Fish in the Dark Previews

[Golenboybway]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 11:44am

Previews start tonight

[bfreak]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 12:04pm

I'm really looking forward to this one. Looking at this new thread while I'm watching some Curb Your Enthusiasm!

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 12:05pm

This should be a pretty, pretty, pretty interesting thread. Can't wait to hear about the show, well, moreso if it's any good than the actual details... I want to experience the details when I attend.

Actually, to be honest, no amount of train wreck warnings would keep me away from seeing Larry onstage... so, I guess I really don't even need to follow this.

Also, I love Larry more than I hate stagedooring, so if someone can peak and see if there's a poster, that would be great. I may pop down there before actually seeing the show, since he seems like he might get "over" signing stuff very quickly, if he gets into it at all, heh.

Let's face it, this is someone who is already wearing his costume for his first scene to the theater because he doesn't want to change upon arriving there. So, he will do this run on his terms...
Updated On: 2/2/15 at 12:05 PM

[Tom5]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 12:19pm

As a creative force what Neil Simon is to theatre comedies and Woody Allen to film comedies, Larry David has been to television comedies for many decades. It will be great to see what he does on Broadway with his first play. It apparently has a bigger cast than many musicals and with all super actors so he's not exactly dipping his toe in the water. I won't be missing this one, no way, no how.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 12:37pm

I absolutely can't wait to hear how the first performance is! Is anyone going to be there tonight?

Haterobics, should Larry tire of coin stage door (if he does it at all) we can always hope he'll sign posters for the spring collection for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. I'd imagine that poster would be expensive, but I'd happily make a big donation for it! And yes, Tom5, I have to agree that Larry is to television what Woody and Neil are in their respected mediums. Here's hoping Larry makes a terrific transition from small screen to stage!

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 1:15pm

You can almost see Larry talking with the marketing team... "So, if we make posters, will a lot of people be wanting me to sign them and stuff? Eh, why don't we jut not do it then..."

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/2/15 at 11:29pm

I was at the first preview tonight and there's some good stuff going for Fish in the Dark, but there's also room for work to be done, especially in the overly long and unfocused second act.

Act one ran about an hour and played like a two-part Curb Your Enthusiasm season finale. Everyone slowly assembles in a hospital waiting room where Larry David's father (Jerry Adler) has been rushed, fearing that this might be the end. Rita Wilson plays Cheryl, I mean Brenda; Jayne Houdyshell plays his overbearing mother; Ben Shenkman is his Asshole brother; Rosie Perez rounds out the leading players as David's housekeeper with a secret.

Part of the hilarity of CYE was the pacing and slow piling on of crap that would overwhelm David by the end of the episode. The beginning might be slow, but you always knew there was going to be a payoff worth waiting for.

There are certainly big laughs to be found in Fish in the Dark, but that carefully plotted build and climax are sometimes missing. Act two picks up where act one ended, but all the momentum is gone. New threads are picked up and then don't go anywhere. The focus shifts too much and you could feel the audience growing restless as some of the scenes went on too long.

David seemed to be playing himself, or as much of himself as could be found in CYE. If you're a fan of his line delivery and humor then you won't be disappointed. If you're expecting him to break out of his comfort zone and do something new, you won't find it here. Personally I was pleased with his performance, and even when the script was meandering I knew I could count on him to make me chuckle with a gesture or vocal inflection.

The rest of the cast is mostly strong; everyone has a bit or two, but it's not like the characters are particularly fleshed out. The only one who didn't quite work for me was Rosie Perez. She needs some more time to find the rhythms of the dialogue and really go for those laughs.

There was a technical difficulty, and in general the scene changes were slow. Sometimes there were pre-recorded telephone calls to cover the changes and sometimes there was some gimmickry with images projected on the skrim. The calls were funny. The projections were not. David needs to whip up a few more calls during to previews and they'll be fine.

The set is fine, if unremarkable.

Overall I liked it well enough, but didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

[EthelMae]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 12:01am

Wow. Thank you WhizzerMarvin. This is one of the first postings of a review of a show that was straight forward and informative. You gave a real sense of your evening in the theatre!

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 12:28am

Slight, but amusing.

I don't think the sort of comedy that characterizes the tv show registers as well on the stage, particularly in the area of gestures, facial expressions, etc.

Some members of the cast are already on target; others are finding their way.

