Hillary and Clinton previews

[Samanthacq]

Was there at the matinee. I'm not American and never followed campaigns, so I was worrying I might not get the show, but I loved it. For me it is more of a discussion on marriage and gender roles. Laurie was great, and the show doesn't feel like a second preview at all.

My seat was at Rear Mezz row D center, it seems the whole row are mostly TDF ticket holders. I sat next to a nice gentleman, who I have a feeling is also a BWW reader. 

[Damiensta]

The Glorious era of Laurie Metcalf

I would say this is an interesting play but not sure overall liked it. However, it was worth it just to see Laurie Metcalf. She was great as usual. She is basically on stage all of the 90 minutes. I wonder what other play is author writing for her Bc seems like they made for each other.
On the other hand , I really was not a fan of John lighgow in this. I see previous post loved him . So I may be in minority, just was not a fan of his interpretation.

The play has some interesting ideas ; just felt that overall was just okay. I had same feeling for Gary sequel.

Tdf ticket was orchestra L . Far right. Didn’t miss much. Since most of it is center stage

[ScottK]

Hi, All!

Friends just cancelled--I have a pair of tix for Hillary and Clinton-- TONITE, Mon March 18 @ 8pm, $45/each or $90/pair. I do not know where seats are, since I havent picked them up from box office yet. If interested, please PM.

[supersam1026]

Went to get a rush ticket at 6:15 tonight, was able to get orchestra Row E right in the middle for $40! Really looking forward to this, don’t lnow the last time I got such a great seat as a rush ticket!

[WhizzerMarvin]

I was at the preview this evening and thought it was a solid evening; a good time that falls short of ever being truly riveting or hilarious. The whole evening kind of simmers and percolates, but never kicks into a roiling boil.

I like the idea of this being set on an alternate Earth. It immediately took me to all the Harry Wellses on The Flash. This was like Hillary and Bill from Earth 38. I wish Hnath had played around a little more with the differences between Earth 1 Hillary and Earth 38 Hillary. Part of the fun of Tom Cavanagh getting to play a new Harry each season is seeing the new spin he’ll put on the same essence of Wells. Despite this being an alternate world, this is pretty much Hillary as we know her.

Despite being an intermissionless 90 minutes, there is an act one and two, and I was so hoping act two would transport to another Earth to replay the scene (or continue the scene) with different results.

The cast is great. Both Metcalf and Lithgow are wonderful.

Gary and Hillary and Clinton are good companion pieces. They are both extremely well-acted, often fun, thoughtful and smart, but each is still slightly unrefined, holding us back from experiencing its true potential.

[Damiensta]

Thank you Whizzer!
The flash comparison made me crack up.
I saw Gary n Hillary a day apart and feel that both were solid but just not great.

[Bobmortton]

Whizzer- You mentioned that there is no intermission but there is basically an Act 1 and 2- is this like Three Tall women in regards to the set? I know the space is just basically a white box. I've also noticed spike tape downstage of the box...what is that used for? So many question...sorry!

[OKBroadwayFan]

I too was there tonight and to think I was in the same room as Whizzer!  

I agree with his assessment.     

Some of my observations:  Neither Lithgow or Metcalf "impersonate" Bill and Hillary, unlike Barack which was more of an impersonation.   The lack of furnishings on the set made me uncomfortable, it played into the overall theme of the events, but I wanted a damn table for them to put objects on!  

The running time was almost exactly 90 minutes.

For the person that inquired about merchandise, they did have the show cups at the bar with the Hillary & Clinton & Metcalf & Lithgow as campaign buttons design. 

[Damiensta]

It did bother me how’s messy they wore. They kept throwing everything on floor. I kept thinking about maids even though it was a play. I kept going that’s so rude haha

[OKBroadwayFan]

Damiensta said: "It did bother me how’s messy they wore. They kept throwing everything on floor. I kept thinking about maids even though it was a play. I kept going that’s so rude haha"

I agree, it made me so uncomfortable.  On the way out, my daughter said "i know what bothered you!"  She was right.    (And I get why it was done.)   But I found it very distracting.  

[WhizzerMarvin]

Maybe a little over halfway trough the evening there’s a lighting cue, Metcalf turns the audience and says, “End of act one. Intermission. Act two.” And the play marches on.

There is spike tape on the stage, but it wasn’t used for anything. The set moves forward at the beginning and covers the tape. Slight spoiler?
(Or lack of spoiler?) but I kept waiting for some big surprise effect the never came, much like the baby toy drop in The New One earlier this season.

[EthelMae]

I happened to be reading at The Signature Theatre tonight and happened upon a discussion group forming at 7PM in one of their theatres. It was a free seminar on the State of the Play. Among others were Leigh Silverman, Robert O’Hara amd Lucas Hnath. Very interesting discussion about the theatre, diversity in it, regional theatre, New York theatre, audiences, marketing, etc. To everyone’s astonishment, Mr. Hnath made himself available for this seminar while his play was previewing tonight over at the Golden! Thought that was pretty great. 

[zzdawgg]

Since others are commenting on TDF seating, I was also there tonight and was seated in orchestra row R, seats two and four, just off the aisle. Great sidelines with no issues.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Did they touch upon what is actually in the Wikileaks files instead of just slamming them as “fake” like most MSM did?

[WhizzerMarvin]

The action is set in 2008. It has nothing to do with last election; Trump’s name is never mentioned. The only question is whether Hillary or Obama will receive the nomination.

[poisonivy2]

Dancingthrulife2 said: "Did they touch upon what is actually in the Wikileaks files instead of just slamming them as “fake” like most MSM did?"

