AMERICAN SON Previews

[BroadwayConcierge]

Previews for Chris Demos-Brown's American Son begin in just a few days (Saturday, October 6, 2018) at the Booth Theatre. Starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale and featuring Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee, American Son is set to open officially on Sunday, November 4 for a limited run currently through Sunday, January 27, 2019.

Who's going?!

[Bwayfan292]

Im going in December!!! Im having a play only trip and im seeing 4 plays! So excited!

[CaseyBrent41]

Going next week! With the track record I'm having FERRYMAN and LIFESPAN I'm super excited! 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Was there an invited dress tonight?

[JBC3]

Someone posted a pic of a Playbill on Instagram so maybe?

[little_sally]

BroadwayConcierge said: "Was there an invited dress tonight?"

There was. A friend of mine was there.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Did your friend tell you the runtime?

[BroadwayLuv2]

anyone know if there is a rush policy?

 I'm actually surprised it hasn't gone on tdf.  Looked at the availability for this week and there are A LOT of seats available. 

[PrinceAli]

90 min no intermission. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

I was at the first preview tonight and thought the four actors were already in great shape with their performances. The whole play takes place in a Miami police station waiting room and the set is appropriately ugly and depressing. Washington and Pasquale play parents of a recently turned 18 year old son who has been missing all evening (the play takes place at 4:00am) and they are desperate for any information from the cops about their son’s whereabouts. 

Jordan plays a young cop who has only been on the job for a short time; he basically has to keep the couple calm until a supervisor can show up at 8:00am. Jordan seems friendly and good-intentioned, but he quickly begins to commit even micro-aggression one could ever conceivably commit (he refers to the missing son Jamal as “Jerome;” does he have any identifying features?/Like a birthmark?/Yeah, or like tattoos or gold teeth?). I’m sure all of these questions are asked all the time, but the play teeters on being too heavy-handed a certain points just to cram everything in. 

The pacing is quick and the author doesn’t delve into blather about Neapolitan ice cream or debates about the capital of Morocco. There is focus and it is maintained throughout. 

Everyone was good, but people were there for Washington and she delivered. She only left the stage for like three minutes and had plenty of stuff to sink her teeth into. Eugene Lee, who enters late in the evening, did a lot with his small role.

It’s very topical, but doesn’t really offer anything new or profound to say about the subject matter. It’s entertaining and engaging though, which counts for something. 

[soubrette]

WhizzerMarvin said: "I was at the first preview tonight and thought the four actors were already in great shape with their performances. The whole play takes place in a Miami police station waiting room and the set is appropriately ugly and depressing. Washington and Pasquale play parents of a recently turned 18 year old son who has been missing all evening (the play takes place at 4:00am) and they are desperate for any information from the cops about their son’s whereabouts.

Jordan plays a young cop who has only been on the job for a short time; he basically has to keep the couple calm until a supervisor can show up at 8:00am. Jordan seems friendly and good-intentioned, but he quickly begins to commit even micro-aggression one could ever conceivably commit (he refers to the missing son Jamal as “Jerome;” does he have any identifying features?/Like a birthmark?/Yeah, or like tattoos or gold teeth?). I’m sure all of these questions are asked all the time, but the play teeters on being too heavy-handed a certain points just to cram everything in.

The pacing is quick and the author doesn’t delve into blather about Neapolitan ice cream or debates about the capital of Morocco. There is focus and it is maintained throughout.

Everyone was good, but people were there for Washington and she delivered. She only leftthe stage for like three minutes and hadplenty of stuff to sink her teeth into. Eugene Lee, who enters late in the evening, did a lot with his small role.

It’s very topical, but doesn’t really offer anything new or profound to say about the subject matter. It’s entertaining and engaging though, which counts for something."

Well said WhizzerMarvin.

I was there last night also; first preview. I agree with the poster above regarding the heavy handed moments. 

Once I gave over to the idea that this was going to be more of a dialectic than a “well made play”, I was drawn deeper into the story. Kerry Washington gave a commanding performance with lots of levels. She knew exactly what she was doing up there. The young police officer role seems less a real character and more of a mouthpiece of opposition, at least as played by Jeremy Jordan. He gets in a few cheap laughs.

The play is a brisk 90 minutes, thoughtfully done. Kerry Washington was a pleasure to watch and I found it a very powerful evening, even with some the hackneyed dialogue.

[CaseyBrent41]

Always look forward to your thoughtful reviews WhizzerMarvin! 

[LuPita2]

I enjoyed the show, I know people are there for Kerry but I saw it for Jeremy and Steven.  Their singing talent is wasted of course, but they give solid performances.  It's a decent show but nothing to write home about.

[lucillefrank]

Saw the show yesterday.  I thought it was incredible. It's very heavy and incredibly hard to watch, especially when Kerry is giving such a gorgeous performance.

[BroadwayConcierge]

I thought this was good, but nothing to write home about , to borrow LuPita2's words. 

Most refreshing of all is that it's a brisk 90 minutes with a clear dramatic arc. So often are we bogged down with dreary, 2.5 to 3-hour-plays that you just wish got edited more. Christopher Demos-Brown deserves major props for clearly having a focused objective and getting it on paper crisply and effectively. The exercise of restraint is a talent that very few writers have these days.

However, neither the playwriting itself nor the performances ever reach heights of transcendent, gripping theater. To be sure, it is the definitive play that reflects this era's conflict between police and black youth, and it for that achievement alone, it ought to be commended. But for a Broadway play, I kind of was just expecting...more?

[RippedMan]

Does it say anything new about the subject matter?

[BroadwayConcierge]

RippedMan said: "Does it say anything new about the subject matter?"

Nope, and that's pretty much why I left feeling disappointed. The show didn't offer anything new beyond what I could read in newspapers from the past several years. 

[themysteriousgrowl]

But consider the source, RippedMan. 

[quizking101]

It’s on TDF for a ton of dates next week.

Any merch?

[bwayphreak234]

I recently caught this, and I found the play to extremely powerful and relevant. The conversations about race and law enforcement were gripping, intense, and packed with raw emotion. The four actors are all giving remarkable performances. I never felt like the subject matter was handled with a heavy hand, which was my concern going in. The play raises some great questions and was definitely eye-opening (for me at least). All in all, another great play to add to the list of great plays this season!

[Sarah329]

How has stagedoor been?

[Age_of_Mendacity]

Saw this last night and while I can't use the word "enjoy" to describe my feelings, it was very powerful and Washington gives an outstanding performance of a mother at her wits end. All the actors were great, actually.

That said, I've never had a worse experience in a theater in my life. A woman in front of me was drunk and had obviously not read up on what the play was about. During the entire first hour she wouldn't stop shaking her head about the subject matter and loudly complaining to her friend about how bad the play was and how it was "bull****." When not talking, she used her cell phone. Every single person around her either shushed her or asked her to stop/leave, and when she stopped getting attention, she decided to be the most vocal respondent to any laugh line or reveal. Finally a hero in an aisle seat got up to get an usher, who then escorted her and her friend out of the row. It was nuts!