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| Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Definition Theatre's production is the first time Fairview has been staged in Chicago. I saw it with my partner (who is African-American). It was a positive experience for both of us. I found the play to be funny, provocative, a bit shocking at times, but very rewarding. The entire cast was outstanding. The last part of the show where I and the other white audience members were asked to come on stage and listen face to face to the comments of Jada Jackson (who played Keisha) and the others was quite moving and powerful. It brought tears to my eyes (and hers). An incredible moment of theatre! Did anyone here see the 2018 off-Broadway production at Soho Rep Theatre? Any comments or thoughts? |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Posted by: chamberlain 02:57 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - BroadwayTonyJ 12:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| My memory of the ending in NY is that the actress playing Keisha turned her back to the white audience members who had come onto the stage, and addressed the black audience still seated in the house. I couldn't see her face. So I'm intrigued that you listened to Keisha "face to face" and saw her tears. Can you describe more how that worked? Did she speak facing the white people, the black people, or could she somehow include both? That difference would have changed my experience profoundly. | |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Last Edit: Shutterbug 05:39 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| Posted by: Shutterbug 05:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - chamberlain 02:57 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I, too, saw FAIRVIEW at TFANA in Brooklyn. I was blown away by it. Absolutely loved it. It was a visceral experience. One clarification in response to chamberlain’s post. It wasn’t just black audience members who remained in their seats. The actor playing Keisha asked for anyone who identifies as white to come on the stage and anyone who identifies as non-white to remain in their seats. At least that’s how I remember it. It was a powerful experience and a thought provoking meditation on the white gaze in theater. Glad to hear it’s getting high quality regional productions as well. |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:42 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - Shutterbug 05:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Beautifully stated. I'm glad you had an experience similar to mine. | |
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| Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 03:50 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - chamberlain 02:57 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Definition Theatre does not have its own building. Fairview is being staged at a small theater called The Revival, located on the U. of Chicago campus in Hyde Park. The theater's entrance is on the south side of the building. Upon entering, you walk northward through the lobby down a corridor, which leads to the performing space with 4 rows of seats (west to east), followed by the play's set. House left is (west to east) the black family's living room and dining room. House right is a small bleacher for the white actors (who appear in Act 2). Just north of the living room/dining room set are 5 more rows of seats. My partner and I were seated in the first row of (south) seats. For part 4 of the play I was directed to sit on the sofa (with other white audience members) by the actress playing Keisha, who stood in front of me. Others were seated at the table and still others stood at various places on the stage. Jada Jackson faced me and other white audience members when she spoke about the importance of black people telling their own stories. White people should only be listeners when black people are telling them. In other words, Jada rotated so she faced whomever she was speaking to. The whole scene was respectful and gracious. When Jada finished speaking, I stood up and she immediately hugged me and thanked me for coming to the play. It was a very emotional experience for me (and I imagine for her also). |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago | |
| Posted by: chamberlain 05:23 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago - BroadwayTonyJ 03:50 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| Thank you. That sounds amazing, and entirely different from the feeling I had leaving the theater. | |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Posted by: student_rush 01:01 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - BroadwayTonyJ 12:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I saw the original production at TFANA in Brooklyn, and also saw the show with an African-American friend. Both of us loathed the experience -- not in an emotionally reactive way, but a "okay, this is a nice college thesis play" way. My takeaway was that the text is stronger than that original production, which I thought was tonally inconsistent and unfocused. It makes sense that better productions around the country are now happening. I'd be very interested in revisiting the text or seeing a second professional production. |
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| re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? | |
| Posted by: singleticket 01:52 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - student_rush 01:01 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| I saw it at TFANA as well. I liked it quite a bit. It took a while to catch up to its formal and thematic intent but that was part of the fun. I thought the opposite that the text felt to me more like something that wouldn't make as much sense unless it was performed because it was more of a collage of dialogue mirroring and commenting on itself than the dialogue itself. But I haven't read it either so I don't know. | |
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| Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:37 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Jackie Sibblie Drury's FAIRVIEW Last Saturday in Chicago -- Great Experience, Recommended -- Any Thoughts about the 2018 Soho Rep Theatre Production? - singleticket 01:52 pm EDT 05/16/23 | |
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| If I had read the play's text before seeing a staging, I don't think I could have appreciated the humor, cleverness, and power of the dialogue, which by itself without any context is rather ordinary. However, seeing the play beautifully performed a few days ago allowed me to experience its emotional wallop. Also, based on the comments I read on this board and other sources in 2018, I chose not to see Fairview on a trip I made to New York at the end of June that year. I got the impression that as a white person, I would be shamed or criticized during part 4 of the play. However, after reading a good deal about Fairview over the last few years and realizing what the writer was trying to say, I was completely blown away by the actual performance. My take-away of being a participant in part 4 was the opposite of what I thought it would be. |
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