Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
#1Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/26/13 at 1:51pm
I was at the first preview of this new Roundabout Underground show last night and found it to be pretty ho-hum. It's only 70 minutes, but not too much happens so it feels longer. The play is comprised of short scenes punctuated by blackouts and piano music you might hear on Cedar Cove.
The show concerns an elderly woman who has locked herself in her bedroom for over 6 months because of some tragedy. Her 39 year old daughter is stuck taking care of her through the door and a young priest has been enlisted to break through to her.
Rebecca Henderson was fine as the daughter, but she looked WAY too young to be 39, and her costumes didn't help either. I thought she was maybe 30 and could have played a grad student, but not a woman worried about becoming an old maid.
Phyllis Somerville is lovely, but the character is a weird one. Sure she's locked herself in her room, but she seems pretty happy and well-adjusted on paper to me. I wanted more of a Vera in Dolores Claiborne than what was going on here.
The priest was really hot, so there's that.
I walked away from the play saying, "so what?" It was innocuous, but slight and without much to recommend.
On a side note- I felt horrible for Henderson when she was trying to have a quiet, emotional moment and someone's alarm went off on her phone. She couldn't find the phone in her bag and an usher had to come over with a flashlight to help her dig the phone out and shut the alarm off. I swear it went on for nearly a full minute.
I wish theaters would make sterner cellphone announcements. Instead of a simple please turn off your cellphones, or worse some cutesy "our play takes place before the invention of certain devices" crap. Tell people: have you turned your phone off? Not on vibrate. Not on silence. But off. Completely off. I wish we were given a warning that anyone caught texting would be given a warning and then a second offense would get you kicked out of theater. That might get people to shut off their phones.
I know we rant about cell phones all the time, but we need to keep complaining until the theaters take a much harsher stand against them.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#2Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/26/13 at 10:27pmHow'd she get service in a cellar like that? Crazy. Now I have to google the Priest.
ryankon
Chorus Member Joined: 9/6/11
#2Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/26/13 at 10:45pm
A brief note to say I always enjoy your reports, Whizzer. They are not filled with cynicism that mistakes itself for intellect. Rather, they are infused with a love of the form and an open minded, candid analysis of what you experienced in the theatre--authentic, visceral responses rather than tomes meant to impress. They are therefore more credible than most and have greater impact. We don't always agree(I disliked DOMESTICATED but loved Laurie Metcalf) but I'm always grateful for your voice on this board.
Oh, and what's the name of the actor playing the priest? :)
#3Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/27/13 at 9:34am
Thanks ryankon for your kind words! :)
The priest was played by Luke Kirby.
RippedMan- It had to have been an alarm and not a phone call because that theater is too deep underground for reception. It also went on way too long to be call.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#4Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/27/13 at 11:34am
YES. All kinds of yes.
Some people have jobs that require them to be available 24/7. It sucks, but there is real life outside of the theater.
April Saul
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/06
#5Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 10/27/13 at 11:38am
Hey Whizzer, I was worried about you! No first night Godot or Macbeth reviews; I was afraid you had the flu or something until I saw this 
But I can totally relate to your cell phone post. Last week, I caught The Winslow Boy, and it was bad enough that there were so many folks napping around me (umm, this is a lot of money to pay for a nap, no?) but the cell phone of the man next to me went off THREE times, and we are in the 3rd row. He clearly had no idea how to actually turn it off, and I guess just kept ending the call...after the last time, I finally said, do you know how to turn off your phone? Do you want me to try? And he just shook his head, fell back to sleep and started, again, to snore. Wow.
#6Too Much, Too Much, Too Many previews
Posted: 11/1/13 at 4:42amLuke Kirby *IS* hot. He had a fairly major role in Slings and Arrows as well as an (often nude) role on the Showtime sex therapy show Tell Me You Love Me. It sounds like one would do better to watch either of those great series than sit through this...
