MCC's 'PUNK ROCK' Previews

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 8:44am

Punk Rock, a play by Simon Stephens, begins preview performances tonight at MCC's Lucille Lortel Theater. Very interested in seeing this one and excited to hear some thoughts! Anyone going?


More here about PUNK ROCK Updated On: 10/29/14 at 08:44 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 10:35am

I am, but not until the 16th.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 11:02am

Can't wait to hear what people think... I think this is a genuinely disturbing and increasingly relevant play with a shocking climax.

Updated On: 10/29/14 at 11:02 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 11:47am

The synopsis is rather bland.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 11:56am

There is absolutely no way to provide an adequate synopsis without totally undercutting the point, or shock, of the play.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 12:03pm

Well, see, now I'm intrigued.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 1:24pm

Caught this in London back in 2009 and was very enthralled by it, great play. Can't to check this out here!

Updated On: 11/13/14 at 01:24 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 2:05am

Anyone?

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 6:09am

Bad.

An assortment of British teens teens bully, badger, and bait one another at school.

Blathers, blabs, and goes nowhere, until the penultimate scene.


********* SPOILER ALERT ************


It then erupts into horriific violence.

The last scene is distinctly unsatisfying.

Lapses in logic add to the play's problems.

The actors do a good job.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:58pm

Hm. So with that spoiler I kind of get what people were saying, but any other reviews?

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 11/9/14 at 1:58pm

I don't want to say too much about the plot, but will say this is the 4th play I've seen that covered this subject and this is by far the best.
Some incredible writing - and I HATED The Curious Case Of Why A Writer Would Put Their Name On That Play.

But for me Punk Rock was really all about the cast - a top notch group of young actors who all have long careers in front of them.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 3:36pm

I am going to have to actually agree with After Eight's assessment of this show. I didn't think it was very good. They keep making mention of coming from the same author as A CURIOUS INCIDENT... but the only similarity I found was the really poor portrayal of autism. I found Douglas Smith to do a find job acting the part I just didn't like the way it was written.

These type of plays rely too much on shock value but it's been so overdone that it's no longer shocking. THE LIBRARY handled the subject matter much better to me.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 1:10pm

Making this quick.

I saw this last night and I quite enjoyed it. I highly recommend it. I was truly terrified at certain moments and I think the rest of the audience was as well.

The set and lighting design was fantastic - the best work I've seen from those two designers of late.

The cast was very good. I really disliked Lily Englert's work at TFANA but she was perfectly cast here. Perhaps Shakespeare isn't her strong suit. Will Pullen is doing some phenomenal work. He has a very difficult role here.

Spoilers: My only two hangups are the transitions (unnecessary and overly dramatic) and the final scene with the therapist (also unnecessary).

Throughout the evening I was reminded of Gus Van Sant's Elephant which is a really incredible look at school shootings.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 8:37am

Kad and I saw it yesterday. I was really into it until the last scene, which tries too hard to bring "closure" to the preceedings. Otherwise, I think it's a brutal and often brutally funny portrayal of modern youth. Granted, the idea that these teens who OBVIOUSLY have a tempestuous relationship would hang out together almost every day is absurd, but it adds to the "while the adults are away, the kids will play" eeriness of the piece.

The cast was also uniformly spectacular, especially Will Pullen and Annie Funke. I recommend it highly. It's easily the best play I've seen or read dealing with this incredibly tough subject matter. It could have ended before the final scene and saved an extra paycheck (David Greenspan has nothing to work with and is totally unnecessary). Also, I really loved the transitions. Added wonderfully to the unsettling atmosphere.

Updated On: 11/16/14 at 08:37 AM

[HBBrock]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 9:06am

Saw this on Wednesday and LOVED it.

Simon Stephens is a great playwright....the audience was really into it and you could really feel all the gasps by everyone.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 9:58am

I saw it a week ago and had very mixed feelings. I thought the lead boy was dreadful, but thought the other cast members were quite good.

The final scene, as others have said, is completely necessary. I would've been fine with it ending just as he sits down in that gorgeous light cue before Greenspan's entrance.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 6:06pm

^^ I think you mean Unnecessary?

I enjoyed the performances, but it still seemed a bit off structurally. The actors did seem to make the best of what they were given, but the whole was less than the sum of its parts.

I can't imagine The Library being a superior work to anything, though. Ack.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 1:00am

So, I've bypassed the spoilers throughout this thread, but I'm curious if the gunshots are super loud...

I'm seeing it next month, and not that I have "an issue" with them, but I also don't want to be "that idiot" that jumps every time it goes off, lol.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 1:21am

"So, I've bypassed the spoilers throughout this thread, but I'm curious if the gunshots are super loud... "

If you know there are gunshots, I'm not sure how well you avoided the spoilers.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 1:40am

Well, as far as the "character development" goes. I don't know who, or why, or ... anything along those lines.

So, any insight? Is it like, a spray of 'em, or a few throughout?

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 1:51am

If the show runs 1:45 without an intermission, you won't hear a single gunshot for the first 90ish minutes.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 2:36am

Haha! Noted! Thnx! :)

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/20/14 at 12:37pm

Limelight, I would advise you more about the transition music than the gunshots. You see the gunshots coming, but the music is very loud punk rock (obviously) and it comes about very suddenly. You won't be the only one jumping, so you're in good company.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/14/14 at 10:04pm

I was very fortunate to catch this tonight on the closing date and I am so very glad that I did. This is truly necessary theater, along the vain of Martin Mcdonagh's plays as well as those of Sarah Kane.

I felt every aspect of the ending was not only perfectly executed but necessary. The cast is uniformly superlative and the direction thoughtful and engaging. I agree with many here: I didn't quite "get" the transitions, but it did capture the punkness of the piece (I have some issues with the title, but most were quelled in the production).

Many themes of a certain age are explored, and only rarely did I find it structurally challenged (eg that these kids continue to subject themselves to their own version of hell).

I hope "Hand to God" does well on Broadway. Because, methinks, if it does: we might see "Punk Rock" there next!