Dead Poets Society @CSC

[Relevance81491]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 2:22pm

Previews start tonight. Thoughts are appreciated 

[BOM]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 3:23pm

Going next Saturday. I'm interested in people's thoughts on this as well. 

[slumdogdelaware]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 3:48pm

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1096919&dt=0

Except no one replied to mine

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 9:33pm

I was there tonight and should start with a confession that I'm not really a fan of the film. I always found it to be so corny and filled with such hokum. The stage show follows the same plot and has many of the same speeches, but Doyle has stripped away much of eyeroll inducing varnish and left us with a minimalistic presentation of the story. I think it's all the better for it. I still don't love the material, but the Doyle approach greatly enchanced my appreciation of it. 

The other thing this production has going for it is the acting. All the boys are excellent and Sudeikis is making a strong stage debut. 

The runtime is a nice 100/105 minutes with no intermission. The set is simply a floor to ceiling backwall of books which the students remove from the shelves in stacks to make piles that will constitute the desks/tables/stones etc. No frills, but not cheap looking either, and it's hard to get the combo right. 

 

[smidge]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 9:41pm

Thanks Whizzer.  Was hoping they toned down the forced emotions of the film and sounds like they didn't go over the top.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 10:08pm

@Whizzer where did you sit? Curious about the sight lines for this show. I know Classic Stage has that three-sided house. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 10:17pm

I sat in the center section, which I usually prefer in that theater. 

[benmangini]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 8:34am

Where is the stage door at CSC ? Did Jason stage door ? 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 9:06am

From the looks of the Classic Stage Co. location tag on Instagram, it seems as if a few people met Jason and other cast members last night. I assume the lobby is where it happens here. 

Picked up a ticket to see it this weekend..... can't wait! 

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 9:13am

CSC doesn't have an official stage door. Actors enter and exit through the lobby, the same as audience members.

[slumdogdelaware]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 9:48am

There's a lottery on TodayTix for anyone interested.

[macnyc]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 6:26pm

I caught the matinee today and enjoyed the show. I have not seen the movie. I thought Jason Sudeikis was excellent in a central but not showy role. He held the stage and sounded great. In fact, I thought the whole cast was good. Quite a few of them are recent grads doing their first roles in New York City.

They double as ushers, so when you come in, they help you find your seat and give you the program. I thought, "Those are snazzy jackets for volunteer ushers! And they're all so cute!" So I guess I should not have been shocked when they assembled on stage and started singing. 

As a play, I think it's on the slight side. You kind of see as you go along that things are not going to end well. Still, it's wonderful to see the students bloom in various ways. 

I like Doyle's direction very much. I'm not always a fan of his, but between Color Purple and this, I am coming around. (I really disliked Allegro though.) I sat in one of the side areas, and the view was fine. Chris Rock was in the audience too. 

 

Updated On: 10/30/16 at 06:26 PM

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 11:08pm

Very excited to see this next month

Updated On: 10/30/16 at 11:08 PM

[supersam1026]

Posted: 11/15/16 at 10:56pm

Has anyone seen this lately? What is the current run time? Going Sunday and trying to plan out the train. Thanks!!

[willep]

Posted: 11/16/16 at 12:58am

I went last week, 7:00 show and we were out by 8:40.

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/17/16 at 7:17am

Play opens tonight!!!! I was fortunate to be able to see the play last night and found it intimate, moving, and nostalgic. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and recall watching the movie with Robin Williams back in the day. For those who have seen the movie, you'll know the plot. This production is slightly different with minimal casting and I thought Jason Sudeikis commanded the role of Keating very well. I hope it gets extended though not sure if that's possible. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/17/16 at 8:12am

Appalling rubbish. We're to believe this jackass/fraud/disgrace of a "teacher" actually ever read a poem in his life? A flat, smug, smirking performance by the lead.

Its offense is rank.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 11/17/16 at 4:34pm

After Eight said: "Appalling rubbish. We're to believe this jackass/fraud/disgrace of a "teacher" actually ever read a poem in his life? A flat, smug, smirking performance by the lead.

Its offense is rank.

 

Two negative reviews within 3 minutes of each other this morning, huh?  

 

[JVJ93]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 1:30am

Has anyone had success with rush for this lately? Or is it pretty much down to the TodayTix lottery for tickets that aren't premium price? Do we know if they reserve tickets for rush/lotto? Word of a further extension? Really would love to see this before it leaves.

[SDV]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 8:35am

After Eight said: "Appalling rubbish. We're to believe this jackass/fraud/disgrace of a "teacher" actually ever read a poem in his life? A flat, smug, smirking performance by the lead.

Its offense is rank."

In this time of frightening upheaval, AE's predictability is oddly comforting.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 10:38am

In this production, Doyle's stripped-down approach just manages to reveal how trite the material is.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 9:32am

Saw this on Saturday and I think it has a ton of potential.  It was fun getting to chat with the actors handing out the Playbills before the show:

me: "Does Sudeikis do this, too"

him: "Who?"

The show was fine, the problem is it's not long enough to establish the characters and make the ending really make sense.  Plenty of shows can tell their stories in 90 minutes, this just isn't one of them.  If they could extend it to 2:15 or 2:30 + an intermission I think it would be much better.

 

The work they've done to the space there was amazing, with the big wall of books and the scuffed floor.  Sudeikis definitely channels himself and Robin Williams in the role.  The students all do a pretty good job, just need more fleshing out.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 2:28pm

I saw it this weekend. I've only seen the movie once and it wasn't terribly recently, but from what I remember the script is pretty similar to the screenplay. Which left me sort of indifferent, I didn't need a lot of change and it didn't bother me, maybe because I'm not that attached to the material. It felt, somehow, a little thinner than the movie, but I'm having trouble detailing how in much of a useful way. I did think it was beautifully directed and, well, very John Doyle. But also the sky is blue, so.

[annang]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 1:17am

Any updates on Rush? Trying to figure out what time to maybe try to show up this weekend to see if I can get tickets.

JVJ93 said: "Has anyone had success with rush for this lately? Or is it pretty much down to the TodayTix lottery for tickets that aren't premium price? Do we know if they reserve tickets for rush/lotto? Word of a further extension? Really would love to see this before it leaves.

 

"

 

[JVJ93]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 1:36am

I tried to rush last Sunday evening, the 27th. Got there about two hours early but they only start accepting rush wait list names 1 hour before curtain. There were a good amount of people trying the rush, but all of us were turned away. The house manager/box office attendant assured us every single seat had been sold even though we could audibly hear her tell a party of four elderly people and their children(?) that she would "sneak them in." I asked her what performances were the best to try for and she said Saturday matinees. This show is proving way too hard to try to get in to. Hope this helps though