Variety (Exclusive): Jesse Tyler Ferguson Starring as Truman Capote in 'Tru'

Oooooh. I loved André’s Tartuffe at HOUSE OF THE REDEEMER. I’m curious to see this in their library/theatre

MasterThespian 2 said: "I’m in. Seeing this in April. Should be quite good. Fascinated by Capote and a sucker for anything set in the 1970s."

Here’s Tony Award winner Robert Morse in the original 1990 Broadway production: 

If memory serves, the play is extremely boring. 

blug said: "If memory serves, the play is extremely boring."

Seems the creatives agree so the play is being trimmed down into an intermission-less 90-minute adaptation. 

iluvtheatertrash said: "quizking101 said: "Oooooh. I loved André’s Tartuffe at HOUSE OF THE REDEEMER. I’m curious to see this in their library/theatre"

Did they have stools for that? Are they higher than the rest? Just curious about seating."

It was general admission seating for that, three or four rows of normal chairs, no stools I recall. 

The Feud season was boring.

Nice to see a gay actor play the part, on screen I've only ever seen hetero guys. Who were all great, but still, it's nice.

I saw it this afternoon and felt it was a mixed bag.

 

The positive: the space is really cool and serves the play well, Jesse really loses himself in the character and I thought the performance never felt like "Jesses Tyler Ferguison is playing Truman Capote"

The Negative: the show is 20 minutes too long, at nearly 90 minutes the show just kind of ends and the audience wasn't sure it was over until Charlotte d'Amboise took her bow

The Confused; What exactly is the point of Charlotte character? Is this a character invented for this production, I think she is meant to embody one of Capote's "swans" literally and figuratively? It made me think of Rob Ashford production of Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and the controversal "Ghost Skipper" character

For $59 not a bad afternoon but I wouldn't have paid more for this.

BrodyFosse123 said: "Charlotte’s character was written for this production. The original 1989 Broadway production had no other actors - it was a one-man play so it was just Robert Morse. There were 4 female pre-recorded voices for his telephone chats."

it really does not work and shows Rob doesn't trust the material to stand on the feet of one performance 

 

Based on photos, both Ferguson and d’Amboise use prop cigarettes but they are not lit. Based on the extreme intimacy of the performance space, it’s safe to assume they are never lit and only used as character details. From my understanding, only if they were using any real smoke (fog machine, herbal cigarettes, haze, etc) would a disclaimer be required to be listed on their show website and ticket seller website. 

"Based on photos, both Ferguson and d’Amboise use prop cigarettes but they are not lit."

Thank you Brody.  Does that mean you saw the show?  Did you like it?

I don't rely on assumptions regarding stage smoking because too many times the site either failed to post or posted after opening. I usually buy tkts months in advance when shows are announced.  And I had to seek refunds, unfortunately, when I learned they did/would. 

I thought it strange the church office didn't know considering it was in their building. The rep only said, "I'd hope not considering the furniture in there."  

I’m just now catching up on this, I didn’t realize that an extra role was added. I’m a fan of D’Amboise as much as anyone, but that’s truly a baffling choice.