CONSTELLATIONS Previews

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 5:02pm

Surprised no one started a thread yet. Might as well be me!

So who's going tonight?

[dave1606]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 9:26pm

I was there tonight. I found the performances to be good but the play to be lacking. The whole evening runs exactly 60 minutes, with no intermission. It started at about 7:10 and ended at 8:10. I know we've had this argument before, but that is a lot to charge for $145.

If you've ever wanted to hear Jake Gyllenhaal talk about licking his elbow for 20 minutes followed by the talky part of Interstellar, then this show is for you.

I did find this considerably better than If there Is I Haven't Found It Yet, but I felt like it lacked any real meat either emotionally, or intellectually. IF you wanted, you and a friend could probably have a far more interesting discussion about Constellations than the play itself.

The play is a series of scenes that repeat sometimes one after another, and sometimes at different points in the story. It is very deliberate, and I appreciated what the playwright was going for, but just when it was amping up, the play deflated like the (SPOILER?) one of the (100?!!) balloons onstage.

I thought Jake did an excellent job with a paper thin character and some rather mundane dialogue. He brought a lot of empathy for a character that on paper really didn't have any. Ruth Wilson was also quite good.

I could see this getting some critical acclaim, but I can't imagine the general public caring for this.

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 10:24pm

One more bit of proof --- as if we needed it--- that the British critics' darlings are just as bad as our own.

This one presents us with a double whammy: snoozer and downer.

Both our energy and our patience wilt before a steady stream of pretentious, repetitious and thoroughly unintereresting prattle until the play takes a sudden tragic turn and becomes painful as well.

All in all, an hour of theatre that is about sixty minutes too long.

The actors acquit themselves well.

[FloydJoe2]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 12:18am

Saw this tonight. Gyllenhaal and Wilson are both good in a play that unfortunately doesn't fare the same. I didn't see "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet" so I cannot compare the two, but this reminded me a lot like David Ives' "Sure Thing." I enjoy "Sure Thing" because it doesn't try to be preachy and it is a quick 10 minutes, whereas this drags along endlessly for an hour. Everything happens so fast that I couldn't seem to care for anything.
*POSSIBLE SPOILER*
Wherein "Sure Thing" it follows the same pattern when it begins to repeat itself so the whole story has a continuous arc too it, when something repeats in this it sort of veers of what into a new topic and structure, so it all easily gets muddled.
*END SPOILER*
All in all, didn't loathe it completely, but wouldn't recommend.

[rocker05]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 11:34pm

Saw the show tonight. Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson are both great, but I just wasn't crazy about the play itself. Supposedly, Gyllenhaal tripped up tonight during one scene, but it wasn't noticeable. I got my ticket through TDF and the seat was perfect (Front Mezz, Right Side, Row A). I really liked the simplistic set and lighting. Definitely try and snag a ticket when it shows up on there if you're curious. I really hope Ruth Wilson does more theatre in the states.

Updated On: 12/19/14 at 11:34 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 12:02am

I attended the show, and while the performances are excellent, the show itself is very, very flawed.

[Javi]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 4:22am

I'm seeing this on Dec 27. I'm surprised that people are saying the play isn't great. This play was presented in Sydney, Australia a few months ago but I didn't see it because I was going to see this New York production. It's just been nominated as one of 2014's best productions.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 8:25am

All stage productions can represent the material differently.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 1:34am

Thoroughly enjoyed this play. Insightfully crafted and written with exceptional performances Ruth Wilson and Jake Gyllenhaal. The show was entertaining, moving, and very strong.

One of the best plays of the year and continues a long tradition of quality theater that i've seen at MTC.

and it doesn't hurt that the show is 70 min or so....you are so fully engaged by these two characters and by the concept that I could have watched another 20 min or so.

Bravo to the Playwright, Director and this cast.

All deserve Tony noms.

and the less one knows about he play the better. i knew virtually nothing going in other than it was a hit at the Royal Court.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 10:42am

This seems to be a show perfect for latecomers. If they come late enough, they will miss the whole thing.

[SharoninB]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 11:11pm

http://www.dnykg.com/reviews/constellations/
So NYT was wrong