And so, my friends, another opening night performance is upon us. This time, for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, DISGRACED. Sending best wishes and blessings to all involved, as I still haven't ventured over to the Lyceum yet.
"Despite the inherent blistering energy of this scene, it lands with a soggy thud in Kimberly Senior’s production — which puts it on par with the rest of Disgraced."
"Some plays have a soft and gentle feel. Others build to a climax but remain mellow for the most part. And then there’s Ayad Akhtar’s explosive race relations drama “Disgraced,” which makes its audience feel like it was just uncomfortably blindsided and hit with a ton of bricks."
South Fl Marc, I totally agree about Matthew Murray. It doesn't even seem that he has specific tastes in musical theatre, it's like he randomly chooses what kind of review he wants to write for a show before he goes to see it, his opinions are always really random.
A rave from the New York Times, congrats to all involved!
Although “Disgraced” runs under 90 minutes, with no intermission, Mr. Akhtar packs an impressive amount of smart, heated talk — as well as a few surprising twists, including a shocking burst of violence — into the play’s taut duration. Ms. Senior, who directed the play’s New York premiere, for Lincoln Center Theater, as well as its world premiere in Chicago, continues to find fresh currents of dramatic electricity.
As Emily, whose love for Amir will be harshly tested as the play proceeds, Ms. Mol makes us feel both the depth of that affection and the inquisitive intelligence that has led her to explore the history of Islam. Ms. Pittman’s Jory is magnetic and funny, and a cool referee when the tension between Isaac and Amir explodes into animosity. Mr. Ashok makes young Abe’s own evolving attitude toward his heritage persuasive. Most important, Mr. Dillon, who played Amir in a London production, brings a coiled intensity to his performance that makes Amir’s increasing antagonism all the more unsettling. Flickering underneath his cool, crisp exterior is a pilot light of resentment that holds the key to the play’s eventually devastating denouement. Charles Isherwood's Review
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Hm. Sometimes I just wonder what people see. It wasn't a terrible show or anything, but when I saw it (I was in the front row) the lead kept looking off stage and not connecting with anyone onstage. It was very apparent that his acting as all surface, but maybe from a distance it didn't matter.
Isn't the beauty of theatre that sometimes an actor makes a particular choice and then she or he doesn't do that in the next performance? Saying things like "it was very apparent his acting was all surface" have little credibility when framed as absolute truth. Clearly, a lot of other people whom I assume saw a different performance from yours, thought his acting was far from superficial.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I'm with RippedMan and yes, Murray and especially Linda Winer in Newsday. The magic is missing for me, here, too, and I'm a die hard fan of the play on the page. A play I finished and began again immediately, a couple of times. I think these reviews attest to the play's inherent strengths, and the supporting cast's fervor and focus, despite less than ideal (and to my subjective eyes, too glib) direction. At the center, Dhillon and Mol just lack the needed firepower.
Random observation, or maybe not: the handsome Dhillon reminds me of a young David Selby. He looks eerily like him on the stage and in some shots. He even has some of Selby's qualities. Not the ones I'd want in the role, duly noted.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
"But RippedMan prefaced that statement in the sentence before, specifically by saying "when I saw it." That's a pretty good disclaimer."
Not if he's using the time he saw it to debunk what they saw when they saw it. The implication is still that the show he saw is what was reviewed, hence "I just wonder what people see." He seems to clearly be saying they saw what he did, but were oblivious to the flaws he found, no?
Although I'm not at all a fan of the play or this production, I'm not surprised by the reviews, considering its subject and pedigree, I am glad than an American play about a little-discussed topic is finding success.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I don't understand the people who follow me around this board and somehow get offended by what I post. I've said it again and I'll say it now: It's just my opinion. That's all it is. Nothing more. Why do I need to put "In my opinion" before everything I say? Of course it's my opinion. I'm writing it. I can only talk about how this show and this particular performance effected me.
Given that many members of the cast have been involved in previous productions of this show, and with Josh being a friend of the playwright, if the show were to extend, they would probably stay with it, I'd imagine.
Right now the show is scheduled for an open-ended run, so it's the same thing as any other open-ended show. If the actor wants to and could stay with the production then they will, if not, it will get a replacement or a closing date. Right now there's no official decision yet.
There is never a feeling that the play is satirizing these characters, even when Emily is serving a fennel and anchovy salad or chirping with Isaac about the London art scene. But what “Disgraced” does do, smoothly and theatrically, is confront us one by one with our assumptions and pieties about the culture clash that is defining our era. Disgraced Theater Review: Bluntly Provocative, Dramatically Satisfying