THE FEW @ Rattlestick Theater

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 2:09pm

I wanted to start a new thread for people to give their opinions on this show since the other thread is basically just a dating ad. While oddly fitting for this show I thought we should have something a little more formal.

I saw the show last night and thought it was alright. I never saw THE WHALE so I'm not totally aware of Hunter's potential. I just felt like this was your typical people talking in riddles so as to not reveal the big secret play. There wasn't much interesting going on and none of the dialog was particularly engaging.

The acting was kind of all over the place. I thought Tasha Lawrence was the highlight because she seemed like a normal person and very fitting of the character she was portraying. After seeing Michael Laurence in this and APPROPRIATE I think I'm not a big fan. Something about his constantly hoarse voice and stilted deliver just doesn't do it for me. I'm not saying he was bad but just nothing spectacular. Gideon Glick was by far the weakest link for me. He was getting a lot of laughs last night and I got the feeling that a lot of his friends were in attendance. My main problem with him (and I've never actually noticed before) is that he acts WAY too much with his hands. Allison Pill does the same thing and it annoys the sh!t out of me. He's constantly pointing at things and futzing with the bracelets he's wearing. It's very distracting from the performance which I really like nor did I care about his character.

The set looked good although I did have a major problem. The room gets trashed throughout the play which is fine if the play were set over the course of one day but when it's not and there is just trash littered around then it really annoys me. And Brian picking everything up at the end is very uneventful especially his weird groans to disrupt the silence.

Generally I'm very ambivalent on the show. It was fine but nothing I'd be sad to have missed.

As a side note on the theatre, PLEASE use the restroom before you get there or get there early. There is one bathroom and it's basically backstage. It can't be used during the show and if people are standing in line for it then the show can't start until everyone has finished.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 2:55pm

I saw the show in San Diego where Glick got laughs throughout. It's possible many other people enjoy his performance more than you.
I seem to like the play better than you but I agree that, in contrast with Hunter's earlier work, it's not extraordinary.

[Sauja]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 2:56pm

I was also there last night and had similar feelings. I actually did see The Whale as well as Bright New Boise. I thought both plays were stunning, so I had extremely high hopes for this one. This is an enjoyable play, but it feels thinner and less fully realized than the other two I've seen by this playwright.

Much time is spent on characters talking about what the other ones do or don't know. But instead of creating tension, the dozens of, "Does he know? Will you tell him? Does she have any idea?" just kind of leave you hanging. It feels like a cheap way to build suspense, and it feels like the show would have benefited from simply telling the story rather than pretend there's some big twist coming.

I felt differently about the cast than Clyde, though. I agree that Tasha Lawrence is strong, but I strenuously disagree about Gideon Glick being the weak link. I think he's spectacular. He's playing an extremely awkward teenager who only feels safe in this one place. That he's a little spastic and exasperated feels spot on to me, and he has a quiet moment near the end that broke my heart. And he can pull a face that's hilarious but realistic at the same time. I think he's golden in this. Michael Laurence who I liked very much in Appropriate seemed a touch stiff to me, but his character is the most internal, and I think he can and will grow into the role more as performances continue. Last night's was only the second.

So...yeah. It's fine. If I hadn't seen Whale and Boise, I probably would have been more charmed by it, but knowing what Hunter can do, it's a disappointment. Not bad, but nothing more than fine.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 3:02pm

They have two bathrooms at the space, one immediately across from the other. Sometimes they choose to reserve the 2nd bathroom for the actors only, and other times they will let audience members use it in order to speed up the very lengthy bathroom line. Usually they don't even open the doors to the theater until 8 or 9 minutes before curtain (by the time there are 60 or 70 people standing around on the sidewalk), so you can imagine there will be a very long bathroom line.

[CurtainsUpat8]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 4:00pm

The bathroom in literally ON the stage. It may be covered by some scenery, but there is a line ON Stage when there is a line. It's very strange. Very strange.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/25/14 at 7:14pm

Just copy and pasted what I said on the other thread. It's by no means any sort of major work or anything that needs major attention.

I went last night. It's 90mins. We were out by like 9:30ish.

I loved the Whale and was really excited to see a new play by Hunter, but I was really, really bored. There's little to no plot. And the subject matter, to me, just wasn't interesting at all. The performances are all great. And the direction is fine, if a bit slow moving, and the design is great. But there was just nothing there to pull me into the show. It's one of those shows where everyone talks in stilted sentences as to not give away too much information. So they slowly reveal secrets, etc. After awhile I just wanted them to complete their sentences already!

And I agree about the picking up of the trash. i was VERY bored at that point. Like I get it, but let's move on.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/7/20 at 8:29pm

for anyone looking to revist this, it is this weekends title on Play-PerView featuring the Rattlestick cast

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/play-perview-the-few-by-samuel-d-hunter-live-stream-tickets-109479492108
 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/7/20 at 9:05pm

Oooh, thank you so much for this. I missed this show and was really interested. Thanks again!

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 2:26pm

you are welcome