Threaded Order Chronological Order
| THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| I saw the play recently. I bought tickets after reading the rave reviews and was looking forward to seeing it. The acting was superb but the play itself was long and boring. Whole passages of actors telling stories or reading poems. Again, the actors delivered the material expertly, but why would someone write a play where sometimes the characters are spending ten to fifteen minutes "telling" a story? It just went on and on forever. I am glad I saw it, but it is not something I will remember having seen in about a week's time. I guess I missed the boat on this one, but then again, I was perplexed by HAMILTON's appeal after I saw it. Ah, well. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 03:23 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Maybe nothing. Maybe you’re missing nothing. Or maybe you’re missing what I missed. SPOILERS BELOW SPOLERS BELOW SPOILERS BELOW It seems one big plot point is that the brunette girl is sleeping adulterously with the good-looking lead guy who has all the children, and his sickly wife who has borne him a lot of children sort of knows but not really. And that’s one plot point. And the major plot point is that the brunette girl was married to the good looking guy’s brother who disappeared all these years ago, and his corpse has only just turned up at the beginning of the play, and I couldn’t follow if he was an irish rebel-hero or a turncoat and/or whether his good-looking brother and the brunettte girl had been having it off before he disappeared and whether that had anything to do with his death or not. And the play kinda condemns the irish rebels, kinda, but the non-senile old lady has a bery strong speech which makes you feel for the rebellion. And the daft british guy is an interesting plotpoint connected to not much. And the young, exciting blond cousin/dancer has a plot that makes sense. I just missed the central string of it all. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Broadwaywannabe 08:10 am EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - lordofspeech 03:23 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| When I saw The Ferryman in London (I haven’t seen it here), the program included a number of really interesting background essays/timelines, including the history of the Troubles an essay about the difficulties of moving on when a person goes missing and is not confirmed as being dead (among other things). Does the playbill for the New York production including any of this? | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) | |
| Posted by: mikem 05:30 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - lordofspeech 03:23 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| (big spoilers) Are the two of them actually having an affair? I got the sense that there was mutual mostly-unspoken attraction, but not a full-blown affair. One thing I didn't love about the play is that, after the curtain falls, a lot of innocent bystanders in the family are probably going to pay a heavy price for the lead's actions. It's a little bit like what probably happened to the nuns who sabotaged the car at the end of The Sound of Music. Maybe that's part of the playwright's point, but it's not as well-developed as it could be. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 06:08 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) - mikem 05:30 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| No, they aren't having an affair. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 10:31 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) - Ncassidine 06:08 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| SPOILERS REALLY???!!! They’re not having an affair...? Hmmm. Ok. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) | |
| Posted by: Deirdre 08:49 am EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) - lordofspeech 10:31 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| No. They're not. I felt like it was pretty clear - she had confessed to the priest that she was in love with him but had never expressed that. In that last act, we find out that he loved her too, but had never expressed it. She jokes that she wishes they had been having sex the whole time. The tension is that her presence in the home, in taking over Mary's role as mother during her "virus", has created the impression that she is the wife and mother or would like to have been. Aunt Pat can see it and needles both women about it. Mary can also see it and that's why she wants to get rid of her now that Seamus' body has been found. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:51 am EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? (major spoilers) - Deirdre 08:49 am EST 01/07/19 | |
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| Thanks for that - perfectly explained (and jogging my memory, as I tried to remember the details). I thought the writing of those two characters (and their portrayals) was part of the strongest elements in the play. | |
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| Stop listening to other people! (Other than me!) | |
