GROUNDED

[mamaleh]

Well, I was just informed I didn't win free tix to the first preview tonight.  Anybody here have better luck?

[ClydeBarrow]

I got tickets at the in-person lottery. Not too crowded. I'll be interested to see what this show is about.

[n2nbaby]

Seeing this at the end of the month and I can't wait. I know a lot of people for some reason dislike Hathaway but I've always been a fan. My friend also saw a production in London (I think it was London anyway) and she loved it and said it's incredibly intense and moving. 

I'm sure this question will be hated here but does The Public have a stage door? I've never been to a show there before.

[neonlightsxo]

No "stage door"; wait in the lobby.

I lost the virtual lotto, too.

[Annetteiago]

"Seeing this at the end of the month and I can't wait. I know a lot of people for some reason dislike Hathaway but I've always been a fan. My friend also saw a production in London (I think it was London anyway) and she loved it and said it's incredibly intense and moving. 
I'm sure this question will be hated here but does The Public have a stage door? I've never been to a show there before."

 sorry why?

Did she say something ???

[followspot]

sorry why?

Hathahate

[musicaltheatreman2]

did anyone see the show last night? how was it? 

[ILuv2shop531]

I didn't see it but have a friend who won the lotto last night, this is what she just posted on Facebook:

"So usually i'm not a fan of war-focused plays (find they frequently veer into patriotic propaganda) and usually not the biggest fan of Anne Hathaway's work...but Grounded really blew me away tonight. The play was smart and personal, her performance was gutsy and physically electric and the direction made this one woman show captivating even when Hathaway's back was turned. A definite must see!"

[mordav]

Saw this tonight. I thought Hathaway gave a strong performance in a decent play. It's a good study of how a person copes with the changes in their life. In this case, a female fighter pilot. I have seen a production of this before and really liked some of the technical effects in this production. That said, there was an interesting technical problem at the start and about three minutes into the play there was a voiceover announcing the difficulty, then Hathaway thanked everyone and left for about ten minutes or so before the play restarted from the beginning.

SPOILER

the play starts with a uniformed Hathaway wearing a helmet standing on the sandy desert stage with a trickle of sand falling on her. The sand is supposed to stop falling. Tonight it didn't. For ten minutes after a halt was called we watched sand trickle down on an empty stage before the play restarted.

[ClydeBarrow]

Sorry I didn't get around to writing my thoughts on the first preview sooner but here goes.

I went into this show not being terribly enthused because I don't like war-focused shows either and not the biggest Hathaway fan so the thought of just her on stage for 90 mins didn't fill me with excitement. The main reason going in for me was I love Julie Taymor's direction. I must say that my mind has been changed. 

I found the play to be very engaging and really felt for the character finding it to be a very realistic portrayal of life as a drone pilot and family woman. There were only small parts where I thought it became a little monotonous and became bored but think that can be worked out during previews. I'd say 10 mins could be cut.

Hathaway was amazing. It always shocks me how actors are able to do one-man shows because of the sheer amount of dialogue to remember. Having heard stories of the likes of Bette Midler calling for lines throughout the preview period of I'LL EAT YOU LAST I was thinking the same would happen here. Hathaway knew all of her lines and seemed to land all her marks. If she did miss anything I couldn't tell.

Now we come to the best part - the staging. I don't know if this is a spoiler or not but when you walk in there is just sand covering the entire floor and a mirrored wall in the back. This allows for the best use of projections I've ever seen. They're slick and really give you the feeling of different settings. 

I'm sorry that the stagecraft malfunctioned during your performance, mordav. The beginning scene is really kind of beautiful but the real magic happens at the end and I loved all of it. I'm not going to spoil any of it here but just wow.

This show might not seem like everyone's taste but I think most people would enjoy it. I don't know if it's selling well just based on Hathaway but think word of mouth will make it a hit.

[n2nbaby]

My friend was also there last night and told me that Julie was freaking out something fierce.

[ClydeBarrow]

I kind of would have loved to see that.

