Saw it today and it was really hard to keep my eyes open. The show feels like the playwright doesn't really know how to deal with this kind of subject matter, and the comedic scene towards the end where everyone comes together is just out of place. It heavily discounts the thin emotional ingenuity built till the moment and gets you the bad taste of lazy writing. Also, a lot of yelling, whose over-the-topness can compete with the choreography of bandstand. Overall, I was disappointed by the production despite the promising premise and interesting concept.
The play is cleverly constructed, but the tale it tells is dreary and overlong. The first act is very slow; the second picks up a bit. Neither the characters nor their stories are sufficiently fleshed out; and truth to tell, neither are they all that interesting. There are credibility problems, as well. It is hard to believe that one of the characters would have engaged in a certain activity. The cast works diligently; the design is atmospheric; and the incidental music is on the cloying side.
Sounds like the price we had to pay to see Sutton was higher than expected. Neither of the other two shows in the series was all that good (Talk House was, at best, decent).
Although some of the events seem implausible, I mostly enjoyed the play, largely owing to the invested performances and the clever staging. Butz was quite effective, but I do wish either Maura Tierney had remained in the cast or someone had told replacement Dolly Wells that actors need to project past the third row. My fellow balcony denizens and I agreed that she could not make herself heard and understood.
Wee Thomas2 said: "Sounds like the price we had to pay to see Sutton was higher than expected. Neither of the other two shows in the series was all that good (Talk House was, at best, decent)."
If you can name one "decent" thing about Talk House...
" I'm curious about the seats though, first row is being discounted because it's partial view, my seat is on the third row, hope that's ok.."
Evidently, there is a scene where some of the actors are in a tree above the stage... maybe that's why the front row seats are tough?
I couldn't understand why front row center would be considered partial view either, until I saw this last night, and they are NOT kidding. The play is done on a revolving stage and most of the set pieces end up dead center. A lot of it takes place in a bar, and the bar itself ends up being directly center stage so if you're front row center, your view is of the bar. Same for a lot of the other set pieces. They will definitely block your view. Third row should be fine.
Matt Rogers said: "Miss Jezebel DuPree2 said: "POSSIBLE SPOILER*****
" I'm curious about the seats though, first row is being discounted because it's partial view, my seat is on the third row, hope that's ok.."
Evidently, there is a scene where some of the actors are in a tree above the stage... maybe that's why the front row seats are tough?
I couldn't understand why front row center would be considered partial view either, until I saw this last night, and they are NOT kidding. The play is done on a revolving stage and most of the set pieces end up dead center. A lot of it takes place in a bar, and the bar itself ends up being directly center stage so if you're front row center, your view is of the bar. Same for a lot of the other set pieces. They will definitely block your view. Third row should be fine.
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Thanks for the report, I'm glad that they at least sell them cheaper and it says partial view when you buy it... I just wish that information was there when they opened the subscription tickets, I know third row is probably ok, but now I feel like I should have gotten a seat further back...
nasty_khakis said: "Wee Thomas2 said: "Sounds like the price we had to pay to see Sutton was higher than expected. Neither of the other two shows in the series was all that good (Talk House was, at best, decent)."
If you can name one "decent" thing about Talk House..."
Saw this today. Easily the best play I've seen this season. Maybe the cast has found it's rhythm. Yes it's slow, but so what? Thank god for that. It's theater, not television.You need to be invested. The cast got a deserved standing O from the whole audience.
As for the stage door, it's a 2 show day so I didn't really see anyone other than Grace Van Patten who made a food run. She came out of the area where the restrooms are, so if you stand there you probably will catch them.
Possible spoilers below, but trust me, they'll be good for you!
What a compilation of miscellany this was! Let's have flashbacks! Let's have actors sometimes disappear quietly offstage from scene to scene but other times just stand there and change costume! Let's show that Zosia Mamet's career may be done (man was she dull) now that Girls is done. Let's have ridiculous coincidences! Let's have a crazy drunk professor for no reason at all! Let's have child taking care of parent . . . and then parent taking care of child! And on and on and on.
This felt like an exercise in throwing a bunch of ideas down the stairs and using all the ones that made it to the bottom and putting them into a play. I know, the price we pay for Sutton in Charity. We knew this when we bought the subscription. But truly I thought they could have gotten something better for our money than this.