DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
#1DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 2:12am
Described as "a human comedy about a family that must confront its past as it prepares for its future," the Off-Broadway engagement of Dividing the Estate garnered a 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and an Obie for Playwriting for Foote.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123514.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#2re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 1:24pm
Best of luck to the cast and crew. The reviews should be strong as I've heard very good things about the show.
Updated On: 11/20/08 at 01:24 PM
#2re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 1:54pmI don't know what rock I was living under but I wasn't even aware this started previews already!
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
#3re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 3:44pm
USA Today gives the show 2 1/2 Stars out of 4:
It's tempting to call Horton Foote's new play, Dividing the Estate..., a black comedy. Death is a central figure, and the behavior can seem so petty and callous that you may not know whether to laugh or wince.
But the 92-year-old who gave us the The Trip to Bountiful and The Young Man From Atlanta, not to mention the Oscar-winning screenplays for To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies, is too gentle a soul to summon anything resembling real venom. The folks we meet in Estate, which opened Thursday at the Booth Theatre, can be immensely irritating, but they're not, well, bad people — or, truth be told, terribly interesting ones.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2008-11-20-dividing-the-estate_N.htm
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#4re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:05pm
Variety is a Rave:
...The prickly comic center of the play and the most vociferously demanding of Stella's children is Mary Jo. The playwright's daughter Hallie Foote skirts invigoratingly along the edge of sitcom in a performance that's near-hysterical yet never so abrasive we can't grasp her fear. She's the kind of chronically tactless figure that exists in pretty much every family.
Jeff Cowie's well-upholstered living/dining room set has grown since the Off Broadway run, acquiring some added dimension without too much loss of intimacy, while the unique flavor of the play's wily observations and melancholy warmth remains undiminished.
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939083.html?categoryid=33&cs=1
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#5re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:09pm
Talkin' Broadway is Negative:
In Dividing the Estate, the play by Horton Foote that Lincoln Center Theater is presenting at the Booth, the Gordon family of Harrison, Texas, and their family home for generations are disintegrating as the land surrounding them is consumed by death and taxes. How can one elegant (but crumbling) old manse and its less-than-elegant (and crumbling) inhabitants maintain their identity and propriety under constant siege from Big Industry and economic neglect?
This production, which has been directed by Michael Wilson, would be much more compelling if it didn't invite that same question. The rich background of the Gordons and their 5,000 acres of once-prime farmland is just as marred by the unfeeling, corporate present (which, for them, is 1987) as this once-glimmering mounting is by the realities, both real and imagined, of Broadway. You wonder less "How can the little guy make it?" than "Why doesn't the little guy know it's sometimes okay to not be big?"
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/DividingEstate.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#6re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:12pmIs Talkin' Broadway ever NOT negative?
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
#7re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:16pm
Sometimes: they loved the Threepenny Opera revival a few seasons back.
I trust Matthew Murray: he dares to chuck conventionality out the window, along with rational thinking.
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Updated On: 11/20/08 at 07:16 PM
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#8re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:21pm
The Daily News gives the show 3 1/2 Stars out of 5:
Stage vet Ashley is highly amusing, even if she is about two decades too young to play an 85-year-old. She makes up for the missing birthdays with an exaggerated irascibility and a thick-sliced drawl that turns the name Son into the three-syllable So-oo-on.
McRaney is by far more restrained, and his understated, totally believable and charismatic work makes him a stand-out. And it's virtually impossible to imagine the show without the divine comedy of Hallie Foote, the playwright's daughter. She all but owns the second act, and as the situation goes from bad to worse, this deadpan pro goes from diverting to hysterical.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2008/11/20/2008-11-20_broadways_dividing_the_estate_is_a_light.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#9re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 7:31pm
The Associated Press is a Rave:
...Foote is quietly giving you not only the history of this family, headed by proud, cantankerous matriarch named Stella, but a sense of place. Foote loves the land and, most tellingly in this play, mourns the disappearance of small towns and the graceful old farms, done in by oil wells, fast-food restaurants and an expanding population.
Stella, portrayed with steely resolve by a vibrant Elizabeth Ashley, sums it all up in a few words that resonated off-Broadway and again make their mark on Broadway: "Don't talk to me about difficult times," she proclaims. "We got through the Depression, when people were abandoning their land, selling it all over this county, but my father held on to our land, scraped together the money to plant cotton every year, pay our taxes and keep body and soul together."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/20/entertainment/e160442S28.DTL
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#10re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 8:08pm
Anyone who liked, let alone raved, about that abysmal Threepenny should be run out of town. So much for Talkin' Broadway.
BroadwayEd
Updated On: 11/20/08 at 08:08 PM
#11re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 10:16pmSaw this tonight and thought it was absolutely dreadful. I haven't been so bored since A Catered Affair.
#12re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 10:20pm
AM New York gives the show 3 1/2 Stars out of 4:
No one would suspect 92-year-old Horton Foote, a gentle playwright whose 60 tenderhearted plays include “A Young Man from Atlanta” and “The Trip to Bountiful,” of writing a vigorous piece of political theater.