All told, it's a pleasant enough way to spend an evening.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 3:16am

Nice. I skimmed Whizzer's post (want to go in pretty cold) and sounds like it could be in good shape when I see it a few days before opening. Jeez, even an After 8 "rave"?! What is the world coming to...

Also, was there a poster? And did anyone brave trying to get Larry to sign? hehe. Updated On: 2/3/15 at 03:16 AM

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 3:21am

My friend got a selfie with him (like a posed one) not sure yet if he is signing.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 3:24am

Hmm, what was the run time? Maybe I'll see about getting Larry to sign after I see OTT tomorrow night. Maybe I'm wrong and he'll warm up to it, but he is the guy who went to do standup comedy for people, stood there sizing up the crowd and instead of telling jokes just said "Forget it" and walked offstage...

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 3:53am

"When he did, he signed autographs in a friendly, but awkward, manner.

"You know, I do have to come back and do this tomorrow," he said."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/fish-dark-larry-david-play-loved-fans-article-1.2101329

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 3:56am

yeah hes gonna be over it by opening night lol

[bfreak]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 6:11am

Is the show staged on a 2 level set? Like would it be obstructed from a mezzanine overhang or would I be good?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 7:56am

I was in the rear mezz and the overhang does cut off the top of the set, but it's not staged on two levels so you don't miss any of the action.

I did have to lean down during the scene changes to see some of the projections on the skrim, but other than that you should be fine to buy tickets there.

I didn't notice a windowcard, but there was a hoodie ($60!) and maybe a mug for $20. The run time was almost 2.5 hours, but that included a technical stop.

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 8:02am

I know this will be a spoiler, but I'm not seeing the show, and I must know...

What does the title mean?...

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 8:16am

^


*SPOILER*


One of the characters berates another for serving meals in a dimly lit room, and for having served "fish in the dark."

[bfreak]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 8:21am

Thanks. Yeah I sat in Row F mezzanine for Cripple of Inishmaan and noticed that the mezzanine overhang would've been a little obstructed but that was also a one level set so it was fine. I don't have tickets yet so I'm waiting for them to release some and incase it's like rear orchestra I wanted to check. Thank you!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 8:26am

The first act sounds oddly enough like the first act of THE LYONS. Any similarities there? Just a reaction.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 8:39am

Yes, I thought of The Lyons too, as well as Next Fall; the opening hospital waiting room set is almost identical.


SPOILER re: the title



About 3/4 of the way through Act One, Jerry Adler dies and Ben Shenkman informs Rita Wilson that his father never liked her anyway. Wilson is shocked and wants an explanation.

Houdyshell explains that at a family dinner Wilson refused to turn up the lights so people could see the food.

Wilson snaps back, "Well your house is lit like a Baskin-Robbins and I could see just fine."

"That's because you were near the kitchen when a little more light could creep in. But not Sidney (Adler)! He had to eat his fish in the dark and he swallowed a bone and almost died!!"

"That was TWELVE years ago!"

"And I've never forgotten or forgave a day since! I mean, who serves fish in the dark!!"

This of course is all being argued over Adler's dead corpse in the hospital bed. It's pretty funny stuff.



END SPOILER************************

[mamaleh]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 9:15am

Watching THEATRE TALK this past week, I chuckled when I heard Michael Musto "steal" the line I've been saying to friends for months. Jez Butterworth missed a more descriptive (than THE RIVER) title opportunity.

[iWannaBEaSedaris]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 9:37am

I attended last night, and kept on wondering where Jerry and Elaine were. It's an overblown Seinfeld throwback with zero heart that would be hilarious if it were 40 minutes in a madcap start to finish, but as is, it's a meandering mess.
But what does it matter, it's already presold more than any other play.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 9:45am

^"With zero heart..." Does that mean it's inordinately cynical, even brutally so? I know David's show is on the cool side, so devoid of emotion (other than rage and frustration) that it allows a very detached participation. Are you saying that this play can't sustain that tone and (almost mean-spirited) approach to comedy? I ask specifically in response to your comment because that had been my open question about the David style being applied in the theater. Not that playwrights from Moliere to Joe Orton hasn't written bracing comic takes on despair without a whiff of sentimentality.

Updated On: 2/3/15 at 09:45 AM

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 2/3/15 at 10:05am

Thanks to both After Eight and Whizzer for the answer.

And to Whizzer...Geez, do you memorize the plays you see? That was amazing.