| Posted by: portenopete 12:35 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| What you're missing is the experience of seeing the play through your own eyes rather than through the lenses of critics and advertisers. One of the biggest challenges of being a regular and media-obsessed theatregoer is to tamp down one's expectations when going to see things that are buzz worthy. I saw The Ferryman in London after it had transferred to the Gielgud and changed casts twice. I hadn't read any reviews but I was aware from the ads that the reviews had been adulatory and that everyone I knew who'd seen it was impressed and felt it was a worthy follow-up to Jerusalem (avoiding the inconvenient fact of The River). The only disappointment I had was missing Paddy Considine. His replacement- or rather his replacement's replacement- was very good and blended into the ensemble but didn't dominate the piece the way I suspect Considine does. (It was only the third or fourth performance of this iteration of the cast, so his work may have deepened and embiggened.) But I didn't know the story or the time period or the huge number of characters or the fact that there was a goose and so these things were all revelations. And to complain about a character "telling a story" in the middle of a scene? Well, the device goes back a long way and in the hands of the actresses I saw, the stories were spellbindingly told and I was riveted to my seat and deeply moved to both laughter and tears. (Did no old relatives ever tell you a story when you were a kid?) As to Hamilton.... I saw it in its first months at The Public. Foolishly I had refrained from pressing "Buy" when the tickets first went on sale because $125 seemed like a steep price for an Off-Broadway show, no matter how much I had liked In the Heights. But within the first lines of Brantley's review- about all I had planned to read regardless of its verdict- I threw my paper down and went on line and of course there was nothing left. But a few weeks later I waited for five hours for a return and was even gifted with a Cadbury's Easter Creme Egg- it was Easter Sunday- for my pains. (The Easter Bunny in question was Lin-Manuel Miranda hisself: when he came into the lobby and saw the crowd waiting he popped across to Walgreens and came back with gifts for us.) I had heard not a note of the score and was amazed how this insanely intricate work was still accessible on a first hearing to a middle-aged white guy with no particular love of rap or hip-hop. Before the end of the opening number I was in tears, both for the story itself but equally for the craft of the composition. I know not everyone can see things the second they open- and for the record I am neither rich nor a New Yorker so it's not like I just had to walk around the corner- but if you are the sort of person who is constantly disappointed by things that others go apes**t over, then I'd consider trying to catch the earliest performances before the hype men and women start pumping up the publicity. I remember having dinner with a friend who'd seen a preview of The Book of Mormon and having to literally put my fingers in my ears and go "La la la la" while he insisted in talking about a particularly funny scene to someone. I'm glad I did because, similarly, I have never laughed so hard at a show and I have heard so many people complain after years of waiting and viewing clips on YouTube and elsewhere that it wasn't all that. (Stone & Parker were brilliant in not releasing any footage of the piece for months after opening: they really whet people's appetites.) |
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| Embiggened | |
| Posted by: stevemr 01:39 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: Stop listening to other people! (Other than me!) - portenopete 12:35 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| THANK YOU for this wonderful word. I was so sure you made it up that I checked, but damned if its not real! I can't wait to use it. | |
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| re: Embiggened | |
| Posted by: portenopete 04:58 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: Embiggened - stevemr 01:39 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| I'm glad you liked it! I knew I hadn't made it up; I always thought it was a word from The Simpsons, but I just heard a story on the radio where they mentioned its usage had been discovered a century or two ago. If "enlarge" is a word, why not "embiggen"? | |
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| Using it would be perfectly cromulent. | |
| Posted by: garyd 02:03 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: Embiggened - stevemr 01:39 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| re: Embiggened | |
| Posted by: ryhog 01:52 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: Embiggened - stevemr 01:39 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| and I knew the word but thought it was "enbiggened" so I learnt something today too. | |
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| re: Embiggened | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 02:55 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Embiggened - ryhog 01:52 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| ...and I thought it was something "The Simpsons" made up. (I've never used it or seen it used outside of internet-speak.) | |
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| re: Embiggened | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 03:15 am EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Embiggened - sirpupnyc 02:55 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| The word a (and its connection to THE SIMPSONS) was a Jeopardy question just within the last two weeks. | |
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| Paddy Considine (mild spoilers) | |
| Posted by: mikem 01:24 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: Stop listening to other people! (Other than me!) - portenopete 12:35 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| (mild spoilers) While I think Paddy Considine is a great actor and certainly did what the part requires, he also blended into the ensemble. His character is on stage quite a bit but doesn't really have flashy speeches that would bring him forward. A case could certainly be made that all of the actors should be nominated for Featured roles rather than Leading ones. Laura Donnelly made a much larger impression on me than Considine did. Although she's not going to win any of the season's awards over Elaine May (or potentially Glenda Jackson), she is definitely giving an award-worthy performance. |
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| re: Paddy Considine (mild spoilers) | |
