their parents. Of course it could also be interpreted that Durang has written a contemporary homage to Chekhov. Knowing Durang, he probably has a love-hate relationship with Chekov... I know I do.
#67

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/12/13 at 12:32am

I agree with Kad having Pierce and Weaver in the Leads and the rest for Featured.

I hope the ATW & BL will restore the Special Theatrical category as we have 5 this season. Holland Taylor (Ann), Allan Cummings (Macbeth), Nathan Lane (The Nance), Bette Midler (I'll Eat You Last) and Fiona Shaw (The Testament of Mary). That category alone is fierce!
#68

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/12/13 at 9:52am

The Nance isn't a one-man show. And actually, all those you listed would be considered plays. A special theatrical event would be considered something like a comedian playing a limited engagement or a concert show.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#69

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/12/13 at 1:47pm

The Special Events Tony has gone to several 1-person shows in the past. Sarah Jones' "Bridge and Tunnel" (2006) and Jay Johnson's "My Two and Only" (2007) won Tonies. Stritch also won it for "At Liberty" which ran for three months in 2002.
#70

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/12/13 at 1:56pm

Stritch and Jay Johnson's shows, again, weren't exactly plays. Bridge and Tunnel is, though. Special Event implies that the show in question is something that only the headlining performer can do.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#72

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/13/13 at 5:28pm

Saw the matinee today. Orchestra looked mostly full. The crowd ate it up with a spoon--constant uproarious laughter and about ten breaks for applause throughout. Nielson was the obvious crowd favorite and I think will be the chief awards contender. The show seems to be reaching its target audience. I imagine it will do well on word of mouth, if this performance was any indication.

While the older matinee crowds usually bolt for the exits the minute a performance ends, today they stayed and warmly applauded throughout the curtain call. That's no mean feat.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

Updated On: 3/13/13 at 05:28 PM

#73

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/13/13 at 11:48pm

I was at the performance tonight and I loved it even more than I did Off Broadway. The cast has gotten even better, which is pretty amazing to me considering how great they were at Lincoln Center. Nielsen absolutely killed it; this is such a perfect role for her and she knocks it out of the park. Her phone call monologue and Maggie Smith impersonation are two absolute highlights of this theater season. As is David Hyde-Pierce's rant in the second act, which I just wanted to go on for forever. Sigourney Weaver has found the laughs she was shaky nailing during previews Off Broadway and Billy Magnussen is just uproariously funny.

I think the show actually works better on Broadway. It feels as though it's gained more in being opened up to a bigger theater and it's a wildly entertaining evening. I noticed a few changes in the direction that only add to the hilarity of the show. I can only echo the sentiments expressed by everyone else but this is absolutely a must see, and one of the best shows of the year. It deserves to be rewarded bountifully with Tony nods and positive reviews tomorrow evening. I just had the best time and the energy and appreciation from the audience was electric. As AC mentioned, we were still standing and applauding for a good thirty seconds when the lights came up, hoping for another round of bows!

Updated On: 3/14/13 at 11:48 PM

#75

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike collective thoughts

Posted: 3/14/13 at 12:22am

Any thoughts about the likely view from the front row? I think The Normal Heart was there, and if I remember correctly, the stage is relatively low, but I was wondering what people think.
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?" "you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start" "well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"

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