THE BOYS IN THE BAND (2018) Previews

[EllieRose2]

If anyone is going in the next few days, please report on any new merchandise they might be selling.  Excited to see a photo of the merch table but have not been able to find one online.  Thank you!

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

BrodyFosse123 said: "And we have our first pull quote, direct from our beloved and reliable BroadwayWorld Broadway Message Board:

"

Congrats ColorThe Hours!!...

[rg7759]

is not opening in time a strategy or a blunder?

[MadsonMelo]

I think Parsons' schedule is the reason for this date for the production.

[wish i were here2]

Just came back from the matinee today and it was FANTASTIC! Literally loved every minute and would totally see it again. Everyone is fantastic and it was such an interesting story. It did not feel dated by any means, I guess the only thing that dates the show is the type of phone they use, but that's it. 

As for stagedoor, everyone came out, which I was surprised about since it was a matinee, but they were all literally the nicest and sweetest guys!

As for merch, they had two shirts (one that just said "Mary" and the other that said "Swish, Mary Sissy, Queer, Fairy, Pansy, Faggot", they had a poster, they had the script (I believe). That's all I saw, but I definitely could have missed some things! 

[EllieRose2]

MadsonMelo said: "I think Parsons' schedule is the reason for this date for the production."

Correct.

 

[quizking101]

EllieRose2 said: "MadsonMelo said: "I think Parsons' schedule is the reason for this date for the production."

Correct.

"

It's been awesome that Parsons has been able to commit to doing any Broadway at all considered he's the lead on a popular, long-running television show, especially challenging (The Normal Heart, The Boys In The Band) or obscure (Harvey) shows that wouldn't necessarily be the top of a visiting theatregoers list.

[dshnookie]

For merch beyond what wishiwerehere2 said, they had a magnet, a glass tumbler set ($40) - like scotch glasses - with “who do you/I have to f*ck around here to get a drink?” etched on them (don’t recall the quote verbatim/too lazy to google) and pretty sure there was a hat

[haterobics]

dshnookie said: "pretty sure there was a hat"

Does anyone still wear a hat?

[EllieRose2]

Thanks dshnookie!  Love all three things especially the hat!  

[After Eight]

It's well done and well acted. Line deliveries need some fine tuning, but that will no doubt come as the actors hit their stride. I liked it, to be sure, but not without some qualification. The  laughs are still there, but the mood seems a mite too gloom and doom this time around. The balance between sturm und drang and snap, crackle and pop seems to have been tilted towards the former. Just let the play coruscate: the darkness is illiuminated in the light.

 

[newintown]

I just heard that Matt McGrath is standby for Michael, Harold, and Emory - seeing him in any one of those roles would be well worth a visit.

[haterobics]

newintown said: "I just heard that Matt McGrath is standby for Michael, Harold, and Emory - seeing him in any one of those roles would be well wortha visit."

Kyle Dean Massey is also the standby for Donald, Larry, and Cowboy.

[newintown]

I would hesitate to compare the two...

[haterobics]

newintown said: "I would hesitate to compare the two..."

Saying they are both standbys in the same show seems a pretty fair comparison, as that is all I noted.

[greenifyme2]

Just snagged a front row ticket below face value off of Stubhub for tonight. Excited! Anyone else going tonight?

[GiantsInTheSky2]

For those who have seen this production already: would mid-center mezz be a decent area to sit for this? Or should I try to find something in the orchestra? I don’t know what the staging is like, nor have I ever been to the Booth. I’m hoping to surprise my partner for our anniversary next week. Any help is sincerely appreciated!

[BrodyFosse123]

I posted photos of the set. Look at the earlier postings.

It’s a 2-level set but the majority of the action is center stage.

[greenifyme2]

Regarding run time- there was a card in the playbill stating 1 hr, 40 mins. As we entered, the ushers were saying 1:55. It definitely ran just over 2 hours though. It started a couple minutes late and ended around 10:05.

Not sure if/how they’re going to shave off almost 20 minutes?

[Danielle49]

I echo what everyone's said about the show. What a great night at the theater. Mantello pulls some great moments forward that heighten the play's relevance. It being so early in previews, the cast (and Mantello, I assume) is still finding where the laughs are. Rannells and de Jesus have the comedy down, with a nice balance of drama in the final act. Bomer was lovely, and I wanted more of him, but yes he fades into the background (quite literally) for most of the play. It was Quinto I couldn't warm up to. He kind of plays one note here, which makes his long-awaited arrival unfulfilling. Also, a killer line from Bomer got an applause break just before Quinto's entrance, which diminished his presence even more. In any event, I know there were early concerns about whether this piece would work in 2018, but it 100% does, to brilliant effect.

A gorgeous set. Speaking of which, I was in the mezzanine but from what I could see, I would avoid the sides and boxes if you can. The two-level set is kind of pushed back into the stage.

Yeah, I was surprised at what time we got out - it was just after 10 with curtain call. That said, I don't know what time they started. I could see them trimming 10 minutes but definitely not 20.

The gratuitous stage door report: LOTS of autograph hounds and tourists just passing by and handing the actors pieces of paper to sign. It was raining off and on, but again everyone graciously came out. Bomer sweetly took time with everyone and was one of the last to leave, even though he was one of the first to come out. Quinto signed for everyone but told us all he was in a rush to meet some friends. Rannells was also was hurried, and went around the section I was in, but was very energetic and kind. I hope this stage door doesn't turn into a madhouse for them.

A side note: the audience was great tonight. Attentive, empathetic, respectful. This and the Angels crowd are the loveliest I've experienced as of late.

