new Eve Ensler play
new Eve Ensler play
#1new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:25am
Bummer that Melissa Leo is leaving this show...and so close to previews
It's also the same woman a few years ago who allowed herself to be photographed wearing a ridiculous lover the top fur coat.
Melissa Leo Departs
#2new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:26amOver the top....not lover of top. That's something entirely different
FishermanBob
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/9/12
#2new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/25/14 at 1:49amFor what it's worth, she's being replaced by Kate Mulligan whom I have seen a number of times at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She's very good and will do a fine job.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#3new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/25/14 at 5:54am
Seeing this on Saturday. Bummer about Leo, but Mulligan is great, too.
Will report back.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#4new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/26/14 at 12:14amlooking forward to hearing your thoughts on the show
#5new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/26/14 at 12:38amI don't think Ensler has done anything noteworthy since Vagina Monolgues. Her work is so laborious and heavy handed. Maybe Leo was trying to dodge a bullet
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
OperaBwayLover
Broadway Star Joined: 5/17/07
#6new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/26/14 at 1:27am
I do like some of the monologues Ensler has added to the original play, such as "Say It." And I'm currently reading 'I Am An Emotional Creature,' and while it's good and it certainly has its moments, most of the pieces seem to be hit or miss. This could be because I am not the target audience (haven't been a teenager in a little while)...? *shrugs*
I am intrigued by the concept of this new play, and hopefully a published script for public reading will be available in the future.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#7new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/26/14 at 1:45amLeo was SO great in her Oscar nominated performance. I think she was probably dodging a hot mess.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#8new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:03pm
Wow. And not in a good way.
I'll start with the positives: The set and costumes. So clever and really in tune with the subject matter. That is, if you can narrow down the subject matter. As the ART often does, even the lobby was thematic and sets out to immerse you. To go with the environmental issues, there were no programs other than a few tabled in the lobby. (which you can view on line.)
The play itself is simply a hot mess. Some of the monologues are quite interesting, and will make some women wonderful audition pieces. However, the play as a whole doesn't fit. It's like Ensler started with a number of interesting monologues and decided to force them together. LOTS of incomplete thoughts, too much TELLING (vs. showing), too many convenient realization that come from nowhere and absolutely NO growth in a single character. They are all in the same exact place at the end they were in the beginning.
I was disappointed in the direction as well. Lots of unsubstantiated yelling and awkward presentational moments. I think the performances were stiff and inconsistent (only 2nd preview, remember).
Overall, it was a pretty difficult evening to get through. (But I had a lovely dinner and company!)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#9new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:07pm
"I don't think Ensler has done anything noteworthy since Vagina Monologues."
I enjoyed seeing Ensler perform The Good Body in San Francisco, which I recall being well received. But anything will likely pale to what put her in the cultural consciousness...
#10new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/30/14 at 3:32pm
According to the Boston Globe, Leo withdrew due to "artistic differences."
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2014/11/18/melissa-leo-leaves-cast/YBtjkUv2cDNJlF2v9PsjFN/story.html
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#11new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:34pmYes, I'd have gotten out, too. There is no artistry going on in that production (sans the set design)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
LarryD2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/14
#12new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 11/30/14 at 4:48pmI don't think Ensler has ever successfully pulled off an actual play. The two attempts I've seen from here--the military play with her son (who isn't a very good actor) and the one with Shirley Knight--were a lot two of the worst nights I've ever had at the theater. Leo was smart to get out while she could.
#14new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 12/8/14 at 7:32am
As dramamama611 said, the sets and costumes are great. So is the lighting. The actors do some decent acting, but the play is more of a diatribe against consumerism than it is anything else.
Best performance was by Liz Mikel (who I loved in Lysistrata Jones a couple years ago), everyone else was just a caricature (ok, so were Mikel's characters).
I was fine with the definition of the title (OPC = Obsessive Political Correctness), but to make the actual term "OPC" become a key part of the show was just lazy, IMHO.
#15new Eve Ensler play
Posted: 12/8/14 at 8:15pm
Went to the matinee this past Saturday.
Cringe-worthy from beginning to end.
The only thing more embarrassing than what I saw, would be to have witnessed Melissa Leo trying to slog through this mess.
I felt bad for Liz Mikel, giving her very best to two very poorly-written caricatures, not characters.
Dramamama is right about the sets and the ambient pieces in the lobby. Nicely done! It was also heartening to see people give so generously to the food bank drop-off station in the lobby. Those are the only redeeming points of this endeavor. Note to A.R.T.: If you're going to admonish people to stop drinking from plastic containers, you'd be wise to stop serving beverages in them as well.
