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| NETWORK - tonight | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 12:35 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 12:26 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| Arm wrestled with the Ivo van Hove show tonight. It eventually won me over. There is so much in the production that is just plain dopey; the kitsch of Paddy Chayevsky's 1970's neo-expressionism layered on top of van Hove's kitsch avant-gardism. And then suddenly it all coheres, Chayevsky's grandiose dialogue seems just right on stage, probably more so than it ever sounded on film. And van Hove's design-world of gleaming surfaces and projected images takes us deep into the nightmare of America's cave of shadows. But then when the magnificent Bryan Cranston leaves the stage it all goes out of focus again and you find yourself staring at the dull spectacle of audience members awkwardly dining on stage (which took up nearly half of my stage view from where I was seating). Yet it is an evening of bold theatrical strokes that felt much more in tune with its material than van Hove's recent Broadway productions. And by the time Chayevsky's script got around to the Saudis it all felt uncannily prescient. And then of course, not prescient at all and just leaden and dated political allegory. Still, for the quite considerable passages where it all comes together, this is a production well worth seeing. | |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight - spoilers | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:44 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| In reply to: NETWORK - tonight - singleticket 12:26 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| What you say makes sense. I felt, overall, it also won me over. I liked most of the production aspects very much. But I didn't like the audience dining onstage. It was distracting and didn't make sense. And it was downright ludicrous during the sex scene (were they having sex in a restaurant?), especially since at my performance the man sitting closest to the couple was practically giddy, as if it was a private sex show for him. Yuck. Maybe even worse was when Cranston went into the audience - had to wrestle with a Disney Store shopping bag, and the rest of his interactions with two men on either side of him felt like comedy filler. That part was unnecessary, but almost worth the great video pan shot of the audience afterward. So much of the rest of the production, though, I thought was so excellently done (and I completely fell for the "out of body" Cranston at the end), and I appreciate the chances Ivo van Hove takes here (much more than View, though I may be in the minority there). I wish I had sat audience right, where my line of sight focused more on the newsroom set. I saw the film when it came out and remembered little of the details. This was pretty much its own piece, for me. I agree with others that Goldwyn was miscast (the one thing I remember perfectly from the film is William Holden) - he didn't even seem to be from the era (there were other out-of-place details as well). I paid less for this ticket than for Hamilton over a year ago - still plenty. It has much more value than what I paid for Lifespan of a Fact, though I know others liked that more than I did. |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Posted by: nyc23 02:21 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| In reply to: NETWORK - tonight - singleticket 12:26 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| I was there tonight in a “premium seat” (bought directly from Telecharge) that was partial view, at best. I do not know if it would do any good, but does anyone know who to contact? I don’t want a refund, but I’d like to save others from paying such an inflated price for seeing half (or perhaps less) of the action. | |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Posted by: nyc23 01:36 am EST 11/26/18 | |
| In reply to: re: NETWORK - tonight - nyc23 02:21 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| I was in A-105... a “premium” priced seat. I am nearly six feet tall, and the height of the stage coupled with a small lip directly next to the stage blocked the view of most everything on the right side of the stage. I am often weary of sitting on the front row, but when priced so extravagantly, I did not expect to be unable to see much of the action beyond tops of the actor’s heads. | |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Last Edit: mikem 02:16 am EST 11/26/18 | |
| Posted by: mikem 02:13 am EST 11/26/18 | |
| In reply to: re: NETWORK - tonight - nyc23 01:36 am EST 11/26/18 | |
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| People on the other message board are complaining about the onstage seating as well, which goes for $399 except for Weds matinees. Apparently the camera crew blocks your view a fair amount of the time, and there are also bright lights shining in your eyes at some locations. Some people are loving being so close to the action, but some are saying that they ended up watching the show on the video screen, which is not what they thought they were signing up for. It will be interesting to see what happens after the reviews come out. I would guess that Brantley will rave again, but the overall tenor might be more mixed. That might affect demand, and therefore pricing. |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Posted by: jjbkvm 08:45 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: NETWORK - tonight - nyc23 02:21 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| Can you post your seat location so people know where to avoid sitting? | |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Posted by: bobby2 05:50 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: NETWORK - tonight - nyc23 02:21 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| I knew someone who wrote to the Shubert Organization with a very similar complaint about a different show a few years ago. They offered new tickets to see the show again and then when the person declined that offer they actually refunded a bit of the purchase price. | |
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| re: NETWORK - tonight | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 12:39 am EST 11/25/18 | |
| In reply to: NETWORK - tonight - singleticket 12:26 am EST 11/25/18 | |
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| Much as I am curious to see this, the pricing of tickets makes this play beyond my budget. And do I really need to stage play of a film from many years ago? Not really. Your take on the show doesn’t convince me I need to see this. I’ll go if they offer a discount. |
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