THE TESTAMENT OF MARY previews

Posted: 3/28/13 at 3:07pm

Has anyone seen this yet? Haven't heard much about it, other than that there was a protest.

[djb]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 4:50pm

Updated On: 11/28/22 at 04:50 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:10pm

I was there tonight and The Testament of Mary ranks up there with my least favorite things I've seen on a Broadway stage.

I got absolutely nothing out of it and though Fiona Shaw is a splendid actress I didn't care for the character; what an irritating person to spend 90 minutes with.

Upon exiting the theater one of my friends said, "It's not the Catholics who have anything to protest about, but rather the theatergoers."

[egghumor]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:17pm

put the crown of thorns around my mouth... i'm speechless

[April Saul]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:44pm

Whizzer, have you seen Much Ado with Cake and Siff? I've been hyping it here after loving it yesterday, and it might give you a lovely Shakespearean break from the last few half-baked Broadway previews it sounds like you've endured. This one doesn't sound much better than Orphans, Big Knife, or Assembled Parties...although they probably make shows like Pippin that much sweeter!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:53pm

April, I haven't seen Much Ado, but your review had me intrigued and I am looking into going tomorrow night. I like both Cake and Siff, and some fun Shakespeare would be very welcome after the plays I've seen this week.

I'm practically sitting here in anger over this show tonight. As much as I didn't like The Big Knife and Orphans (Assembled Parties had issues, but was better than those other two), I would rather sit through either again than Testament of Mary.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:00pm

Woooooow, Whizzer. That last comment has made the possibility of ever seeing this go completely away.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:02pm

What was it like? Just her sitting there on stage?

[egghumor]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:07pm

She doesn't juggle fruit?

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:08pm

Whizzer, when someone as well-versed and accepting as you are feels that way, I'll avoid it like the plague! Thanks!!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:10pm

No, she doesn't just sit there. There's lots of stuff on stage actually- sort of reminded me of the set to Jerusalem, without the camper and all the green forest. There are lawn chairs, a ladder, barbed wire, a working faucet that pours into a pool of water in the stage, a tree, a table and lots of paper.

She walks all over the stage and interacts with the different pieces as she tells different stories about Jesus' life. We hear about him healing the sick, raising Lazarus from the dead, his trial and crucifixion.

SLIGHT SPOILER
She gets naked and jumps in the pool of water after the crucifixion story.

[egghumor]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:12pm

But she doesn't juggle fruit?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:15pm

I hate one-person shows. Not sure this is my thing.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:16pm

So you would agree with her previous assessment of the show, Whizzer?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 11:16pm

I hate one-person shows. Not sure this is my thing.

[djb]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 3:08am

Updated On: 11/28/22 at 03:08 AM

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 5:10am

I doubt seriously I'll see this — it doesnt sound like a really great way to drop a hundred bucks — but I'll ask something that's been bothering me a lot of date about these new shows.

Who the hell thinks this is really Broadway fare? I mean, this and HARDBODY and a few others this season are proabbly all decent enough shows, but they sound like the kind of thing that should be OFF-Nroadway, not on. I dont want to perpetuate the theory that Broadway should be nothing but theme-park-ride musicals like SPIDERMAN, but if you're shelling out 150 bucks for a ticket, there are certain expectations that should be met.

After all, most of you posting here get your tickets for dirt cheap — you must, considering how many shows you see a month, let alone a year. Would you seriously put down that kind of cash if you had to pay full price to see this stuff? I just cant fathom what's going through a producer's mind when someone thinks a play like this is really going to draw in the consistent audiences needed to keep this running.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 5:16am

If you're comparing a Broadway musical to a cheeseburger, it can't be that good.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 7:38am

There is a live vulture on stage???? Why???

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 7:47am

djb, I liked reading your comments. Let me clarify when I said it was one of my least favorite things to sit through on Broadway. I don't think it's one of the worst written or worst produced or worst acted shows I've seen; there are other candidates for those. This just was one of the hardest shows I've had to endure sitting through at the Broadway level because something about it created such a violent reaction inside me.

The reason I described her as irritating was because she was so unpleasant, unfunny and most importantly not provocative. Shaw read each line like it was the most incredible thing we had ever heard, and yet it was nothing new.

I knew this wasn't going to be a laugh riot, but I think it was a mistake to not have a few light/funny moments. And if you're not going to give us any humor the drama needs to be more shocking, and the theological revelations more interesting.

We've seen so many plays and movies now where Jesus and other biblical figures are portrayed in a more human than divine light, so seeing Mary as just a mother concerned for her son wasn't premise enough to engage me in this play.

I didn't know if I would ever connect with the subject matter on a deep level, but I was hoping to at least get caught up in Shaw's performance, which never happened because I felt like she constantly had to be fighting against the script to hold our interest. (This was especially true during the story of Lazarus!)

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 7:48am

"It begins with all sorts of props and pieces, and Fiona in the classic "Mary" garb of pink dress and blue cloak inside a glass box praying. "

It's been a very big week in New York for actresses in boxes.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 8:12am

That brings us back to Kevin!

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 1:20pm

Sorry to hear WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel, I am seeing this tomorrow.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 11:44am

Hoo boy! This one was hard to sit through, but was it worth it in the end? I'm still making up my mind about that.


********POSSIBLE SPOILERS***************************

As someone who was raised Catholic, I found this play hard to digest. It upends so much of Catholic principles held dear by so many people: the Virgin birth, that Jesus was the son of God, etc. And the image of Mary it portrays! Mary's angry! Mary's smoking a cigarette! Mary's getting naked! I still don't know what to make of it all, even from my current perspective, which I would consider secular. The question is, what does this play add up to? Yes, it's a portrait of a woman who occupies a singular place in the church's history, and maybe even the world's history. But basically she's a woman who will never be free of her grief over losing her son, seeing him tortured to death and being unable to help.

***********MORE SPOILERS****************************

I did like some of the imagery on stage. I assume the vulture was there to call to mind those who put Christ to death, or even Christ's followers, who Mary believes didn't do enough to keep him out of harm's way. And the water scene was amazing for a couple of reasons; first of all, Fiona is completely naked, and second of all, I had assumed the pool of water on stage was very shallow. I was shocked that she disappeared, feet-first, into its depths! I wondered if she would come up again, but she did surface. I assume that was Mary's baptism. I also liked how the ladder stood in for the cross, especially when she was carrying it over her shoulder.

As you can see, I'm struggling with what this play means and what it means to me, and I hope there's a better answer than "not much."

At the very least, it was a novel way to spend Holy Saturday!














Updated On: 3/31/13 at 11:44 AM

[Sauja]

Posted: 3/31/13 at 7:05pm

Saw this last night and had a wildly different reaction from other posters here. I found the entire production unbelievably moving, deeply thrilling, and utterly involving. The transition from pre-show installation with Mary as a familiar I on to performance with stripped down, angry, emotional Mary established immediately how strange and different the version of the story would be.

I thought it was a heartbreaking consideration of a mother's anger-tinged grief that brought the biblical story down to earth in a humanizing way that really shook me. I can't speak to how much of my reaction had to do with being raised Christian, or on another note being a big fan of stripped down theater. To me, it's a highlight of the season on Broadway or off. I hope others have the chance to feel the same profound impact of the show that I did, although as other comments show it's not for everyone!