| Posted by: AC126748 08:42 am EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: Paddy Considine (mild spoilers) - mikem 01:24 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Laura Donnelly made a much larger impression on me than Considine did. Although she's not going to win any of the season's awards over Elaine May (or potentially Glenda Jackson), she is definitely giving an award-worthy performance. Donnelly deservedly won the Olivier Award for Best Actress last year, and I would say underestimate her chances for award recognition here at your peril. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Last Edit: tmdonahue 10:49 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| Posted by: tmdonahue (tmdonahue@yahoo.com) 10:48 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| In London, I left at intermission. A man at the door reminded folks to take their ticket stubs so they could come back. I said, "I'm not coming back." He looked mock concerned, "Oh, is something wrong?" "No," I said. Then I turned to him: "Except the play." This is one example of why I left, they're many more: Granny is wheeled into the kitchen in her chair. It's clear from what folks say that she never talks anymore. My first thought, having seen a few plays about the Irish troubles before, is that at some dull point, she'll sing an old Celtic song. AND SURE ENOUGH, she did! Oy! (Or however you say that in Gaelic.) But as my husband has long said, not everybody likes pork chops. And my full name is Timothy Michael Donahue, as other posters mentioned their Irish bonafides. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 10:54 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - tmdonahue 10:48 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| You missed out big time. "The Ferryman" may be a slow build, but the intensity of the second and third acts is incredible. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:09 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Ncassidine 10:54 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| I agree. In addition to what Ann said (that not all shows are for everyone), sometimes it is just a short term not-in-the-mood thing. On those rare occasions when I have left shows mid-stream, it is usually as much me as the show: that I don't feel like paying attention enough to get into the show or give it a fair shake. I remember doing this with one of my favorite plays, Long Day's Journey, once, and I can see how it could happen with Ferryman. The same thing can happen with silly shows: sometimes my tolerance is low whereas other times I am willing to play. But it is also reasonable that not everyone cares about the story being told, or cares for the way it is being told. Heck, there are a few actors I dislike so much that I can't enjoy a very fine play if I have to listen to them, or their voice, etc etc | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 11:33 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - ryhog 11:09 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Totally agree with all of that. | |
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| One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 10:41 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| For my money, you missed the poetry, the warmth, the quiet desperation of half-lived lives, the insistence of the past, and the dark magic. Horses for courses, I guess. |
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| re: One of mine too. nm | |
| Posted by: SuzanneR 08:38 pm EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year - MockingbirdGirl 10:41 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| nm | |
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| re: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year | |
| Posted by: Deirdre 08:13 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year - MockingbirdGirl 10:41 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Just got home from seeing it and I'm in your camp - blown away. Loved every second. | |
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| re: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year | |
| Posted by: Peg 12:38 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year - MockingbirdGirl 10:41 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Very well said, MockingbirdGirl. I agree. I think I loved it even more seeing it for the second Time here, after going in London soon after it opened there. And there’s a great piece in today’s NYT on all thatgoes on backstage during each performance. | |
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| Great piece in the Times, but beware of SPOILERS | |
| Last Edit: gad90210 02:29 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| Posted by: gad90210 02:23 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the year - Peg 12:38 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Peg, above, pointed out the article in the Times, and it was indeed very enjoyable to read. But I felt there were spoilers, especially regarding the last scene. Those who haven't yet seen the show (but plan to) may want to save the piece for later. