rOcKS @ 'The Royal Family'

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 11:29pm

I'm gonna keep this short. I was bored to tears. I wanted to love it, I really did. But, God, that was the longest 2 hours and 45 minutes I've spent in a theater in a long time. It just felt stale to me. The cast is game, and made the show worthwhile, but otherwise, this production is just a bore, IMO.

The direction is lazy and doesn't liven up the action at all. The set is lovely. Reg Rogers was having a ball and Jan Maxwell provided me the only genuine laughs of the night with her breakdown at the end of Act II. I laughed three times during this show. Boring, stale, and unfunny. The ensemble is strong and works well though, like I said. They at least provide something interesting to watch in the way they interact.

It COULD just be the play, who knows. All I know is I really didn't enjoy it. Its a total museum piece, and that might be some people's cup of tea. But in this case, it wasn't mine.

*1/2 out of ****

Sorry if this is disjointed and unclear, which I'm 90% sure it is. Was I the only one who disliked this production?
Updated On: 11/19/09 at 11:29 PM

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:44am

"Was I the only one who disliked this production?"

Haven't caught TRF, but your review is exactly how I felt about Brighton Beach Memoirs, which I was the only person to dislike.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:13am

I think this is more the play's fault than the production's. A man I work with saw the original production as well as this revival. He remarked that the original was exceptional but that this one just felt stale, though not at the fault of the actors involved.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:19am

^ You know someone who saw the original 1927 production of The Royal Family??????

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:24am

LMAO.

It's a superb play.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:13am

Wow. Totally wasn't paying attention there. NOT the original. Not even close. The '76 revival. (Blah. Stupid.)

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:21am

I'm still confused. If your friend was a fan of the first revival why do you think it's the play and not the fault of the production?

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:33am

His complaints were that the actors were doing the best with creaky material.

I suppose I should've mentioned that.

[mikem]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 9:56am

Did you see it last night? I assume Ana Gasteyer was out -- how was her understudy?




ETA: Thanks for the understudy comments. It doesn't sound like it's much of a role.

Updated On: 11/19/09 at 09:56 AM

[WestVillage]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 10:39am

I'm with you rOcks ... bored to tears. Other than the gorgeous set and Jan Maxwell's performance, it was so tedious and just not funny. I, too, saw it with someone who loved the revival (with Rosemary Harris in the Jan Maxwell role), and he thought this production landed with a thud.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:29pm

Gasteyer's understudy did her best Ana Gasteyer impression in the role. She was fine; nothing sensational, nothing awful. Its a rather thankless role anyway.

[hotjohn]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 6:17pm

I enjoyed acts 1 and 2 but act 3 was in such a different mood, very depressing, that I almost wished I had left during the second intermission. I can't help but think that act 3 should have just been dropped.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 6:36pm

I liked the way the show ended (when it finally did) and I enjoyed a majority of the second act. But I really was bored during the first and incredibly antsy during the third.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 8:31pm

Why isn't the Roundabout doing this show?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 10:24pm

They probably would've f*cked it up even more.