Waverly Gallery or The Ferryman?

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 10:29am

I have room for one play in my schedule, both are NYTimes critics picks. Which is most likely to win the Tony for best play? I'd love to see both but I won't be able to. Please help!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 10:34am

couldn't answer that question, but more people seem divided on Ferryman.  I've heard fabulous things about Waverly - but sadly, haven't seen either, and not sure I'll be able to fit either them in....SO many plays I have on my list.

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 10:35am

For me the frontrunner for best play thus far this season is To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Between the two you mentioned, I preferred The Ferryman more but Waverly Gallery was excellent too! 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 10:48am

Conceivably, both could win the Tony, The Waverly Gallery for revival, and The Ferryman for new play. In my opinion, they're both must-sees, but Waverly made a bigger emotional impact on me, mainly because of Elaine May's astounding perfomance. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 10:52am

Waverly. Although both are excellent...

[schubox]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 11:13am

Saw both last week, my pick would be The Ferryman. But both were good.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 11:46am

Both are honestly great choices. The Ferryman is very unique because of the scale of the show itself, while The Waverly Gallery is more centered around a character and a very good and well performered character at that. I perosnally don't think you could go wrong with either! The Ferryman will be around until July however while Waverly Gallery will not, so that may be more of a priority.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 11:55am

Mike Barrett said: "Both are honestly great choices. The Ferryman is very unique because of the scale of the show itself, while The Waverly Gallery is more centered around a character and a very good and well performered character at that. I perosnally don't think you could go wrong with either! The Ferryman will be around until July however while Waverly Gallery will not, so that may be more of a priority."

This was how I prioritized which one to see first as I know Waverly is going away soon. I plan to see both.

 

[kelsey1389]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 11:59am

I would say Waverly. It's closing very soon and Elaine May was out of this world, would think she must be the favorite to win the Tony? 

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 12:02pm

I didnt realize Waverly was a revival! Then yes I think both plays have a good shot in their respective categories.
Just a note that Ferryman has extended to July but keep in mind the British/Irish cast is leaving Feb 17th and being replaced by mostly an American cast.
Waverley Gallery is easier to understand given the setting is in NYC and all of the characters speak with an American accent.
The Ferryman is set in Northern Ireland and though I was able to generally understand what they were saying I can see how it may be harder for others (especially those unfamiliar with the accent.)
Waverly is closing soon though (end of this month) so perhaps make that a priority for this trip.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 12:44pm

I saw 5 productions two weekends ago and The Waverly Gallery was my favorite of them. In fact, it's now one of my favorite theatrical experiences of all time. May’s performance is astounding. If you have experience with a family member descending into dementia (as I do) it will have extra resonance for you. Don't let that scare you away though. There is a lot of humor as well, especially in Act 1. I wanted to see The Ferryman on that trip too, but my friend wasn't so sure about it (we saw Kinky Boots - a return visit for me - instead), but we'll be seeing it next month.

Updated On: 1/16/19 at 12:44 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 12:53pm

If you think you will be back in time  to see Ferryman, see Wavily.  If not, see Ferryman.  It is an incredible production and should not be missed by any serious theatre goer.  The accents were not a problem from, and I usually struggle with them.

I would expect the Tony award battle for new play to be between Ferryman and Mockingbird.  Overall I think that Ferryman got slightly better reviews, but both were very well reviewed, and I can't imagine that anything that still to open will receive their acclaim.  Mockingbird would probably benefit from the fact that it is monster hit AND the book is part of the American Zeitgeist (which is why the play is such a hit...the novel has had an incredible emotional impact on generations of readers; the play may be great -- I don't see it until May -- but a drama selling out week after week in the large Shubert theatre is attributable to more than great reviews; even every preview performance was sold out).

Re Waverly, I really enjoyed it and it will certainly be a good candidate for Best Revival.  We still need to see what everyone thinks of King Lear, All My Children and Burn This.

 

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 1:59pm

Jarethan said: "I can't imagine that anything that still to open will receive their acclaim. "

Gary might. Hillary & Clinton might. Ink might. Still way too early to make a Best Play call! (Personally I loved Ferryman and hated TKAM, so if it does come down to those two, that's an easy choice for me, if I were a voter.)

For OP... you really can't go wrong either way. Personally I enjoyed The Ferryman more - I think it's overall the better play - but Elaine May's performance is one for the books, so I could completely see making a case for Waverly for that reason. 

[ABitOnTheSide]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 4:50pm

Thanks everyone for your help. There's a lot of info to digest here!

[Skip23]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 5:47pm

Waverly is a good TV movie. Nothing that we havent seen before - your basic Dementia MOW. Elaine May is fine, but the character is REAL annoying. The production is not on my must see list.

After Jerusalem, Im VERY wary of another Butterworth play.

