Why Produce a Bad Play?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 6:57pm

So I recently saw "Describe The Night" at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. I was excited to finally see a show there. About halfway through Act 1, I thought, this play is awful. I don't know what's happening. Lots of talking that leads to nothing. Then at intermission I did a few Google searches and forgot I had seen the show at the Atlantic Theatre Company in NYC to where it opened to mostly negative reviews in 2017. Everyone around me was equally confused by the show and I heard some people say "I hope Act 2 is better." It was not. Now, my question, why would you produce a show that got pretty bad pans in its original run? Did they think they could approve up on it? Just curious to have the discussion because no one seemed into it or interested in it and re-reading the NYC reviews it seems most were perplexed. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 8:07pm

Experimentation? Maybe someone thought a different approach could make a difference in the execution?

Maybe the Producer or Director saw something in the material that critics did not.

Or, just for the hell of it.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 10:02pm

I saw Describe the Night a few weekends ago, I thought it was thought provoking and extremely powerful in the current climate of trying figure out what’s the truth and what’s the lie. Especially with tons of misinformation coming out of Russia/Ukraine. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 10:52pm

Well I'm glad someone enjoyed it! I loved being in Steppenwolf, but I just wondered why would you produce something that already a track record for not satisfying audiences. But glad you enjoyed it.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 10:56pm

i saw it at the Atlantic years ago, and it was uneven but certainly engaging. The performances by Grenier, Burstein, Jones, and Benko were incredible.

But aren't you really asking why they'd produce a play that got *bad reviews* years ago? And don't we WANT productions to be revived even if the 11 New York area critics didnt like it?

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 11:28pm

I also loved the play at Steppenwolf. The play had also been extensively re-written and restructured since the Atlantic. It's a play written by an ensemble member with a mostly all Steppenwolf ensemble cast. There's lots of reasons to do it. Not every play is for every person and that's fine. 

It should be mentioned you are NOT in the minority. The Tribune gave this production a pretty terrible review and I believe the Times called the original production "tiresome." I'm glad they did the play... which for me was BY FAR the best play they've done this season. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 11:57pm

I hated it then and I hated it now. But yeah, I guess my question is why would you produce a show that was basically panned - and seemingly audiences too since it didn't have much life or extend a bunch. 

But I guess knowing they reworked it makes more sense. The audience members around me were not into it and the reception - just looking around - was that it just wasn't very compelling or interesting. 

Just found it interesting once I remembered it played NY a few years before. I went in thinking it was like a world premiere. 

[JoeW4]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 12:11am

Count me in the “I loved it at the Atlantic” camp. I thought it was thrilling and beautiful. 

But trying to put aside personal bias: it is, at the very least, a fairly ambitious play. So that could explain both the divided response, and why someone might feel an urge to tackle it. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 1:15am

I’m pretty sure they produced this play mainly because the author is an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf theatre company. That’s pretty much the case for most Steppenwolf pieces. Despite the negative reviews in the past, I guess they were hoping the recent Russian news would make the play for provocative for audiences. 

[Idiot]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 1:42am

The original CARRIE was awful.  (I saw it.)  The smaller versions were much much better - which didn't surprise me because I thought the bones were there when I saw the original production.  People respond to different things and there's usually a fan base for even the most universally panned shows.  The desire to 'do it justice' is strong with such people I think. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 8:05am

Why is A PERFECT CRIIME still running? Possibly the worst play ever written.

Updated On: 3/31/23 at 08:05 AM

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 8:19am

How do you forget you saw a show?  

[austinyourface]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 10:38am

Impeach2017 said: "How do you forget you saw a show?"

If somebody regularly sees theater and ends up seeing dozens of shows annually, why wouldn’t they forget some of the more lackluster ones? 

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 11:20am

Many of us on here see theatre more frequently than most. Thereby, making it hard for some to remember if they saw something or not. For me, at times, it’s not that I forgot if I saw a show or not. It’s sometimes my takeaway of a show as in did I like it or not. It get saturated due to me going to/working shows with such frequency. 