This play takes place during the 2008 primaries. It has nothing to do with the 2016 presidency.

[east side story]

Very, very excited to see this in a few weeks. 

I'm slightly surprised that it isn't selling a little better. Perhaps word of mouth will pick up?

[JudyDenmark]

east side story said: "I'm slightly surprised that it isn't selling a little better. Perhaps word of mouth will pick up?"

Honestly, I think it's the title/subject. I personally love Hillary, but there's clearly a lot of fatigue on her (never mind the she's-the-antichrist propaganda) after the 2016 election. If you look at the comments on social media, so many of them are along the lines of "why would I want to see a show about her?!"

So while I think this will attract the NYC typical theatre-going audience, and anyone else who's a particularly big Metcalf or Lithgow fan, I think it's a really hard sell to tourists or people who don't go to the theatre that often. 

[Kad]

Dancingthrulife2 said: "Did they touch upon what is actually in the Wikileaks files instead of just slamming them as “fake” like most MSM did?"

Since the very first line of the plot description is, "Behind closed doors in the state of New Hampshire during the early days of 2008...", maybe you should read at least some mainstream media. 

[undercoveractor]

dphibbs94 said: "Rudin hates merch; thinks it devalues the show. He only does it if it's a musical or other producers insist."

I wish he felt that way about food/drinks in the theater during performance. THAT devalues the entire experience as far as I’m concerned. That is a trend that needs to GO!

[JayElle]

Damiensta said: "The Glorious era of Laurie Metcalf
The play has some interesting ideas ; just felt that overall was just okay. I had same feeling for Gary sequel.

Agree, though amazed at Metcalf & Lithgow acting skill. 

[JayElle]

JudyDenmark said: "east side story said: "I'm slightly surprised that it isn't selling a little better. Perhaps word of mouth will pick up?"

Honestly, I think it's the title/subject. I personally love Hillary, but there's clearly a lot of fatigue on her (never mind the she's-the-antichrist propaganda) after the 2016 election. If you look at the comments on social media, so many of them are along the lines of "why would I want to see a show about her?!"

So while I think this will attract the NYC typical theatre-going audience, and anyone else who's a particularly big Metcalf or Lithgow fan, I think it's a really hard sell to tourists or people who don't go to the theatre that often." (emphasis added).

Unfortunately I got stuck next to an infrequent theater goer who showered herself with perfume while in her seat, fussed with her bag, ate candy. We were center orch 2nd row for all the cast to see and others to smell.  Agree with Undercover actor re: food/drinks.

 

[JudyDenmark]

Unfortunately I don't think it's necessarily infrequent theatregoers, just rude people. I saw Ain't Too Proud last night and was sitting next to a woman who clearly sees a lot of shows (based on the accurate and knowledgeable stuff she was saying to her husband before the show), and during the show she was acting like she was in her own living room, dancing in her seat, singing along, and just generally being a blatantly disrespectful audience member. I was seething, trying to block her out and enjoy what was otherwise a very enjoyable show.

Don't get me started on the theatres themselves actually selling candy. It's mind-boggling to me that they would actively contribute to the noisy crinkling problem!

But anyway, Hillary & Clinton. I'm really encouraged by these reviews... the first time I saw Laurie Metcalf was in Three Tall Women, and she was flawless, so I'm not surprised to see the praise for her here. Looking forward to seeing it next month! 

[JayElle]

JudyDenmark said: "Unfortunately I don't think it's necessarily infrequent theatregoers, just rude people. I saw Ain't Too Proud last night and was sitting next to a woman who clearly sees a lot of shows (based on the accurate and knowledgeable stuff she was saying to her husband before the show), and during the show she was acting like she was in her own living room, dancing in her seat, singing along, and just generally being a blatantly disrespectful audience member. I was seething, trying to block her out and enjoy what was otherwise a very enjoyable show.

Thank you Judy Denmark. I thought it was just me. I referenced "infrequent theatergoer" b/c the one next to me said she rarely went.  But yes, I agree that theater frequency is irrelevant when it comes to rude, stupid behavior. And yes, I had the same seat dancer/singer at Ain't Too Proud.  I had enough when she started mimicking the arm/hand routines when the Temps performed a number. I finally lost it and said, loudly enough, "I paid to see them perform, not you. This is not a concert. Either stop or I will get the manager."

This 60ish woman looked at me with total shock. She turned to her husband and switched seats w/him. He didn't move a muscle.  We were in the 3rd row, center orch.  No one else within rows around us did that.

I have another tkt to Hil/Clin.  This time I plan to sit on the aisle where I find it's less distracting from the eating/drinking. I'm still amazed at the Laurie/John acting skill.

As for those wrote about the characters throwing things on the floor, for whatever reason, there was no furniture on the set except that chair and fridge. No place to put it. I did like the selection the had in that fridge.

[NYfanfromCA]

I saw the second preview at the matinee on 3/17.  When Laurie came out from the right of the stage, the audience on that side of the theater could see her coming before those of us on the left, and they started clapping.  She walked to the microphone stand and reached for the mic, which wasn't there, so she walked off the stage to get it, so funny, and then started talking about what the show would be about.  

I thought that the acting was great, but I was expecting something else to happen in the second half.  Still, loved seeing Laurie and John on stage together.  Missed having a set, I'll admit that, but I didn't mind having strong performances to pay attention to.  I think it bothered me a little that everything was lying on the floor and that there was just a swivel chair that they had to take turns sitting in .  

There was one instance where some lines didn't get a laugh, so I was wondering if they will rework those so that they are funnier.  I wish I would have waited until the show was frozen before seeing it, since I probably won't have a chance to revisit it.