[Babe_Williams]

If you are into podcasts, on this week's ep of Keep It, Zachary Quinto is interviewed about the show. Its about the last 20 minutes of the podcast.

[LizzieCurry]

Sorry it's not clickable, but:
https://crooked.com/podcast/under-his-smokey-eye/

[KingOfThePigPeople]

Script changes (there may be more than these but these are the ones that stuck out to me):

Michael's monologue "Same song, second verse" is cut.

"Call me a cab, you crumb" section is cut.

"Where'd ya find him? Rae knew where" section is cut.

"Sebastian Venables" section is cut.

"Did you ever heard of Nancy De Hay and Jimmy de Wolf" (or whatever it is) is cut.

Donald also mentions Joe Allen at one point and I don't remember that in the script of the production I did.

I was at the show last night - the tone is almost right but not quite, and not quite is enough to make this an anemic evening. Everyone wondering why it's running so long just needs to listen out for the gaps between lines. You could fly all the planes of COME FROM AWAY through them and still have room for more. Some of these characters are meant to have known each other for years. This script is THEIR script. These characters say these words (or words like them) several times a week. It should FLY. At the moment it’s like a first read through with A for effort in characterization. And the argument for “tightening with previews” doesn’t hold for me. This stuff should have been top of mind from day three of rehearsals.

Pacing is way way way low. I wonder if a cause of this could be the physical distance onstage between the actors, and something to do with the sound design. It feels very under-miked. Are these actors speaking slowly and with zero agility because they perceive that they need to do so, in order to catch the audience's eye and ear? The physical world of the show is also very "recessed" away from the audience, creating a distance that does not serve the script in acoustic terms and line delivery terms.

The "stop time" thing to illustrate Michael having a drink takes us RIGHT out. If it's in there once, it should be a motif through the night. Otherwise it makes no sense and insults the audience who must be too dumb to follow the protagonist and see him pour a drink as the chaos becomes unbearable for him

"When she acts, she's lethal." Jim Parsons is doing this production no favors. Sorry. Everyone else is pretty much fine (we could do without the contemporary-isms that Andrew Rannells throws in occasionally) but that vase of flowers on the table commands the stage more than Parsons. Not for one second did I believe that anyone would be afraid of the wrath of Michael. You could flick him over with your finger. Not for one second did I believe that anyone would show up weekend after weekend because Michael is actually quite engaging and essential. Don’t get me started on Michael’s almost-meltdown towards the end of the play. Inauthentic and painted by numbers and without any dirt to it. The 60-something queen next to me just tsk-tsk’ed at that and many other moments. He knew exactly what was up, and this 30 year old knew too. We can’t be the only ones, right? The one saving grace was that Parsons was dressed almost exactly like Kenneth Nelson. Joe Mantello must be throwing his hands in the air. But Parsons is selling half the tickets, so what can he do?  

The audience went nuts of course. All I could think was that the cheers meant “yay, you tried!” But I know the cheers didn’t mean that at all. 
Mart Crowley was there last night. Wish I knew what he thought. 

[EthelMae]

Thx, KingofthePigPeople. I have tix for the last week of the run and I was dying because so far the comments have been through the roof here and I thought how can I wait till August. Yours brings it down a notch. Now I’ll just relax and wait!

[Danielle49]

KingOfThePigPeople said: "Pacing is way way way low. I wonder if a cause of this could be the physical distance onstage between the actors, and something to do with the sound design. It feels very under-miked. Are these actors speaking slowly and with zero agility because they perceive that they need to do so,in order to catch the audience's eye and ear? The physical world of the show is also very "recessed" away from the audience, creating a distance that does not serve the script in acoustic terms and line delivery terms.

The "stop time" thing to illustrate Michael having a drink takes us RIGHT out. If it's in there once, it should be a motif through the night. Otherwise it makes no sense and insults the audience who must be too dumb to follow the protagonist and see him pour a drink as the chaos becomes unbearable for him

"When she acts, she's lethal." Jim Parsons is doing this production no favors. Sorry. Everyone else is pretty much fine (we could do without the contemporary-isms that Andrew Rannells throws in occasionally)but that vase of flowers on the table commands the stage more than Parsons. Not for one second did I believe that anyone would be afraid of the wrath of Michael. You could flick him over with your finger. Not for one second did I believe that anyone would show up weekend after weekend because Michael is actually quite engaging and essential."

As much as I loved the play, these are such on-point criticisms. I do think all but the Parsons thing can be fixed during previews.

They indeed need to work on the sound - there were issues from the first scene between Parsons and Bomer. I think a lot of the issue right now involves all of the movement around the set and its panels.

I got antsy during the phone call scene just waiting for them to pick up cues and move through monologues faster. It was that point when I really felt the lack of intermission. I assume they'll speed up as previews go on and they get more comfortable with the text onstage. Cutting 20 minutes does still seem like a stretch though.

I hope to god that they cut the time-stop moment. They could easily center the eye on Parsons at that moment with a little tightening of the staging. I assumed it was just something they were trying to see if they wanted to implement it more as a device.

Ah, Jim Parsons. I thought he was fine, but considering his comedic background I was irked by lots of his line delivery. I found myself wondering why anyone was friends with Michael at all - and of course he just becomes less and less empathetic throughout the night. The top-billed actors - Parsons and Quinto - were actually my least enjoyed of the night. In reference to the Rannells note, the only reason why I knew the play was set in the '60s was by reading the Playbill. I'm a biased Rannells fan so I still found him delightful.