On a related note, I find it rather annoying that the creative team (specifically the person who makes sure she's on book) sits in the front rows of the audience and shines a light on the script. It seems to me that they can still hear her from the back where it's less distracting.

[Jspy86]

Is there any chance Anne will be signing after her performances?  Does anybody know?  Many thanks.

[n2nbaby]

She did after the fits performance. Nobody was allowed to be in the lobby after the second show because there was a party going on from what I heard.

[Jspy86]

Thanks for the info.  I was concerned because of the paid meet and greets she has scheduled, so you think the chances of her continuing to come out will be good?

[RippedMan]

Has the lotto been rough? 

[mordav]

Completely agree with you Clyde on the staging. Having seen another production that wasn't as elaborate, I think the way it is done here really adds something.

I thought they handled the difficulty on the night I was there really well. But they knew something was off before the play started. The doors opened a little late and when I asked why one of the staff said there was a technical problem.

I'm not sure, but I assumed the party in the foyer was for the opening of Buzzer.

[ClydeBarrow]

Anyone else seen it? I'm interested to hear other opinions.

[AntV]

Anyone do rush for this? Are they selling advance student rush tickets still?

[JBroadway]

Saw the show last night and thought it was a amazing. I do think it was kinda propagandistic (anti-war), but very well done and very moving. 

To answer the above question, they ARE still selling student tickets. I got one last week, and my friend got one last night an hour before the performance, and there were still empty seats in the house. When I bought mine last week, they said they had student tickets available for most performances. I was surprised, as I would have thought that such an a-list star would draw larger crowds. 

[AntV]

Thanks for the answer. I was able to get a rush ticket an hour before the show last night as well. It was partial view on the far side, but as far as I could tell the back part of the stage is just a mirror reflecting what's projected onto the ground so you don't miss anything from those seats. You only miss for a few seconds when Anne is behind those columns which is very infrequently, but you can just move your head to the side to see around them.

I really enjoyed the play, Anne's performance and Taymor's production. Highly recommended, especially before the reviews come out because I'm sure it will be a much tougher ticket when they do.

As for "stage dooring," they directed us into that second floor loft part of the lobby to wait for her, but then about two minutes later told us she wouldn't be signing tonight. Was nice of them to tell us that quickly and for when anyone does wait for her it's a nice area with seats to wait in.

[B-Way4Life]

Does it make a difference whether you are seated in the center or on either side?

[Actriz2]

Anybody know if there are plans to take this to Broadway? I would imagine Hathaway would be in favor of it (so she can get the Tony) and Taymor is due for her Broadway comeback.

[Tom-497]

This afternoon I was surprised that there were several empty seats in this small theater. In fact, ushers were asking audience members in the back to fill seats closer to the stage.

As for the show itself, I thought Hathaway was good but not so good that she could turn this respectable, over-earnest one-person play into something special.

Grounded did start well, offering some interesting points of view on our endless wars in the Middle East and how, thanks to technology, they are increasingly being fought by soldiers who go home to their families in the suburbs day after day.

However, after 45 minutes or so, the story started to become repetitive and even somewhat cliched -- war is hell, and the people being killed are a lot like the people doing the killing. Also, as the show moved toward its Ozymandian conclusion, I'd begun to be annoyed by the references to Greek myths and other "poetic" dialogue, which seldom sounded convincing in the mouth of Hathaway's AC/DC-loving character. 

One thing I found interesting was that, when Hathaway came out to take her bows, she seemed (to me) to be close to tears and finding it difficult to look at the audience, even though she had made frequent eye contact when in character. The distraught look that I thought I saw on her face as she left the stage did a better job of conveying her character's emotions than anything I had seen during the performance proper.

[macnyc]

I saw the show this afternoon and really liked it. I thought Hathaway was great, and I loved the projections and the stage design.

The reviews are starting to come in:

AM New York:

Anne Hathaway Is Great in Grounded

Deadline Hollywood:

Anne Hathaway, Julie Taymor Spin Bleak Magic In Searing Drone Drama ‘Grounded’