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| Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: manchurch03104 03:33 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| what a boring evening of theater. I'd like to say that this is perfect ROUNDABOUT subscriber fare, but I don't think their subscribers will stay awake through this show. such a strange framework for a play. wish it has been more like 700 SUNDAYS. a very long two hours (with intermission). | |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: writerkev 04:35 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - manchurch03104 03:33 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| I hate to agree, but this has to be the MILDEST evening I've seen onstage in...maybe ever. He has sentimental reasons for being attached to the two stories he tells, but I can't understand why he (or Roundabout) thinks there's anything of value in it for a large audience--at Broadway prices! He did this at Lincoln Center years ago, right? (Then why does Todd Haimes make such a point in the program note saying it's the first time the show has ever been presented on a Broadway stage?) What was the reaction to it back then? Did it generate any buzz? Did anyone here see it then? |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 10:46 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - writerkev 04:35 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| I think Lithgow is helping out Roundabout save some money by doing this show on their stage. Roundabout has suffered some loses and need to recover and this may help their situation. | |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: broadwaybacker 01:58 pm EST 01/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - FinalPerformance 10:46 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| John started at my high school as a junior (I was a freshman), and starred in two high school productions. He was, and I choose this word carefully, a brilliant actor even then. I’d even say extraordinary. He was so good I convinced my parents to come watch the first play even though I had no involvement in it, no easy task. They agreed with my assessment of his talent. It was also pretty clear that John agreed with it as well. | |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: manchurch03104 12:09 pm EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - FinalPerformance 10:46 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| what losses has ROUNDABOUT suffered? | |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:00 am EST 01/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - manchurch03104 12:09 pm EST 01/11/18 | |
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| I am thinking of donating my ticket to the theater. I do have a subscription ticket with a celebrity talkback. I wonder if Lithgow will do it or someone else. I have zero interest in seeing this. |
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| re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz -Agree | |
| Posted by: theaterluvr 05:15 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - writerkev 04:35 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| In early 2008, it was in the Newhouse. (Not Bway) I remember enjoying it much more than this snoozer production. Did he tell the same two stories? (I don't remember) |
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| Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. | |
| Posted by: Delvino 06:36 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz -Agree - theaterluvr 05:15 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| He did it in the Newhouse on Sunday evenings in 2008. And it returned in the spring of 2009. So this is the third time. This is bizarre. Was there a hue and a cry? (Did he contribute to this production? Fund it?) |
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| Link | Return Engagement 2009 |
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| re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. | |
| Posted by: mikem 08:05 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - Delvino 06:36 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| The 2008 and 2009 versions were one act, 90 mins, with one story. Now it's two acts, each with one story. I saw it in 2008 and it was amusing enough but extremely slight. This is likely a case of less is more; lengthening the evening probably makes the show much worse. This was the last show announced for the Roundabout season. It was announced on Sept 13, and it started on Dec 21. I'm guessing it was a show that could be easily and cheaply mounted, and time was running out. Something else presumably fell through. I think Everyday Rapture was also a last-minute addition to the Roundabout season. Someone else probably remembers the details. |
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| The version at the Newhouse was the two different stories in rep, with a couple of nights that he did both. (NM) | |
| Posted by: Seth Christenfeld (tabula-rasa@verizon.net) 10:53 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - mikem 08:05 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| Seth, what saw it | |
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| re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. | |
| Posted by: twocents 10:45 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - mikem 08:05 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| I fondly recall enjoying it at the Newhouse in 2008. I figured that it would be so nice to return. But your point concerns me. Less is probably more. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, John! It's more fun to perform a longer show, of course. Theatergoers get more bang for the buck, too. But sounds like it may have backfired. Like Winston Churchill, however, he will keep a stiff upper lip and plow ahead. All the best and thanks for the memories. | |
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| re: "I fondly recall enjoying it at the Newhouse in 2008" | |
| Posted by: Dale 04:29 pm EST 01/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - twocents 10:45 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| Probably due to being in a small house. I was in the 3rd row last Tuesday and enjoyed it. I won't have from the last row of the balcony! |
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| re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. | |
| Posted by: mikem 10:57 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - twocents 10:45 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| Yes, it was a nice show in 2008, and it felt like a complete evening as it was. The expansion probably feels like padding. It probably feels like that relative who comes over whom you like but now it's late and he just really needs to go home. The featured story in 2008 was Uncle Fred Flits By, which is the current Act Two story. Uncle Fred is fun. The current Act One story is Haircut, which was also used at some performances at the second run in the Newhouse in 2009. Although Haircut has some personal significance for Lithgow, many people are saying that it is very boring theatrically and a poor choice of how to spend much of the first act. It sounds like it sets the wrong tone for the evening. |
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| re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. | |
| Posted by: twocents 11:12 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - mikem 10:57 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| The featured story in 2008 was Uncle Fred Flits By, which is the current Act Two story. Uncle Fred is fun. It sure is! It rings such a clear bell. What a master. I remember Haircut too, now that you mention it. I must have attended on one of those two for one evenings. He's so avuncular. I may throw caution to the wind and return anyway. |
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| The whole issue of intermission comes into play... | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:48 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Actually, this is the 3rd iteration. - mikem 08:05 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| I had not realized that distinction in the versions. But it brings up a good point: intermissions, certainly in 2018, can make even the most gripping material feel attenuated, if the overall impact of the performance is diluted. A one person piece that has a break needs to be substantive enough to demand it. Even if the actor prefers the break, an audience, not held by emotional suspense, is given a chance to leave the experience, and then return. Sometimes, the clean delineation adds. But in a show built on anecdotal reminiscence, it's hard to justify. I remember when Redgrave did "Year of Magical..." on B'way. Wisely, it was kept to 90ish uninterrupted minutes. A break would surely have marred its trajectory, the story of a unexpected death and illness. That play, about Didion's interlocking crises with her husband and daughter, had dark, tragic dimensions, and still didn't send us out for air. By the way, a sidebar: Is "Magical Thinking" ever performed without a known actor? I'm curious how such pieces play when the event isn't layered, i.e. a star playing a celebrity. |
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| Roundabouts season is bizarre this year | |
| Posted by: dramedy 04:55 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Lithgow - zzzzzzzzzzz - writerkev 04:35 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| All plays and mostly small casts. Last year, I think they expected holiday inn to continue after the holidays and when is closed they rented the theater for commercial production of sweat. But there is nothing like that happening this year. Latin history and children of lesser god Are more rentals. Maybe they are saving money for kiss me Kate revival. Beautiful certainly has made a steady income for rent. They seam to make more money as leasors than on theater productions. | |
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| re: Roundabouts season is bizarre this year | |
| Posted by: twocents 10:54 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: Roundabouts season is bizarre this year - dramedy 04:55 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| They seam to make more money as leasers than on theater productions. Interesting. It's just about gritting your teeth and staying afloat, I guess. I'm sure they'll eventually bounce back creatively. |
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