"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
I'm seeing it in early November and am praying that before then, your reviews aren't too brutal. I agree that Clybourne Park was a snoozefest but this cast was too good to pass up.
She is so magnificent that my brain is reeling trying to express what she did tonight. At the first preview.
LCT needs to add a warning after the cell phone announcement that Ms. Metcalf's performance may cause the elevation of one's heart rate, sudden and extreme bursts of laughter, fainting, dizziness and the urge to clap wildly at the conclusion of the play.
Buy your tickets now because, like Cherry Jones in Glass Menagerie, you just can't miss this performance.
But wait! There's more! In addition to Metcalf's insanity you also get a pretty fantastic play. After disliking CP so intensely I could not have more surprised by how much I did enjoy Domesticated. The way Norris has written each scene change is exquisite; the dialogue dovetails from the end of one scene to the start of the next so beautifully (and directed so smoothly) that you feel like you're watching cinematic dissolves.
I'll admit that I was a little worried at the first scene. Goldblum and Metcalf are at a podium- we can infer that Goldblum is a high ranking politician- and he is apologizing for having an affair and is resigning from office. Now it's Thursday night and we've all got Tony Goldwyn and Bellamy Young on the brain, so I'm praying that this doesn't turn into a poor man's Scandal. Luckily it doesn't, although some of the plot points are similar.
Slight Spoiler****************
After Goldblum's initial apology he doesn't speak for the entire rest of the first act, although he leaves neither the stage nor the action, until the very end. Metcalf tells him it's her turn to talk and it's time she got a monologue! Well a tour de force she in fact gets!
END slight spoiler ************
Goldblum doesn't really get to flex his muscles until the second act, but he has a doozy of a speech that garnered applause a la David Hyde Pierce's monologue in Vanya.
The supporting cast, led by the ever brilliant and radiant Mary Beth Peil, was great from top to bottom. As far as I can tell this is Emily Meade's stage debut, and she was hilarious as Metcalf and Goldblum's eldest daughter.
Lastly, it's staged in the round by Anna D Shapiro, and the setting really worked. I haven't seen such good blocking in the round since The Norman Conquests revival.
Now that the Circle in the Square is free this should transfer immediately.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
I'm sure if the reviews are even slightly positive, it will transfer. I'm def. getting a LincTix. I don't think I've seen Metcalf on stage ever and I'm a HUGE Roseanne fan.
Thanks, Whizzer, for getting me psyched for this one! I see it in 10 days. And thank God that Menagerie, Fun Home, Old Friends and Domesticated will more than make up for the twin disappointments of Big Fish and Betrayal
Now, as long as the rush lines for No Man's Land and Godot aren't too bad...
Thanks for the review, Whizzer! I'm really excited now. And I'm seeing it on the same day I'm seeing The Commons of Pensacola. Would two fantastic shows in one day be too much to hope for?
How are the seats in the 200's? It seems like they added 3 shows "behind the stage" that were not there before. I have tickets in the first row of the 200's. Will these be good seats?
Whizzer (or anyone who knows), what was the running time? I'm trying to meet up with someone after the show tomorrow and I want to get an approximate. Thanks!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Was there last night and the show let out around 10:20. I think we have an other divisive piece on our hands. As I was going into the lobby at intermission I heard an older man exclaim "This is the worst thing I have ever seen in this space," he proceed to walk straight up the stairs. Personally I disagree, I think is a much stronger play than CP with excellent direction, and outstanding performances. The first act is all of the women in Bill's life reacting and dealing with the affair, where as the second act is from Bill's protective as he deals with everything he has done and in some cases hasn't done. I thought it was great storytelling treat with a unique prospective, and if this transfers Laurie Metcalf will get nominated for all of the awards.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Saw this tonight. I'm no reviewer so I'll spare you the pain of reading, but I felt this was a very strong production with an excellent cast. The use of the space (in the round) was effective and the show had great pacing to keep it going. Haven't seen CLYBOURNE PARK so can't compare, but I really enjoyed the show.