new Eve Ensler play

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:25am

Bummer that Melissa Leo is leaving this show...and so close to previews

It's also the same woman a few years ago who allowed herself to be photographed wearing a ridiculous lover the top fur coat.


Melissa Leo Departs

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:26am

Over the top....not lover of top. That's something entirely different

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:49am

For what it's worth, she's being replaced by Kate Mulligan whom I have seen a number of times at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She's very good and will do a fine job.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/25/14 at 5:54am

Seeing this on Saturday. Bummer about Leo, but Mulligan is great, too.

Will report back.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/26/14 at 12:14am

looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the show

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/26/14 at 12:38am

I don't think Ensler has done anything noteworthy since Vagina Monolgues. Her work is so laborious and heavy handed. Maybe Leo was trying to dodge a bullet

[OperaBwayLover]

Posted: 11/26/14 at 1:27am

I do like some of the monologues Ensler has added to the original play, such as "Say It." And I'm currently reading 'I Am An Emotional Creature,' and while it's good and it certainly has its moments, most of the pieces seem to be hit or miss. This could be because I am not the target audience (haven't been a teenager in a little while)...? *shrugs*

I am intrigued by the concept of this new play, and hopefully a published script for public reading will be available in the future.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/26/14 at 1:45am

Leo was SO great in her Oscar nominated performance. I think she was probably dodging a hot mess.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:03pm

Wow. And not in a good way.

I'll start with the positives: The set and costumes. So clever and really in tune with the subject matter. That is, if you can narrow down the subject matter. As the ART often does, even the lobby was thematic and sets out to immerse you. To go with the environmental issues, there were no programs other than a few tabled in the lobby. (which you can view on line.)

The play itself is simply a hot mess. Some of the monologues are quite interesting, and will make some women wonderful audition pieces. However, the play as a whole doesn't fit. It's like Ensler started with a number of interesting monologues and decided to force them together. LOTS of incomplete thoughts, too much TELLING (vs. showing), too many convenient realization that come from nowhere and absolutely NO growth in a single character. They are all in the same exact place at the end they were in the beginning.

I was disappointed in the direction as well. Lots of unsubstantiated yelling and awkward presentational moments. I think the performances were stiff and inconsistent (only 2nd preview, remember).

Overall, it was a pretty difficult evening to get through. (But I had a lovely dinner and company!)

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:07pm

"I don't think Ensler has done anything noteworthy since Vagina Monologues."

I enjoyed seeing Ensler perform The Good Body in San Francisco, which I recall being well received. But anything will likely pale to what put her in the cultural consciousness...

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:32pm

According to the Boston Globe, Leo withdrew due to "artistic differences."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2014/11/18/melissa-leo-leaves-cast/YBtjkUv2cDNJlF2v9PsjFN/story.html

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:34pm

Yes, I'd have gotten out, too. There is no artistry going on in that production (sans the set design)

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:48pm

I don't think Ensler has ever successfully pulled off an actual play. The two attempts I've seen from here--the military play with her son (who isn't a very good actor) and the one with Shirley Knight--were a lot two of the worst nights I've ever had at the theater. Leo was smart to get out while she could.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 12:16am

Sounds like I am going to dodge this bullet.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 7:32am

As dramamama611 said, the sets and costumes are great. So is the lighting. The actors do some decent acting, but the play is more of a diatribe against consumerism than it is anything else.

Best performance was by Liz Mikel (who I loved in Lysistrata Jones a couple years ago), everyone else was just a caricature (ok, so were Mikel's characters).

I was fine with the definition of the title (OPC = Obsessive Political Correctness), but to make the actual term "OPC" become a key part of the show was just lazy, IMHO.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 8:15pm

Went to the matinee this past Saturday.
Cringe-worthy from beginning to end.
The only thing more embarrassing than what I saw, would be to have witnessed Melissa Leo trying to slog through this mess.
I felt bad for Liz Mikel, giving her very best to two very poorly-written caricatures, not characters.
Dramamama is right about the sets and the ambient pieces in the lobby. Nicely done! It was also heartening to see people give so generously to the food bank drop-off station in the lobby. Those are the only redeeming points of this endeavor. Note to A.R.T.: If you're going to admonish people to stop drinking from plastic containers, you'd be wise to stop serving beverages in them as well.