Virgina Woolf - Geffen Playhouse — Page 2

BrodyFosse123 said: "Dan6 said: "I haven’t seen the show yet and have nothing to say, but the “Virginia Wolfe” “corrected” to “Virginia Wolf” was driving me nuts."

It’s actually VIRGINIA WOOLF.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is the title."

Yes, that was my point…see the caption of my post. The OP had it as “Wolfe” and then “corrected” it (actually not) to “Wolf.”

My take: solid production, ultimately disappointing. Aimee Carrero's Honey was excellent though, the funniest person onstage AND the most moving.

Each performer was clearly a VERY good actor but...they mostly were operating in too narrow of emotional ranges to sustain three hours onstage.

And the direction was unimaginative -- again, totally workmanlike but...very rarely surprising or arresting.

A lot of the blame IMHO is Quinto as George...I've loved him onscreen and in The Glass Menagerie on Broadway, but his George comes out the gate so angry, it's hard for him to have somewhere to go. He seems to be losing his voice which is totally understandable, and the raspier voice actually fits, but *within that* he has way not enough modulation of tone/volume/emotion (except for a few beautiful moments here and there).

Moreover, it's not that he seems "young" (though he does -- George is supposed to be 6 years younger than Martha but look older, according to the text, while these 2 performers have an 11 year age gap that feels like 16 years) -- it's that Quinto is so VIBRANT, so powerful and athletic seeming even in his haunched-George-posture. And Flockhart is definitely a stage performer but doesn't have the power you need in a Martha. So, for much of the night it feels like George is bullying Martha. Plus that makes for a weird dynamic where George towers over the athletic Nick, doesn't quite click. (Although the YOUTH of Nick & Honey is great -- their stature and youthful faces make them look like infants next to George & Martha).

And there's the ultimate sin -- I didn't buy the love between George and Martha...

ALL THAT SAID -- the script is so strong and it comes through and no one was *bad* and it's a very watchable evening.

Should disclose that I came in as a V Woolf snob -- someone who saw the Bill Irwin/Kathleen Turner production 2x, love the Nichols film, have worked on the show. Then again, my partner who had zero familiarity with the material exited thinking "the script seems really good but why was I left bored and confused about what I was watching..."

Dan6 said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Dan6 said: "I haven’t seen the show yet and have nothing to say, but the “Virginia Wolfe” “corrected” to “Virginia Wolf” was driving me nuts."

It’s actually VIRGINIA WOOLF.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is the title."

Yes, that was my point…see the caption of my post. The OP had it as “Wolfe” and then “corrected” it (actually not) to “Wolf.”"



This reminds me of a person who posted under the name "Dianna Bancroft" who claimed the most challenging role she'd ever played was "Miss Liz Taylor" in a play called THE VIRGINIA WOOLF. I don't recall whether it was here or on Broadway.Com when they had message boards.

saw some pics from Opening Night last Thursday but haven't seen any reviews up?

Just caught it and thought it was solid but not spectacular. To be fair, I saw the Kathleen Turner/Bill Irwin production (my definitive one) and the Tracy Letts/Amy Morton iteration so my experiences with this play have set a high bar.

Calista Flockhart started off a bit rough in Act 1 but improved throughout the show and the final "game" in Act 3 played really well.

Zachary Quinto is my MVP - I was nervous about how young he was, but he had one of the best George arcs I've seen (second only to Bill lrwin for me). His George does seem weak when he needs to be, but plays him fairly strong throughout.

Graham Phillips was pretty good - again, Act 1 started a bit wooden for me, but by Act 3, he was fully in it and had great chemistry with Calista.

Aimee Carrero reminded me that Honey is seemingly such a small part, but is pivotal to making a great production of this play work - she brought humor without going overboard and the feelings when she needed to.

I'd recommend it if you're in LA, but it's not something you need to travel from another state to see.

Another solid production for the Geffen after POWER OF SAIL (meh play, amazing performances for me) so will be keeping my subscription.

VernonGersch said: "saw some pics from Opening Night last Thursday but haven't seen any reviews up? "

BroadwayWorld is positive

LA Art Party is positive

Variety is positive, with mild reservations

4.5/5 from the Daily Bruin

Recommendation from Stage Raw

LA Times is mixed-positive

Independent is highly positive

Saw this tonight and thought it was really good!

I was completely new to the play, so I have nothing to compare it to, though I am definitely planning on watching the Elizabeth Taylor film at some point.

I do think that Zachary Quinto started off a little hotter than would have been ideal (and he is definitely losing his voice), but he and Calista Flockhart felt very evenly matched throughout. I was worried that the age difference would be distracting, but it really wasn't an issue.

Aimee Carrero was excellent comic relief through the first couple of acts, and nailed her part in the third act as well. I liked Graham Phillips as well - his interest in Martha felt organic in a way I wasn't expecting considering the first act. There were definitely points where I wondered why Nick and Honey didn't just gtfo, but the play would usually answer that thought by giving us a concrete reason.

It's kind of amazing how fast the play goes by considering the length - they really keep the energy up throughout, and that seems like it'd be absolutely exhausting as an actor. And so many lines!! I don't know how they do it.

I'm not sure it has "legs" to sell on Broadway nor do I think it was "special" enough to warrant a transfer? But I've no clue with the Geffen's record for remounting shows.

Ke3 said: "Is there any chance this production gets remounted in NYC?"

Not happening.