Based on what I've heard about this play, I'm pretty surprised it's had a life beyond Broadway.
"The team behind this production is not shying away from the play's infamous run on Broadway in 2012. Rather, it respected the criticism and staged the LA run in a humble 80-seat black box."
The worst play I have ever sat through. Absolutely hated this, I never leave early and if I wasn't sitting in the middle of the row I would have bolted halfway through. If there had been an intermission I would have definitely left for the first time ever.
I read The Anarchist some time ago and what I gleaned from it was enormous respect for the four actresses in NY and LA who memorized and performed it on stage. Whatever debt they may have owned to Mr. Mamet has surely been paid in full.
When I saw this tedious play, the running time was just shy of an hour. Debra Winger was still having trouble with her lines, so maybe a chunk of dialogue was dropped.
I have to say that this was the longest hour of my life!
The play was terrible, but I wonder how much less terrible it'll be with someone other than Winger as Ann. She gave about as much back to LuPone as a brick wall.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
I'm with the others who are shocked that this has had any kind of future life. To me it felt like it could have been a very, very short scene (10 minutes tops) in a better and more fleshed out piece. Instead it was just a torturous 70 minutes. Like others, I very much wanted to leave, but I was in the middle of a row very near the front and just couldn't bring myself to do it and incur the wrath of Ms. LuPone.
Satan has returned to earth and left this punishment on our doorstep. I thought it was dead & buried but it seems to be like a zombie returning from the dead.