METEOR SHOWER Previews

[Danielle49]

Amy Schumer announced on Instagram that she won't be doing the stage door either.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba94KK0lUvQ/?taken-by=amyschumer

I'm wondering about Keegan-Michael Key and Jeremy Shamos now? Or maybe the show's just not going to do a stage door if it's a crowd of people banking on two people each night. That might make more sense.

[WhizzerMarvin]

I was at the second preview this evening and enjoyed both the play and the actors very much. The play takes a little while to kick into gear and at first I thought Schumer and Shamos were going to be overshadowed by the instantly hilarious Benanti and Key, but fear not. All of the choices, both with the script and acting style, are deliberate and there's plenty of payoff in the final 20 minutes. (Can't really be any less cryptic than that; there's a reason why none of the promotional material gives a plot description. Hell, you can't even discuss the structure of the play without giving it all away.)

The best way to describe it is through comparison, and I'd say Meteor Shower is God of Carnage meets (a good version of) The Realistic Joneses. I think it's unfair to say the evening is just a collection of funny jokes that don't amount to much of a whole play. I thought the play was quite strong, and were this opening in the spring I think it would be a strong contender for Best Play and all four the actors would be nominated, just like the God of Carnage actors were. 

I assume the play has such a limited run because of Schumer's filming schedule, and that's too bad because I really think this could have a respectable Humans-length run. 

 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Excellent to hear Whizzer!

If the reviews end up being that great, they could find a bankable star and extend without Schumer. THE BOYS IN THE BAND wouldn't have to be in the Booth until the end of March.

[HBBrock]

How high is the stage for this show?

[HBBrock]

SEVERAL orchestra seats on Stubhub for tonight for well under face value.

Would be a good night to go if you want to see this close to sold out show.

[WhizzerMarvin]

If the reviews end up being that great, they could find a bankable star and extend without Schumer. THE BOYS IN THE BAND wouldn't have to be in the Booth until the end of March."

 

One of my friends said nearly the same thing last night. He thinks they should find a star replacement and even move the show to another house if the reviews and word of mouth warrant it. 

 

[LesWickedly]

All purely hypothetical, but there would be no open Shubert houses to move to, unless Play That Goes Wrong closes in January, since all other houses have incoming shows or shows doing well at the box office. 

[bstoll1]

[GeorgeandDot]

Has anyone said anything about the artwork? It's a bit ugly.

[BroadwayConcierge]

GeorgeandDot said: "Has anyone said anything about the artwork? It's a bit ugly."

HEY. The Microsoft Word clip art creator who made it clearly put in a LOT OF WORK.

[Dolly80]

GeorgeandDot said: "Has anyone said anything about the artwork? It's a bit ugly."

But it clearly doesn’t matter as its selling loads of tickets already

[HBBrock]

Lucked out and got two Center Orchestra Row N tickets yesterday for $84 each on Stubhub!

This show is about a 6 out of 10. It's somewhere between ok and pretty decent. And not because it's early in previews. It's because the play itself is just ok. Jeremy Shamos has the funniest moment in the show in the last 1/4 of the play.

The acting (to me) was definitely not as good as I had hoped from early comments. Glad I didn't splurge on this.

[Hairspray0901]

FYI  - A lot of great (usually premium) seats are on telecharge right now for regular price for this week. Just snagged a pair in the front orchestra for Wednesday evening. Can't wait!

[JayElle]

Forgive my ignorance, but would someone tell me what this show was about?  I went today, Nov. 4.  I get the 1980s scene.  I remember it well, including the oversized phones, answering machine, touchy/feely communications that was common then.

Keegan/Benati showed up for dinner and were incredibly obnoxious. I had guests like that decades ago, but I threw them out.

Then Keegan/Benati  went outside and came back in.   From there and until it ended, I was lost.  The couple left and then came back in same clothing 3 times.   

I got thru multiple showings of Great Comet and its esoteric lyrics as well as the subtle and obvious messages in Hansen, but I was clueless  for Meteror.   So toss it up to my aging, whatever.  But would someone tell me why Keegan/Benanti kept coming back into the home 3 times...were they different couples?  if so, why not change dress???......duhhhhhh   It was 90 mins w/no intermission.  I was in orchestra 5th row; not sold out...folks darted to leave...Maybe it wasn't just me

By the way, both Keegan and Benati were incredible...(I kept envisioning Keegan to break out in an Obama!)

thanks

 

 

[JayElle]

Rush, I saw standing room and a lot of empty seats at Saturday matinee

[JayElle]

WhizzerMarvin, if you understood that show, please explain it to me here or PM me. I was lost after the first segment when Benati/Keegan showed up to hit on them.  Why did they keep coming back in different segments?  Were they playing different couples with different names?  Wasn't clear to me... I'd like to why I couldn't figure it out....tho I did enjoy Keegan/Benati....too bad she didn't sing.

