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| Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship | |
| Posted by: jurinac 04:24 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| Alison Pill was Jeff Daniels' original costar in BLACKBIRD when that play premièred Off-Broadway in 2007, but Michelle Williams got the part 9 years later on Broadway. Pill is 5 years younger than Williams and certainly doesn't look any older. At the time, I first assumed that Williams' higher profile explained her being cast (she was already a multiple Oscar nominee); I knew it wasn't likely to have had anything to do with her rapport with Jeff Daniels, since after BLACKBIRD they worked together for 3 seasons of HBO's THE NEWSROOM. Then I encountered the interview linked below, in which Pill said the following about her working relationship with director Joe Mantello: "I didn’t have support from the director, and I was feeling very lost . . . The director was sort of forcing that idea on me. He was more bent on my destruction than I was! He was like, 'You have to be crazy!'" I was therefore surprised to see her turn up in the cast of Mantello's (glorious) THREE TALL WOMEN revival. Anyone have any insight? |
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| Link | https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-alison-pill/ |
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| re: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship | |
| Posted by: AC126748 04:51 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship - jurinac 04:24 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| I have no idea whether Pill was approached for the Broadway production or not. But from her remarks in the interview, it sounds like she wouldn't have wanted to do it, and not just because of Mantello. To wit: Literally, for four months I just disappeared from the rest of life. Question being: was it worth it? The reviews were great. Everybody loved it. Everybody was like, This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen… And now they’re talking about wanting to do it on Broadway, and I’m like, Is it worth it? This interview took place five years ago. There was also an eleven-year interim between Blackbird and Three Tall Women, and the two plays (and roles) are not terribly similar. Relationships evolve over time. Pill seems like a smart and self-possessed person; I doubt she would have taken the job with Mantello if she didn't want to work with him. |
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| re: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:04 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 07:58 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship - AC126748 04:51 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| I know an actor who doesn't want to play sexual/violence trauma-related story. This sounds like this role and the play's demands -- and it's a helluva workout -- were more than she expected. She's a smart actor, with great range and investment in everything she does*. Doesn't sound like a Mantello issue. *a bit under appreciated in "Three Tall Women," in my opinion. Second half she was especially focused and held her own with two of the most iconoclastic stage actors. |
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| re: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship | |
| Posted by: jurinac 12:26 am EDT 09/03/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Alison Pill and Joe Mantello's complicated working relationship - Delvino 07:58 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| Fair enough, though I will say that "I didn’t have support from the director" sounds a lot like a Mantello issue at the time of BLACKBIRD. But as has also been said, a lot of time has passed since then, presumably healing a wound or two along the way. |
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