But in addition to its hearty laughs, “Dividing the Estate” is in fact a brilliant dissection of greedy family politics and the out-of-control economics that have caused our country’s current recession.
http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/stage/blog/2008/11/theater_review_of_dividing_the.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#13re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 10:20pm
It's shocking to me how a show that was so highly regarded Off-Broadway last year is getting such mixed reviews now.
I guess bigger isn't always better...especially when it's in terms of a house where the stage is literally an inch above the seats.
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#14re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 10:22pm
Still, Benster's capsule is a rave:
"he problems confronting the sprawling, anxious, compulsively talky Texan clan of 1987 in “Dividing the Estate,” which opened Thursday night at the Booth Theater, will be familiar to many American families at the moment. The fraying dynasty presided over by the octogenarian matriarch Stella (Elizabeth Ashley) is discovering that plummeting real estate values, unforeseen taxes and a shrinking dollar are forcing its members to make do and get along (well, barely) in ways they never anticipated. But even without the gloss of relevance it has acquired since its New York premiere Off Broadway in September 2007, “Dividing the Estate” would still be a must for discriminating theatergoers."
#15re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 10:24pmYou call these mixed? These are very good reviews, even if they aren't as good as last year's.
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#16re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:08pmI just got back from Opening Night. I thought the play was great. It's no AUGUST, but it has some great acting and sharp writing, not to mention an absolutely gorgeous set.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#17re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:22pmThis is one of those plays that snuck under the radar. I'll def. need to see this this upcoming weekend.
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#18re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:33pmSo I know people hate when this question is brought up, but is there a student rush policy? I can't find one on Playbill, and I know it's Lincoln Center production, so I'm sure their student rush policies apply, but as I have yet to get into their student rush I can't use that option. Would my best bet be TKTS at this point?
#19re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:43pm
Ben Brantley at the New York Times is a Rave:
You probably have one in your family. And the odds are that he or she is making a lot of noise right now. I mean the kind of person who, when the going gets tough, is transformed from a respectable-looking grown-up into a greedy, caterwauling 4-year-old, convinced that everyone else is getting a bigger slice of what’s left of the cake.
Such people are hell to live with under the best of circumstances, and in times of pecuniary crisis they’re unbearable. But safely distanced by footlights, someone like Mary Jo, one of three squabbling siblings in Horton Foote’s tart and delicious “Dividing the Estate,” is heaven to be with. As played with true comic genius by Hallie Foote, the covetous, calculating Mary Jo has absolutely no sense of humor. But it’s hard to think of anyone on a Broadway stage right now (except possibly Mark Rylance in “Boeing-Boeing”) who’s funnier.
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/theater/reviews/21esta.html
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#20re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:47pm
John Simon is a Rave:
When Horton Foote’s “Dividing the Estate” opened off-Broadway for a short run last season, I ended my glowing review with concern for the play’s future. I was much relieved to learn that the exact same production would transfer to Broadway. It is now at the Booth Theatre, blessedly unchanged, with Elizabeth Ashley again leading a superb cast.
Well, two minor things actually are changed, one for the good, the other not quite... the move to Broadway has allowed the good set designer Jeff Cowie to convey more fully and tastefully the opulence of a southwestern mansion. Somewhat less fortunate is that, with so much space, some intimacy is inevitably forfeited. Under Michael Wilson’s assured direction, the performances continue to unfold at a leisurely, never rushed or sluggish pace.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601098&sid=axVeu9Coqiss&refer=movie
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#21re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:54pmWBAF, I was there too but I didn't see you! I wish I had!
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#22re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/20/08 at 11:55pm
The Wall Street Journal is a Rave:
No doubt Primary Stages and Lincoln Center Theatre, the co-producers, hope to profit from the protracted hoopla over Tracy Letts's "August: Osage County," a similarly dark study of American family life. They deserve to get their wish: "Dividing the Estate" is the best show now playing on Broadway, give or take "Gypsy." Not only is it at least as good a play as "August: Osage County," but this production, directed by Michael Wilson, is a stunner, a gorgeous piece of ensemble theater in which nobody puts a foot wrong. I wrote in this space a year ago that the members of the cast "are all so believable that the word 'acting' fails to do justice to the collective impression of truthfulness that they make." That still goes.
Mr. Foote is one of America's greatest playwrights, past or present, but this is only the second of his 60-odd plays to be performed on Broadway since 1954. Go see "Dividing the Estate" and find out what we've been missing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/theater.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#24re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:13am
REVIEW ROUNDUP
Associated Press
John Simon
New York Observer
New York Times
Variety
Wall Street Journal
Rave
AM New York
Bergen Record
New York Post
Very Positive
Daily News
Time Out New York
Positive
NY1
Philadelphia Inquirer
USA Today
Mixed
New York Magazine
Journal News
Negative
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Updated On: 12/4/08 at 12:13 AM
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#24re: DIVIDING THE ESTATE Reviews
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:13amI don't see how these are mixed. They're all basically raves or very positive aside from Talkin' Broadway (which gave an 'eh' review to "August," if you recall). I'm very excited to see this show and now that the reviews are out, I'm definitely going soon.