[Jimmyb1969]

I LOVED THIS SHOW! Saw it Friday night and it was a completely packed house...in fact folks were standing in the back. Steve's script is so cleaver and inventive. And I thought Amy was quite good. SPOILER ALERT >>>Hate to give the plot away but I find it so odd that someone wouldn't understand what was going on? It's a simple dramatic device. And this is a farce people...I mean you really didn't get that? But they very clearly tell us when it was set and then later replay the same evening but cleverly show us what would have happened if certain events would've gone a different way. Completely easy to follow. Simple dramatic device. Grated it's unexpected BUT that's what makes it so genius. Jarring sure? Unexpected twist of fun...YES! Look this show is not going to be for everyone it's raunchy but I found it to be very entertaining and so did ALL of the people around me. In fact Amy got a huge round of applause after she dances. We laughed and laughed and laughed. The entire cast is quite good...Keegan gets ripped on this board but I thought he was hilarious and his pumped up/coked up machismo is the character and pitch perfect. He got some of the biggest laughs of the night. Laura Benanti is a total pro and you can tell is having a blast and Jerry plays the hell out of the the wet noodle/mid life crisis/marshmellow role. Yes Amy has an amazing transformation when they replay the same evening again (it's genuinely not that hard to understand people) but I found her first go through of the evening quite compelling...there's a restraint and subtlety to her performance that showed maturity and skill. The only complaint I have and they'll fix this as it's only the third night of previews is the set changes take a little too long and slow the pace of the action down unintentionally. Once they tighten that up or find a way to move it along better this play is golden. In fact I agree with Whizzer that this play has the potential to extend if they find a star replacement for Amy when she leaves. Net-net...funny, clever, naughty, inventive and unique. This show is going to get excellent reviews and only add to its excellent advance sales. 

[JayElle]

JimmyB1969 partially said, ".I mean you really didn't get that? But they very clearly tell us when it was set and then later replay the same evening but cleverly show us what would have happened if certain events would've gone a different way."

No Jimmy, I didn't get it, and that's why I asked.  It might have been simple for you to understand, but I didn't get it.  I see Bway shows 80 times/year.  I just didn't get this one.  If they were doing a replay of guests coming in under different circumstances, that wasn't clear to me in the way they described or stated it in dialogue. I try to concentrate on the dialog and/or lyrics if it's a musical.  This one left me confused. It started out with a repetitive so-called comical scene with the 1980s touchy-feely "i sense what you say to me; yes I appreciate you hear what I'm saying."

I remember that nonsense from many a corporate office outing where they taught us to get in touch with out "inner selves."  That in itself was boring b/c most of the audience would not have known that. If Steve Martin intended to convey that in different couple appearances, that didn't come across.

I remember watching Steve Martin's comical writings from the Smother's Brothers days of the late 1960s to his SNL writing and performing days of the 1970s.  But I just didn't get it in this show.  I didn't feel alone when I saw so many folks heading for the exits before the final curtain bow.  It wasn't clear to me that each couple entrance was a different scenario under different circumstances.  I never heard any dialogue that presented that...

Thanks of input and would like to hear more if anyone has it.

Jayelle

[ACL2006]

didn't see it mentioned yet, but Kate Reinders is the u/s for Schumer & Benanti. A Broadway name and I'd be curious to see her go on for either one.

[After Eight]

Terrible play. Botch of a "plot." Noisome premise. Obnoxious, unappealing, and unfunny. Ninety minutes seemed like ninety years: ninety painful years. The actors do the best they can, but are really up against it.

 

The set was attractive.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Thanks, AfterEight. 

Now I can't wait to see it. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

ACL2006 said: "didn't see it mentioned yet, but Kate Reinders is the u/s for Schumer & Benanti. A Broadway name and I'd be curious to see her go on for either one."

I believe Benanti has one or two scheduled absences so Reinders should get to go on.

[WhizzerMarvin]

JayElle,

CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT THE PLAY'S STRUCTURE


I think the clue in the dialogue that the scene was starting over with the same characters is that the opening dialogue was always the same. What would happen if...

It was like a very ridiculous, absurdist choose your own adventure. If the couple forgot the wine in the car and the Cooper's call got through this is what happened, etc. Being set during a meteor shower added a magical, mystical element that allowed for time to keep being repeated until they got it "right." Each time the scene started again it was basically a blank slate, but it was like some remnants of the past iteration stayed in the hosts' minds and they were finally able to thwart all the evil fvckery that was being thrown their way; the tables were turned and the awful couple got everything that was coming to them.

[poisonivy2]

So it's like Groundhog Day?

[ACL2006]

IdinaBellFoster said: "ACL2006 said: "didn't see it mentioned yet, but Kate Reinders is the u/s for Schumer & Benanti. A Broadway name and I'd be curious to see her go on for either one."

I believe Benanti has one or two scheduled absences so Reinders should get to go on."

 

Nice! I'll have to look for those dates.