THE ANARCHIST Reviews- Page 2

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 8:30pm

I guess he realized that they weren't appropriate given the subject matter.

[wecrazy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 8:31pm

Chicago Tribune


Chicago Tribune Review Updated On: 12/2/12 at 08:31 PM

[Tom-497]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 8:32pm

The Chicago Tribune is leaning positive (I'm guessing "never not dull for a second" is some sort of typo).

There are two quite different performances here. LuPone cut her teeth on Mamet during the St. Nicholas Players days in is Chicago, and she is a consummate interpreter of his works: sShe understands how to foreground his language without giving up the rest of what an actor does. She consumes this Cathy with a palpable hunger, forging a very shrewd and well-crafted performance. Winger, though, tends to lean back from the debate even as LuPone leans into its demands. Winger is no slouch when it comes to the nuances of character, and you could argue that her warden’s apparent passivity (although beware the sting in her tail) is a useful metaphor for collective apathy at what these revolutionary sinners with their advanced degrees actually wrought. But there is still a laconic quality to Winger, a repetitive vocal inflection, that diminishes the fire of the argument.
Chicago Tribune

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 8:38pm

Chris Jones' review seems more compelling than the actual play for it provides the back story for the play that should have been...

[PianoMann]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:09pm

The Chicago Tribune seems to be somewhat positive, although it doesn't have favorable things to say about Mamet's directing, or the freedom his clout has given him lately. Still, it acknowledges LuPone's performance and gives better notices to Winger than I expected, based on the message board comments. I'm anxious to see more reviews; I purposely avoided the first one because I did not want to see the spoiler!

[Tom-497]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:19pm

Hollywood Reporter is Negative.

But this is a logorrheic, resolutely untheatrical play that’s almost stubbornly perverse in its refusal to provide any emotional payoff. It’s also a sad waste of the talents of two gifted actors who should have generated fireworks together.

Hollywood Reporter

[wecrazy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:32pm

Newsday is negative
Newsday Review

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:37pm

I was waiting for the Newsday review to mention something about the shoes.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:38pm

I haven't seen the play, but judging by the photos it looks like Mamet just has the ladies playing musical chairs with places to sit.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 9:54pm

There's no real direction. It's pretty much two people just walking around and sitting or standing wherever. The direction can be (and probably is each night) totally improvised.

[chanel]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:02pm

Villagevoice.com likes Patti and Debra and admires some of the play's ideas, but says it's pretty bad.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2012/12/patti_lupone_an_2.php

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:05pm

It sounds like a far more "level" two-hander would be to pit LuPone's Cathy against Julie White's agent from A LITTLE DOG LAUGHED.

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:12pm

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: “Women Behind Bars” it ain’t. And Ms. LuPone and Ms. Winger must sink or swim in the thick sea of verbiage into which Mr. Mamet has thrown them. Ms. LuPone, a Mamet veteran, navigates these clotted waters like the freestyle champion she is. Ms. Winger, in her Broadway debut, mostly dog paddles. ... That leaves Ms. LuPone to carry the emotional content of the play all by herself. She does so valiantly and compellingly, and reminds us that this Tony-winning star of musicals is a terrific dramatic actress. In her Cathy you sense the strain of a naturally arrogant woman trying to be humble and, what’s more, trying to convince herself that she believes in her humility.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:14pm

http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/theater/reviews/david-mamets-anarchist-at-the-golden-theater.html?ref=theater&_r=0

I can't discern an opinion.

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:19pm

It sounds mixed. Or actually, it just sounds: meh.

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:21pm

R E A L L Y ???

I find nothing in Brantley's that offers a whiff of approval. In addition to aforementioned quotes, I'm particularly amused by:

"As for its language, why — aside from one unfortunate outburst toward the end — it is as crisp and unsoiled as the sheets in a five-star hotel. While “Anarchist” portrays a notorious convict and the authority figure who controls her destiny, the relationship here feels less like one of jailbird and turnkey than that of a graduate student defending her thesis and a humorless visiting examiner."

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:25pm

I had to look up this word: logorrhea
1. an excessive or abnormal, sometimes incoherent talkativeness. — logorrheic, adj.

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:39pm

or more simply put: verbal diarrhea

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:42pm

Finally someone describes it perfectly.

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:47pm

While this play/production certainly did not become the camp fest some people thought it might, the critics were clearly having a glorious time when writing their reviews. Scott Brown's in New York Magazine is highly entertaining.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:50pm

Making a musical of it might help.

[egghumor]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 10:53pm

I bet the opening night party ends after 70 minutes as well. "KISS! KISS! Gotta run..."

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 11:01pm

This play is like something written for a playwriting class.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 12/2/12 at 11:03pm

I've seen the work of undergrad student playwrights that is more coherent and has more facility with language than this play does. Honestly.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/3/12 at 12:29am

I had to look up "opacity".

Do you think it's appropriate to flash photos during the run?