God Looked Away - Al Pacino & Judith Light

[VernonGersch]

any advance word on the show?  i was on the fence about checking it out (tickets are 200 bucks a piece) but though how could i not see Pacino and Light live on stage.

how's how show?

hopefully they both do matinees 

 

 

[bfreak]

I'm interested to see how the critics take Pacino's performance and what the word is, especially after the major negative reviews he received with China Doll only a little over a year ago!

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Having had the pleasure of seeing Judith Light twice in the past 18 months, I would say she is worth making a visit to this. 

Is this the Tennessee Williams bio-play Pacino was rumored to be doing? If so, I'm very intrigued to see what comes of it. Hopefully Mr. Pacino will be off-book by the times this starts performances.

[VernonGersch]

yes indeed - its apparently about Tennesse late in life...

I bought my tickets - never have been to the Pasadena Playhouse before....

Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts on the show

[M.O.A.I.]

Had a friend who walked out at intermission - said it was pretty awful, and that many others did as well. Pacino was iffy, he said, and Light did not appear in the hour and a half long first act. His companion who stayed said she only had about 20 minutes of stage time.

I had a ticket, but cannot make my scheduled date and so called the box office to exchange. The run is not sold out, but I was told that while the Pasadena Playhouse normally exchanges, the attached Broadway producers are enforcing a no refund or exchange rule. Pretty absurd, methinks; it's an outmoded policy and I've exchanged Broadway tickets before. If you're worried about selling out a 600 seat theater for a month long run with a play starring Pacino and Light - well, you don't deserve to be producing a play starring Pacino and Light.

So, with the knowledge that it's probably bad and no desire to plop down for another ticket, I may cut my losses. But I really don't want to miss those two actors...

[VernonGersch]

Holy crap.   Judith doesn't appear in the first act?  yikes....

i had a feeling this wasn't going to turn out well...maybe someone who has actually seen the show can weigh in too.   

 

[Whateverjsays]

I'm curious to know how Garrett Clayton's performance is. After seeing him in 'King Cobra' and 'Hairspray Live!' I wonder if his acting is better. 

[VernonGersch]

oh niiiiiice   didn't know he was in this 

[A Director]

Whateverjsays said: "I'm curious to know how Garrett Clayton's performance is. After seeing him in 'King Cobra' and 'Hairspray Live!' I wonder if his acting is better. 

He wasn't hired for his acting.

"

 

[WestCoastActor/Director]

While the idea of Al Pacino as Tennessee Williams didn't really make sense I loved the idea of seeing Judith Light on stage.   The ticket prices are extremely high.  There is a digital rush for $25 but the few tickets vanish before you can click checkout.

It is listed on Goldstar for discounted prince of $179 vs. the regular $206 with a $25.50 service fee.   The service fee at the theatre's website is much cheaper so I am not sure you are actually saving anything.

While the professional reviews haven't come out the audience reviews on Goldstar have been abysmal-

https://www.goldstar.com/events/pasadena-ca/god-looked-away-tickets/reviews

For being The Inaugural PlayWorks Development Production you would think they'd make sure it was in great shape.

With Judith Light being on so briefly in a 2 hour and 45 minute evening I am really not wanting to pay big bucks.

[MadonnaMusical]

Love Judith Light, but I'd only see this for Garret Clayton... hope it comes to NYC even if it's terrible lol. 

[10086sunset]

Imagine Pacino decided for the out of town tryout before bringing it to Broadway in the fall...

The majority said he was much better towards the end of the China Doll run, after he had some time to learn the lines and find the role...

[Kad]

10086sunset said: "Imagine Pacino decided for the out of town tryout before bringing it to Broadway in the fall...

The majority said he was much better towards the end of the China Doll run, after he had some time to learn the lines and find the role..."

So he had months of dress rehearsals that people were paying full price to watch? How lucky for him!

[VernonGersch]

bumping this up in hopes that someone who saw the show can weigh in

[VernonGersch]

talked to a friend of mine earlier today who said the play was awful, unwatchable and three hours long.

****, i wasted 200 bucks for a ticket to this thing.

[whizzer_wins]

I would watch this play purely for Garrett Clayton, no matter how awful it is. :P

[AC126748]

VernonGersch said: "talked to a friend of mine earlier today who said the play was awful, unwatchable and three hours long.

****, i wasted 200 bucks for a ticket to this thing.

 

"

Maybe see it first and form your own opinion?

[VernonGersch]

honestly, the high ticket price plus the word of mouth on this thing are both equally horrific from what i hear.   in my search for god theater - about Tenessee Williams holes - and starring al pacino and judith light the expectation is quite high 

thats why I'm eagerly awaiting actual reviews or fold to post on this message board    

[Blue_Lotus]

Holy moly! Miles Gaston Villanueva is in this! 

[VernonGersch]

Im surprised reviews have hit yet or that more peeps haven't said anything about the show.

[kingfan011]

Walked out during intermission. Maybe the 2nd Act is great but found it meandering and kind of dull. And I have no idea what Al Pacino was doing. Baffling performance.

[VernonGersch]

i am going to sell my ticket   no way i am sitting through yet another crappy play.   this one sounds awful - friends that have seen it said its unwatchable.   how does this even happen?  life is too short to sit through a bad play 

[Comden Green]

VernonGersch said: "i am going to sell my ticket   no way i am sitting through yet another crappy play.   this one sounds awful - friends that have seen it said its unwatchable.   how does this even happen?  life is too short to sit through a bad play 

 

"

Or is it?   Don't we all yearn to have seen a truly horrible show?   Especially one with al Pacino as a well known gay celebrity?    

I remember in tab hunters autobiography he describes his broadway experience in a (coincidentally) Tennessee Williams play with tallula Bankhead that unintentionally became campy and hilarious.   

Would have loved to have seen that.  

Might be fun to think of in future years.   

(Btw- one option to help you make the decision  is to read the source material - by the writer of the play- "Tennessee: cry of the heart".    It wasn't real good either)

[rickh710]

Saw it last night, February 18. Overall, it's a very messy production. You're warned by an announcement before curtain that it is a work in progress, but honestly, it's more like you're paying top dollar to see a very early rehearsal for the Broadway run. The direction is terrible, especially the blocking. I lost count of the times Pacino has his back to the audience while delivering lines, and only Miles Villanueva seems to know where he's supposed to stand and when. The pacing is so glacially s-l-o-w that with some tightening the interminable first act could easily be trimmed from 90 minutes to 75. Don't even try to figure out the befuddling performance choices by Pacino - sometimes he's a Southerner and sometimes he's a Brooklynite, sometimes he seems to be playing physically disabled only to be spry the next moment. Villanueva really works very hard to hold the whole thing together, but there's only so much he can do when Pacino isn't really connecting to him in any meaningful way. Other than eye candy, Garrett Clayton is so out of his depth here it's uncomfortable. This production is such a disappointment. I hope all involved are able to get it together before leaving Pasadena.

[Comden Green]

Thanks rickh   Very interesting.   And it is funny that they don't see the disconnect between the price and asking an audience for understanding 

[KJisgroovy]

While I agree that it's fairly ridiculous to charge so much for a development production... the fact that it's a development production is ALL over the website.