JOHN LITHGOW: STORIES BY HEART Previews

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/19/17 at 10:30am

Previews for Tony and Emmy winner John Lithgow's solo play begin in just a few days (Thursday, December 21, 2017) at the American Airlines Theatre. Featuring direction by Daniel Sullivan, Stories by Heart is set to open officially on Thursday, January 11 for a limited run currently through March 4, 2018.

Who's going?!

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/19/17 at 10:48am

One of my boyfriend's Christmas gifts is tickets to the January 19th performance, which is the Hiptix party night. If anyone else is attending that, hit me up!

[10086sunset]

Posted: 12/19/17 at 11:04am

Looking forward to going Saturday

[Alfie6]

Posted: 12/19/17 at 11:34am

I will be there first preview! 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/19/17 at 8:21pm

I plan on skipping this one.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 5:06pm

Bump: first preview tonight.

[Alfie6]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 9:10am

This is an evening where JL spends each act performing a short story, nothing more and nothing less. He spends the first 15 mins talking about his father and what stories mean to him, he also tells the audience that he picked two short stories to enact that evening but will make some digressions for witty insight and philosophizing (that never happened, he just tells the stories straight out without any side commentary). The set is just an armchair with wood panelling behind I guess to resemble and old library. In fairness, he isn't just sitting down all night rather in the first story where he is supposed to be a barber he is actually moving around a lot.

I am a JL fan but was so bored I actually fell asleep in the middle of the first act and when I woke at intermission the old man next to me was sleeping also. I was in the mezzanine and between the dim lighting, JL's soft voice which didn't project and the fact that he was just telling a story that wasn't really interesting (Haircut by Ring Lardner), I wouldn't operate heavy machinery while watching this show. 

I think this would be better suited Off-Broadway, he tries to make it an intimate evening but the whole thing got swallowed up with a crowd that big. One example is when he is talking about a book his father gave him and talking about the writing, the spine, all these details about the book to a room where nobody past the first row could actually see it.  I would pass on this, I could have stayed home and just read the stories myself he didnt add much. 

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 10:49am

What's the run time on this one?

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:14am

Alfie6 said: "One example is when he is talking about a book his father gave him and talking about the writing, the spine, all these details about the book to a room where nobody past the first row could actually see it."

In his defense, you say he describes it in very granular detail. Is the point to be close enough to confirm he's telling the truth?!

[JSquared2]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:20am

This sounds like an evening of pure torture.  I'd rather have to sit through Home for the Holidays!!

[Alfie6]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:24am

Alfie6 said: "One example is when he is talking about a book his father gave him and talking about the writing, the spine, all these details about the book to a room where nobody past the first row could actually see it."

In his defense, you say he describes it in very granular detail. Is the point to be close enough to confirm he's telling the truth?!

The point is that if you hold up a book and tell people to look at the handwriting or how cracked the spine is or how the book is bound and 95% of the audience isn't sitting on stage or close enough to actually see any of the book what's the point. I guess that works in the Mitzi Newhouse where everyone is in a close space but here it did not work unless you brought binoculars. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:48am

It's two acts and he only tells TWO stories???   While I look forward to additional comments, that doesn't sound very interesting at all.  It sounds quite self indulgent, actually.   

[newintown]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:52am

If you'd rather stay home, here's that first act  story - you can read it yourself, and imagine Lithgow (or Britney Spears, or whoever) reading it to you:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/haircut.html

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 12:29pm

Oh, I don't know what I was thinking about this show. I thought it was him telling stories about his life and career. Not literally telling a story. A shame, that would've been much more interesting.

(On a related note, why hasn't Harvey Fierstein done an evening of telling stories about his life and career. Whenever he's on Theater Talk I wish his episode was four hours long!)

[10086sunset]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 2:12pm

Going tonight, does anyone have the runtime?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 3:41pm

What a colossal bore. 

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 9:48pm

What's the second story?

I got burned when I went to see William Shatner's one man show. Thought it would be sooo much fun. Not. 

I love John Lithgow but don't want to go through seeing an actor going through the motions for a paycheck.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 10:30pm

I was there tonight.

Sally, Lithgow is definitely going through the motions- to the contrary: he is quite committed. Now, that doesn't mean the show is any good, but the material is obviously very near and dear to him. Perhaps too much so that it will have little meaning to anyone else but his immediate family.

Each act is indeed only one story, with a brief prologue explaining why stories are important to him. These brief preambles are by far the best parts of the show. Would that the whole evening were these discussions I think I could be a worthwhile evening.

I absolutely hated "Haircut;" this barber is no Sweeney Todd. The entire story is a monologue for a barber in a small town given to a new customer that has just moved there. The barber is the town gossip and story just rambles on about all the citizens of the town. I thought it was a terrible story and it felt never ending. At the top of act two Lithgow even admitted that it wasn't his favorite story as a kid- not even close. So why the hell did he opt to tell it to us tonight!

Act two's story, "Uncle Fred Flits By" by PG Wodehouse is much better, but perhaps only by comparison. At least this one has a large cast of characters so Lithgow can do different voices and really physically inhabit the different people. Still, it goes on for a while and really I was over it by the end.

I chugged a coffee beforehand and was able to keep awake (use that as a pull quote), but I can't really recommend it.

[meyerd584]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:54pm

Was there tonight as well. Agreed with most things stated so far. He's charming and clearly loves what he's doing but it is indeed a bore. I left at intermission.

Didn't have an issue not being able to see the book spine from the back of the mezz as the story was more important than the visual. I wish it was a reflection on his life and career or more of his growing up as the first 15 minutes were lovely. 

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:58pm

From my experiences, JL always sounds self indulgent. 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 1:26am

what the hell is roundabout doing man, except for it being super cheap to produce with a name, WHY is roundabout producing this on broadway?

[10086sunset]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:20am

Regarding the show, I tend to agree with just about everything Whizzer has previously stated.

Roundabout has become an embarrassment. The past few seasons have been absolutely dreadful. They should be ashamed of this current season. 

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:30am

LightsOut90 said: "what the hell is roundabout doing man, except for it being super cheap to produce with a name, WHY is roundabout producing this on broadway?"

Hey, if they don’t have anything to fill the slot, they know they’ll be able to make a few bucks in the lean winter months. It’s similar to a few years ago when LIPS TOGETHER TEETH APART was cancelled and they shoved EVERYDAY RAPTURE in there in 10 Days. They’d rather fill it with some self-indulgent passion project rather than it go empty

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:33am

Yes, in theatre programming, something is always better than nothing. But it feels like that's been Roundabout's mentality for a looooong time now. Where has the exciting, thrilling theatre gone?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 11:00am

quizking101 said: 

Hey, if they don’t have anything to fill the slot, they know they’ll be able to make a few bucks in the lean winter months. It’s similar to a few years ago when LIPS TOGETHER TEETH APART was cancelled and they shoved EVERYDAY RAPTURE in there in 10 Days. They’d rather fill it with some self-indulgent passion project rather than it go empty"

Everyday Rapture was fantastic.