PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons

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broadwaybelter
#1PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 2/24/15 at 7:01pm

Anyone see this yet? Comments are appreciated!

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ColorTheHours048
#2PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 2/24/15 at 7:19pm

I saw it on Saturday night. I wasn't a fan. I went on a whim with a friend who had an extra ticket and got excited when I found out Carrie Coon (who I've loved in everything I've seen her in) was in it. So I went in almost completely blind.

This is a bit spoiler-y.

It tries to do a lot of things but refuses to actually make us care about the people it involves. What could have been an interesting play about female desire - as hinted at by a very good, but wasted, Florencia Lozano - ends up being a by-the-book breakup play thanks to a chemistry-less relationship between Carrie Coon's character and William Jackson Harper's and an extraneous character played by Alex Hurt, who exists only to be strange so as to distract from his status as a contrived plot device. The whole thing is well-acted but who even cares because there's nothing new being said.

It's not bad, and if you're into breakup dramas, it's pretty textbook. But it isn't very good either.

LightsOut90
#2PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 3/6/15 at 3:26am

I saw it tonight and really enjoyed it, very funny performances and apparently they have been doing massive rewrites during previews so its possible the show I saw was totally different from what it was 2 weeks ago, i recommend it.

After Eight
#3PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 3/6/15 at 5:58am

I didn't care for this author's earlier play, This, and I didn't care for this.

It's yet another one of these plays about twenty- or thirty-somethings who spout endless prattle in the guise of wisdom, and who think that behaving like children is the height of sophistication. (How many more of these things are we going to be subjected to, anyway? How many more of these can we take?) It's all so tiresome and grating.

The "comic" highlight of the evening is when the protagonist and her spaced-out co-worker engage in a relay race in the space between a vending machine and the opposite wall. Isn't it nice to know that this is how our future medical practitioners spend their time in the office?

Anyhow, the cast does as well as can be expected with this irritating, sophomoric opus.

BroadwayFan1231
#4PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 3/6/15 at 12:11pm

I loved it! Thought Carrie Coon was amazing (as usual). I thought the dialogue and direction were definitely the best parts. It's rare to see a show about late 20-somethings/early 30-somethings that actually feels genuine and doesn't insult that generation, and this one definitely succeeded with that.

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ClydeBarrow
#5PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 3/20/15 at 5:49pm

After seeing this dull, monotonous drivel and then reading BroadwayFan's review I'm a little offended. I would definitely not call this a genuine portrayal of a generation because it's hardly indicative of anything I've ever thought or felt.

The show is basically two plays squished into one. The first a somewhat interesting look at female arousal and the second an excruciating look at a couple breaking up. Never once did I get any amount of chemistry between Carrie Coon and William Jackson Harper. They seemed more like roommates than lovers.

I also HATED the set. Blending the office and home setting is something that really does tend to annoy me and that stayed true here. When she was singing that weird hymn and then the scene after I had zero idea of where that was supposed to be. I thought the light that hadn't been used before signified something but then it turned on again in a later home scene.

Basically this play was horrible. Almost as bad as POCATELLO. Almost.


"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah

mamaleh
#6PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 4/6/15 at 12:27am

I caught the penultimate performance of PLACEBO this afternoon.  I cared somewhat for Carrie Coon's character--not so much for her self-involved boyfriend--but didn't understand how their relationship fizzled. 


SPOILER QUESTION: Was the boyfriend's throwing the keys back to her at the very end supposed to be mean they were contemplating giving it another go? My seat-mate and I discussed this point and came up with opposite answers.

ILuv2shop531
#7PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 4/6/15 at 12:35am

mamaleh, I had a similar conversation with my friend after we saw this. I think it could have gone either way & it is left up to the interpretation of the audience. Personally I think the keys could have symbolized them giving it another go, it could have been more about Carrie's character starting over- it's so hard to say. 

mamaleh
#8PLACEBO at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 4/6/15 at 9:21am

My thinking aligns with your analysis.  Thanks.