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Last Edit: Ann 10:17 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| Posted by: Ann 10:13 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Well, there's one setting and a lot of the story happened in the past, so, yes, it's true that you don't see all the elements play out (except for the denouement). But the play lets you get to know the (surviving) characters and relationships, plus the important family element, and from that I think the richness of the story can be appreciated. I see that as a wonderful talent of the playwright. My response was the opposite of yours - I think of it as an epic family story, enriched by the specific political situation of what happened before and the results of all of that. I was completely immersed in their situation by sharing this limited kitchen time as many characters came and went. There are different ways to tell a story and this isn't a way that you, and others, don't respond positively to. While others do. So, what you're missing is a method of storytelling that works for you (and it's an expensive way of finding that out, though the same sentiments have been expressed here, amid the praise, since the production started). I've definitely felt left out of the fun/enjoyment for plays and musicals - that's art. |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 05:20 pm EST 01/07/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Ann 10:13 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| "There are different ways to tell a story and this isn't a way that you, and others, don't respond positively to. While others do. So, what you're missing is a method of storytelling that works for you (and it's an expensive way of finding that out, though the same sentiments have been expressed here, amid the praise, since the production started)." I think you worded that very intelligently, perceptively, and sensitively, and I agree 100 percent. Only thing I would add is that, even for those who do respond very positively to this method of storytelling, I'm sure some will agree (though others will strongly disagree) that this great theatrical experience might have been even greater if it were somewhat shorter. I do think it needs to be a long play because it does benefit from an "epic" feeling, and also I think it adds to the atmosphere of the story to have so much of the action unfold slowly, plus that increases the shock power of the final few minutes. But I think all of that could have been accomplished perfectly well in three hours of running time with one intermission, and if the play had been edited to that length, maybe the people who love it as it is would still have loved it and some of those who didn't love it might have liked it better. Of course, we'll never know :-) |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 10:23 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Ann 10:13 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Thank you! Excellent response. I agree completely with your sentiments. I found The Ferryman to be an incredibly rich experience. Of course, it probably helps that one side of my family is Irish. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 10:35 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - BroadwayTonyJ 10:23 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| My family isn't Irish, and I thought the entire evening was really captivating. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:13 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Ncassidine 10:35 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| Of course, Butterworth's story is universal and can be appreciated by anyone who is fascinated by the history of The Troubles in Ireland. However, I can recall (growing up in the 50's) my grandmother and her younger sister speaking Gaelic whenever they got together. My grandmother's uncle once told me that many decades earlier in the old country anyone caught speaking Gaelic in public were subject to immediate execution -- he was a fanatical supporter of the IRA. Today he would probably be considered a terrorist. Nevertheless, I think I have a better understanding of the roots of the horrific ethnic divide as depicted in The Ferryman as a result of what I gleaned as a child from memories of my long gone relatives. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: castro 09:26 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - Teacher64 08:11 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| You are not missing anything. You are spot on. This is a play that tells instead of shows and I agree it is a big bore. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: ukpaul 02:11 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - castro 09:26 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| There are people who still cling on to this ridiculous maxim that theatre should show not tell? For a short moment in history that may have made sense as a denial of what came before but there is zero sense in it. The beginning of theatre was to tell, not show and it has been at the heart of it ever since, Also, good luck in trying to get an Irishman or woman to stop telling stories. If you don’t see it as integral to Irish culture then you can’t have known many Irish people! |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: singleticket 11:33 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - castro 09:26 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| I wasn't bored for a minute, not with Jez Butterworth's inexhaustible wit and Sam Mendes' inexhaustible showmanship, but I don't think it's a good or even interesting play. Showmanship is also what makes NETWORK a successful evening in the theater. Hats off to the magicians of live theater. | |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: tmdonahue (tmdonahue@yahoo.com) 08:35 pm EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - singleticket 11:33 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| How great to read all these different responses to the same production/play! I think that's a big part of what literature/theater/etc. are all about. Individual responses; an audience of persons. | |
| Link | Link to my latest book "Playing for Prizes" |
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| re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 09:32 am EST 01/06/19 | |
| In reply to: re: THE FERRYMAN: What am I missing? - castro 09:26 am EST 01/06/19 | |
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| I have not seen it, but I started hearing it described this way before it even opened in NY. At least 3/4 of the people I know who have seen it on Broadway agree with you. It doesn't sound as though you are missing much. | |
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