But, it can also just be time. For example, my brother was studying in London for a years. He had dinner one night with a close childhood friend of my father’s. Lives is Israel but back then, flew to London and NYC for work with some frequency. He said to my brother that when me and my family came into town that we had to see Blood Brothers. He spoke very highly of it. So, during our visit, we did. At intermission, my parents turned to one another and had the same feeling that they may have seen this one before years ago but wasn’t sure. We got back to the hotel and I did a google search to discover that yes, the most likely did see it before during its short Broadway run.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 11:58am

Because “bad” is subjective and some of the greatest pieces of art of all time were misunderstood by critics when they premiered?

Also- if you passionately love a piece of art, there is something in it for you. If you passionately hate a piece of art, there is also something in it for you. You might consider looking at what it is about this play that has triggered you so strongly to write a post questioning its continued life.

Updated On: 3/31/23 at 11:58 AM

[dave1606]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 12:46pm

I saw this both at the Atlantic and at Steppenwolf, and I hated it at the Atlantic and really enjoyed it at Steppenwolf.  I did not know that it was re-written, but I think the text was far more clear at Steppenwolf.  I will say at intermission I did consider leaving as Act one was pretty slow, but it whole piece came together for me in Act 2 and I was really glad I gave this show another chance. 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 4:08pm

I was dazzled by the play when it was produced at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia.

Also, it won the Obie award for Best American Play in 2018 so perhaps it's not bad just because you say it is.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 4:23pm

It has already been noted that some reviewers found the play wanting and/or bad, not just the original poster.

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 4:33pm

So?

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 5:10pm

Impeach2017 said: "How do you forget you saw a show?"

I remember seeing this show at the Atlantic, but I don't remember much about it besides Danny Burstein and some of the other actors giving good performances. Something about the staging was out of the ordinary. I know I enjoyed it on the whole.

tbh, if I don't take notes, I forget most of what happens in shows I can't revisit through cast albums or scripts.  

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 5:34pm

verywellthensigh said: "So?"

I was responding to your post below in which you seem to assert only the original poster (RippedMan) thinks the show is not good:

Also, it won the Obie award for Best American Play in 2018 so perhaps it's not bad just because you say it is (boldfaced emphasis added).

Again, others also have said it it.

Updated On: 3/31/23 at 05:34 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 6:06pm

KJisgroovy said: "It's a play written by an ensemble member with a mostly all Steppenwolf ensemble cast. There's lots of reasons to do it. Not every play is for every person and that's fine."

This.

Beyond the Steppenwolf Ensemble of it all, a lot of times a resident theatre will throw a bone to a playwright who they like or want to stay in business with. MCC with LaBute. MTC with Richard Greenberg and David Auburn and Terrence McNally. The Public with Richard Nelson. Vineyard with Paula Vogel. Atlantic with Simon Stephens. NYTW with Caryl Churchill. etc... It's all about building and maintaining relationships, and even if this one isn't a slam dunk, the next one could be. (When it gets bad is when you have Jeffery Richards producing every whisp of a half-baked idea coming out of Mamet's head, or when John Patrick Shanley's last decade of work at MTC has been dreck.)

Updated On: 3/31/23 at 06:06 PM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 6:37pm

Impeach2017 said: "How do you forget you saw a show?"

I don't know anything about you, or how old you are. You might be reasonably young still, and you might not be. From my experience, I can say I have reached the age where I have had the, "Oh, yeah! I did see that!" moment on more than one occasion, especially when the show was just kinda meh. Even worse, I have had the same reaction to shows I've actually done. I have found that the older you get and the more you see, the more likely you are to forget the forgettable ones. It gets to be like TV and trying to decide if you have already seen this episode. I'm in my early 40s now, I assume it will get worse as I get older. Thank Jebus for playbills.

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 11:08pm

thank you all for your extremely long and increasingly bizarre "explanations".