Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 05:16 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
| In reply to: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - ksd 11:51 am EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| Parts of it were great, but the playwright is young and no one told her to cut! There's a LONG extended fable that forms the center of it, which could have been so much shorter--I found that part predictable and very dragged out, but if the fable had been a lot shorter, it could have really appealed to me. The total running time was over 2 hours. BUT the ideas were interesting and there were two dance numbers that were terrific. I found it odd that there was an insert in the program from the playwright, encouraging us to "vocalize" during the performance, but then only the very opening bit of the play really encouraged any audience participation. As I left the theater and was walking along 42 street, two young women, I'd say early 20s, were talking about how much they loved it--how the final scene, in which a teenager puts on her make up etc bit by bit, was brave and hard to watch. And then I crossed the street and two other people were saying "oh god, that was so long! Cut cut cut" Hope that's helpful! | |
| reply to this message |
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 05:38 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - Showtunegal 05:16 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| The invitation to vocalize is less about audience participation and more about doing the thing that so many on this board despise: having audible reactions to the storytelling, whether laughter, tears, a well placed "oh snap", or perhaps some dancing along with the music. It's often a way of letting people of color feel at home in the theater, and a kind way of asking white folks not to police their reactions. I'm surprised the show is running 2 hours! On the page, it feels like it should come in around 90 to 100 minutes, depending on the epilogue. Perhaps it will tighten over the next few weeks. And yes, I have taught English, so please excuse complete sentences and the occasional middle-school level vocabulary word. ;-) |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons?--encouraging audience participation | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 09:51 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - Singapore/Fling 05:38 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| I take your point that the note from the playwright could have been about encouraging the audience to feel free to use their voices and react, and I like that--except there was almost none of it the night I saw the show. I remember one woman doing some sort of arm bopping along to a dance. I didn't keep statistics or anything but there were plenty of people of color in the audience but not a lot of vocalizing, and honestly the show itself didn't encourage a lot of that--not a lot of things to cry out at, to say "oh, snap!" to etc. I'm encouraged by the poster below who said it has gotten down to 1 hr 50. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? | |
| Posted by: summertheater 05:44 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - Singapore/Fling 05:38 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| I have heard it's 2 hours 15 minutes with no intermission. I would imagine several people would need to get up to go to the bathroom. Did you witness any people getting up throughout? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 09:54 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - summertheater 05:44 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| Not when I was there. The ushers made it clear that there were only certain times you would be allowed back into the theater if you left, because the performers dance through the center aisle. So everybody peed beforehand as far as I could tell. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? | |
| Posted by: kmval 05:54 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - summertheater 05:44 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| Last night it ran about 1:50. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Thanks to everyone for comments. | |
| Posted by: ksd 06:56 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Has anyone seen 'If Pretty Hurts...' at Playwrights Horizons? - kmval 05:54 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
|
|
|
| n/m | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.018604 seconds.