THE LYONS Preview

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:22am

First preview tonight, anyone going? I have tickets for next Saturday. Any thoughts?

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:49pm

I was there tonight. I thought it was hilarious! Very dark, but extremely entertaining. And Linda Lavin turns in another amazing performance. I hope you enjoy it this weekend!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:50pm

Seeing it a week from today. This thing is being papered like nobody's business.

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:51pm

How full was it?

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 10:55pm

The orch and mezz seemed full to me. I couldn't see the balcony.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 11:03pm

I saw it at the Vineyard last fall and honestly didn't like it that much. Was it enjoyable? To an extent, but I'm very surprised it transferred.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 11:12pm

I'm also pretty mixed on it- true some of the writing is hilarious but I thought that structurally its a bit of a mess and probably could really have benefitted from some dramaturgy work (Kate Jennings Grants' monologue in act two is especially problematic). But Dick Latessa and Linda Lavin are both fabulous (mind you I've seen Lavin give this same performance in about five other plays but she's still brilliant) and are worth seeing.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 11:19pm

Linda Lavin is essentially reprising her character from The New Century. However, she's a genius in the first act. Seeing Lavin act is like watching a master class.

The second act is very problematic. I'm not sure why this is on Broadway. I'm not sure it will catch on.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 12:41am

I'm curious to see this only because Lavin has turned down two other Broadway shows to star in this. It must be pretty good.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 12:52am

I loved it.

I'd say the orchestra was mostly full- sides, back, and a strange cluster of seats in the middle were empty- and the mezz seemed to be mostly full.

Lavin's performance is dynamite. Latessa is also great. Michael Esper is his reliably good self, as well.

I don't think this will catch on, barring critical hosannas but even then I don't think it'll do well. I got a rush ticket (according to the box office, the show's first rush ticket sold) at a quarter to seven.. and was given a seat in orchestra row C, just off the aisle. I walked past some older audience members on the street afterward who were talking about how they found the play depressing and mean-spirited. A valid opinion. But I have a twisted sort of humor and laughed a great deal.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 1:08am

I can't imagine a off-kilter comedy would do well on Broadway. Maybe the producers that Lavin and Latessa could sell it?

[John G2]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 9:06am

Doesn't anyone remember GEMINI?

[dreaming]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 9:15am

I saw it at the Vineyard and I liked the acting and thought the play was entertaining enough. It was rather predictable. I will probably go back now that it's transferred. Lavin's performance seems like so many others I've seen her give-and it's very strong as she is a strong actress. In a season with so many strong female performances, I'm not sure it's going to be Lavin's year.

Dick Latessa was very strong, as were Michael Esper and Kate Jennings Grant.

The acting, in my opinion, was better than the material.

[singtopher]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 9:25am

Okay, not to thread the jack, but I don't want to start a new thread. I'd trying to debate between this, One Man Two Govs, or Venus in Fur for the Saturday Matinee. Any advice?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 9:27am

Probably ONE MAN - I think it will do well at the Tonys.



Updated On: 4/6/12 at 09:27 AM

[dreaming]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 9:34am

I say Venus. I was entertained and the two performances are very strong.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 10:40am

Go see Venus. Nina Arianda is not to be missed. It's a thrilling play.

[Tom5]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 9:54am

Agree. Venus is best. As for The Lyons, which I saw at the Vineyard, it's for fans of both/either Linda Lavin and Dick Latessa and they don't disappoint. But what does disappoint is the unstructured nature of the play itself which after the start goes in all sorts of uninteresting directions. Probably would have worked best as a One Act.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 10:32am

Add me to the list for Venus. I can't get Nina Arianda's performance out of my head nor can I stop thinking about the play itself. Absolutely thrilling!

[broadfan327]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 10:42pm

I thought the first act was pretty good, but it went off the tracks during the second act. One of the few shows I attended this season where there was not a standing ovation. It must have hit too close to home for the primarily elderly audience.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 4:36pm

Just saw it this afternoon and pretty much loved it. Linda Lavin was exceptional (while I imagine this will be snubbed for a Best Play nomination, she at least should be rewarded with a nod). What a great performance. She had perfect comedic timing and made everything seem so effortless. Dick Latessa and Michael Esper were each great as well. The weakest link in the cast, for me, was Kate Jennings Grant. She overacted every second of her performance.

All in all, however, it's a brisk two hours, and it's absolutely hysterical. One side note: the show featured what was arguably the most annoying audience I have ever had the displeasure of sitting with. They were almost all 65+ and felt the need to comment at the play and other audience members' reactions at full volume. The woman next to me kept saying "SHE LOOKS GOOD" every time Linda Lavin did anything for the first ten minutes. And then when audience members laughed, she asked out loud "THAT'S FUNNY???!" Oh, and she also informed us all that she thought it was "HARD TO HEAR" the show. Maybe because she kept interrupting every other line with a comment. She stopped after a few minutes, but only because people (very politely) told her to shut up.

This will shutter rather quickly, I would imagine. It's a tough sell. But go see it. I had a great time.

[dave1606]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 6:56pm

I was there over the weekend. It is a strange piece. Definitely too long and disjointed. The second scene in act 2 felt like it could have been from another play. Also, I confirmed with my friend last night that the AA speech that opens the second act has been cut. This was in when I saw it on Saturday.

The crowd was older, and didn't seem to care for it. I liked its dark tone, but I can't see word of mouth being very good. Overall, the whole thing felt like August: Osage County Lite. Lavin is fantastic, as is Latessa and Esper.

It did make me laugh, but when compared to something like One Man, Two Guvnors, this isn't even in the same league. Still, I did love Lavin.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 7:37pm

Overall, the whole thing felt like August: Osage County Lite.

I couldn't disagree more. Besides both being about dysfunctional families, I don't see many similarities at all. They're both totally different works. If anything, the last tenant at the Cort felt like AUGUST: OSAGE Lite. THE LYONS is a different beast entirely, if you ask me. It sort of reminded me of SONS OF THE PROPHET, perhaps in its tone and writing styles, more than anything event remotely resonant of AUGUST.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/12/12 at 9:30am

Act one is absolutely hilarious and brilliant. Lavin and Latessa are worth the price of admission. Those performances and that enchanting bitchy dialogue is wonderfully crafted as only Nicky Silver can conjure.

Act Two- does disappoint and structurally doesn't work with act one as has been said on here. It switches protagonists awkwardly and changes focus in midstream.

That being said.... I wouldn't miss this play for the world... even if it is mostly for act one, the performances and some of the cleverest dialogue ever.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/12/12 at 10:29am

While I don't get the comparison to AUGUST, I get the comparison to SONS OF THE PROPHET even less... especially in tone. Yikes. Even the most flawed and confused and heartbreaking of SotP's characters exuded, radiated, and positively shone with humanity. The characters in THE LYONS have either given over to their loss of humanity entirely or are desperately searching for how they might recover it, and the result is behavior that's unapologetically ugly. Neither idea is inferior, but that's one hell of a jarring comparison.

I'm surprised at all the mentions of Latessa here. I found his work adequate, perhaps occassionally strong, but he's got virtually nothing to do but find variations on banging the same note for all of Act 1. At least, that was the case in the iteration at the Vineyard

And they cut that Act 2 opening monologue? Thank goodness. That's certainly a start.

Lavin and Esper were the two things I came away remembering, and their performances are pretty finely etched in my brain, but the play lacks a there.