And I wont see Mockingbird because certain actors annoy the hell out of me.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 6:45pm

Having seen both recently, I would vote for The Ferryman. I really enjoyed much of The Waverly Gallery, but the play had these long transitions where you would be staring at a brick wall for a full minute, which really interrupted the flow of the play. I appreciated the performances and the writing, but those scene changes really just threw a wrench in the storytelling. This may seem like a minor thing to quibble over, but it really did impact my ability to emotionally connect to the show when I was yanked out of it every 5-10 minutes or so. The Ferryman was expertly directed, written, performed, and designed. Additionally, the scale of the play (21 actors plus a few animals) means that it won't be programmed by very many regional companies in the future. For me, The Waverly Gallery was good, but The Ferryman was thrilling.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/16/19 at 11:18pm

Skip23 said: "Waverly is a good TV movie. Nothing that we havent seen before - your basic Dementia MOW. Elaine May is fine, but the character is REAL annoying. The production is not on my must see list.

After Jerusalem, Im VERY wary of another Butterworth play.

And I wont see Mockingbird because certain actors annoy the hell out of me. "

Well OP, according to Skip, I guess you should just stay home and jab needles into your eyes. 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 12:14am

I saw both in October. Both were excellent. If I had to return to one, I'd find a way to get tickets for both.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 12:20am

Skip23 said: "Waverly is a good TV movie. Nothing that we havent seen before - your basic Dementia MOW. Elaine May is fine, but the character is REAL annoying."

If your big takeaway from the show is that Elaine May's character is annoying, I think you missed the point.

[jast]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 8:48am

Wick3 said: "I didnt realize Waverly was a revival! Then yes I think both plays have a good shot in their respective categories.
Just a note that Ferryman has extended to July but keep in mind the British/Irish cast is leaving Feb 17th and being replaced by mostly an American cast.
Waverley Gallery is easier to understand given the setting is in NYC and all of the characters speak with an American accent.
The Ferryman is set in Northern Ireland and though I was able to generally understand what they were saying I can see how it may be harder for others (especially those unfamiliar with the accent.)
Waverly is closing soon though (end of this month) so perhaps make that a priority for this trip."

Do you mean the final performance for the British cast will be Feb 17th? new cast will start 19th? Thanks for any information on this

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 8:49am

I enjoyed both a great deal, but The Ferryman gets my vote here.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 8:59am

jast said: "Wick3 said: "I didnt realize Waverly was a revival! Then yes I think both plays have a good shot in their respective categories.
Just a note that Ferryman has extended to July but keep in mind the British/Irish cast is leaving Feb 17th and being replaced by mostly an American cast.
Waverley Gallery is easier to understand given the setting is in NYC and all of the characters speak with an American accent.
The Ferryman is set in Northern Ireland and though I was able to generally understand what they were saying I can see how it may be harder for others (especially those unfamiliar with the accent.)
Waverly is closing soon though (end of this month) so perhaps make that a priority for this trip."

Do you mean the final performance for the British cast will be Feb 17th? new cast will start 19th? Thanks for any information on this"

Yes.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BREAKING-Brian-dArcy-James-Will-Lead-New-Cast-of-THE-FERRYMAN-Beginning-February-19-20190108

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 9:14am

Skip23 said: "Waverly is a good TV movie. Nothing that we havent seen before - your basic Dementia MOW. Elaine May is fine, but the character is REAL annoying. The production is not on my must see list.

After Jerusalem, Im VERY wary of another Butterworth play.

And I wont see Mockingbird because certain actors annoy the hell out of me."

I think the OP wanted recommendations from people who actually saw the shows?

[Mike66]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 9:14pm

Saw them both last weekend.  

You cant go wrong with either one.

If I had to pick one to see right now, it would be WAVERLY, because Elaine May is fabulous and its closing soon.  I think FERRYMAN will run for quite a while.

To the comments made here -- I agree that the intervals (to move the sets around) in Waverly were annoying at the time, but I forgot them by the next morning, and the performances stayed.  The accents were very difficult in Ferryman -- they should hand out copies of the play on the way out so you can stay up late and read everything you missed live. (Amazon delivered mine yesterday....)

Waverly stays with me with several ;'messages' and 'meanings'. Ferryman stays with me as a marvelous tale, told beautifully.

You really cant make a bad choice here

[Skip23]

Posted: 1/17/19 at 9:40pm

haterobics said: "Skip23 said: "Waverly is a good TV movie. Nothing that we havent seen before - your basic Dementia MOW. Elaine May is fine, but the character is REAL annoying. The production is not on my must see list.

After Jerusalem, Im VERY wary of another Butterworth play.

And I wont see Mockingbird because certain actors annoy the hell out of me."

I think the OP wanted recommendations from people who actually saw the shows?"

 

Gee, thanks for guiding me through the real motive behind the op’s message. I would never have known. Forgot the rules and regulations of this public chat site.