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| THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Last Edit: sergius 08:14 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| Posted by: sergius 08:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| As Covid recedes, it may be a challenge to remember it happened. Collective traumas seem to be never forgotten or barely remembered. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins makes Covid central to his mediation on mortality and (too) many other things. THE COMEUPPANCE is admirably, and unsurprisingly, ambitious. Jacobs-Jenkins takes a familiar genre, the reunion play, and tilts it toward the white light: reunions are, among other things, occasions to remember how close, always how close, we are towards death. The last time for any experience never announces itself. To varying degrees, the celebrants here are killjoys too; while they laugh and tangle over their pasts, a silent, sudden darkness gathers at their feet. So THE COMEUPPANCE isn’t thematically cheery. And if it’s overlong—easily by a half hour—it’s very smart and often very funny. The characters here, “multi-ethic rejects,” are tender and poignant; they’re pained by history, personal and historical, and poleaxed by the end of youthful promise. An old story, yes, but the same story still amazes with its sameness. Jacobs-Jenkins asks: why are we always so surprised to be confused? He feints at too many answers, but it’s a good question. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: den 08:32 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - sergius 08:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I just saw the play this afternoon, and I thought it was pretty brilliant. Perhaps some of the dialogue could be trimmed, just a bit, but I admire the scope of Jacobs-Jenkins’ ambition in this play. It’s about the choices we make, from high school forward, how they shape our lives, and the interplay between our past and our present. It’s about the political “moment” that for Jacobs-Jenkins stretches from Columbine and 9/11 to Covid and January 6. And, most profoundly, it’s about mortality. A lot to cover in a little over two hours, but it works on personal, political and existential levels, I think. Jacobs-Jenkins writes well, and It was a pleasure to spend time with such articulate characters; I look forward to reading the play when it’s published. I have a minor reservation about the motivation of the person who emerges as the main character, and I didn’t quite understand why the character baits and pushes the others so hard, but perhaps that will be clearer to me on a second viewing or a reading. Where many modern plays seem to me small, narrow and tightly focused, I appreciated how broad and expansive this seemed to me. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Last Edit: toros 10:11 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| Posted by: toros 10:02 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - sergius 08:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I agree with you're astute assessment of another experiment from this great writer - but I don't think it's too long. I can't think of anything that should be cut - maybe a few trims, but certainly not a half hour. But apparently, it feels long to a lot of viewers because it's performed without intermission. The audience was clearly informed of this (twice, in my case) before they entered. Yet they were obviously somehow offended, as the lack of intermission, and comments that it was too long were all I heard the audience balk about before the show started and after it was over. It was embarrassing. Maybe they should add an intermission to assuage this reaction, but I hope they don't cut it, and if they do, I'm glad I saw an early preview. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 11:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - toros 10:02 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Not sure why you would use the word embarrassing. A lot of people, for whatever reason (age, disability, medical condition) can't sit for just about 2.5 hours without an intermission. I don't have any of those issues, but I do have a shorter attention span and I can't watch something for that long and not begin to think about other things. Yes, they should probably check the running time before they buy tickets, but it's also not rude or embarrassing to comment that something is unpleasantly long. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: toros 11:56 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - Ncassidine 11:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I see what you mean, but I used the word embarrassing because it was all they talked about. I stayed in the lobby awhile after the show. I was hoping to hear what the audience thought, as always, particularly with this amazing play, which is deeply moving, and as the OP points out, the first to puts Covid into some sort of unique perspective. But you would have thought that some crime had been perpetrated on them. Seriously, no one mentioned the play itself, and many were angry, etc. Sure, I get it - it was a long time to sit without an intermission. But I found the lack of interest in this work of art disappointing, and yes, embarrassing. And I am among the people who have all three of the reasons you mention. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: huskyital 09:32 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - sergius 08:09 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| You need to know before you enter that it is two hours and 20 minutes long without an intermission. Fortunately if you visit the restroom before the play you will be rewarded. The characters are well drawn and the dialogue is quite wonderful. I perceived it as a version of who's afraid of Virginia Woolf for friends. I heartily recommend it. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: den 08:35 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - huskyital 09:32 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Yes, it’s a little long without an intermission, but the lovely usher who seated me assured me that I’d be permitted back in if I had to leave during the performance and reseated so as not to disturb other patrons. That was thoughtful and reassuring. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 12:40 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - huskyital 09:32 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I asked before the show began if there was an intermission. I was told the show ran 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was a little apprehensive because I just recovered from an illness but I didn’t find the length a problem, really. Though it did occasionally seem to repeat specific arguments. What I didn’t get were the interruptions having characters speak in isolation with their voices echoing. I understood the device for the first character but the other monologues confused me. I found the play fascinating and often funny even though the characters themselves weren’t exactly people I’d want to hang out with or reunite with. |
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| My interpretation **Spoiler** | |
| Posted by: schauspieler 12:58 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - lowwriter 12:40 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| What I got from the voices, after being confused a bit at the start, was that they were the voice of Death that dwells in everyone. | |
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| re: My interpretation **Spoiler** | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 01:27 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: My interpretation **Spoiler** - schauspieler 12:58 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| Oh, I thought only the first voice was Death. | |
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| re: My interpretation **Spoiler** | |
| Last Edit: davei2000 01:16 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| Posted by: davei2000 01:08 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: My interpretation **Spoiler** - schauspieler 12:58 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| That's not an interpretation, the Voice tells us this. It's possible this has been made more explicit. We were told the playwright had done extensive work the day before I saw it last Sunday. I found each succeeding monologue more chilling and foreboding, and a thrilling contrast to the real-time realism of the rest of the piece... I would guess that there's a strong element of autobiography in this play. I thought there was an obvious place for a break, but perhaps that's too close to the end. |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Last Edit: schauspieler 12:36 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| Posted by: schauspieler 12:32 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - huskyital 09:32 am EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| I thought of the Albee play too. It seemed to me to be a very personal take on the playwright's generation and I was engrossed throughout. I thought the fog and the distorted voices were unnecessary. I identified strongly with the German expat's anger and frustration as I imagine many in the audience did. There was a reason for that flag. As for the play's length I don't get the complaints except for the fact the half the audience appeared to be elderly (including me). Most movies including previews run this length or more. I think interrupting the play with an intermission would have undermined its momentum. I have admired this playwright's works and was excited to see his latest. It did not disappoint. | |
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| re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night | |
| Last Edit: Shutterbug 02:55 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| Posted by: Shutterbug 02:51 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
| In reply to: re: THE COMEUPPANCE Last Night - schauspieler 12:32 pm EDT 06/03/23 | |
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| schauspieler, I appreciate your comments. But I do think 2.5 hours in a movie house is a very different experience from 2.5 hours in a live theater house. In a movie theater, the seats are generally wider, more comfortable and more generously spaced. It’s usually easier to stretch your legs in a movie theater and easier to exit if the need for a bathroom break arises. Also, you don’t have to worry that you won’t be reseated or have to wait for a suitable break in the performance. I’m not saying I haven’t seen long plays with no intermission (I have) nor would I specifically avoid a play for that reason - but that’s me. I can certainly understand why others may find this difficult, and comparing this experience to that of being in a movie theater doesn’t feel like an apt comparison. |
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