Gary: A Sequel To Titus Andronicus Previews

[Kad]

Was there a even performance scheduled for tonight before Andrea dropped out? 

[HBBrock]

Matt Rogers said: "Miles2Go2 said: "FYI - Gary is at TKTS today"

That's no surprise at all. Looking at Telecharge, almost half the seats for tonight are unsold."

I am on Telecharge now. The show is about 50 seats away from sold out.

 

[HBBrock]

Kad said: "Was there a even performance scheduled for tonight before Andrea dropped out?"

Yes, it was always scheduled.

 

[Matt Rogers]

HBBrock said: "Matt Rogers said: "Miles2Go2 said: "FYI - Gary is at TKTS today"

That's no surprise at all. Looking at Telecharge, almost half the seats for tonight are unsold."

I am on Telecharge now. The show is about 50seats away from sold out.

"

You're right. That's totally strange, because when I checked just around 4PM, there were seats available all over the theatre. Now there's only like 25 left. 

[HBBrock]

It was on TDF, so I am imagining they filled those orders.

[nativenewyorker2]

Are there rush tickets?

[all_that_jazz]

GeorgeandDot said: "Were there a lot of people in line for rush this morning? I'm tempted to try and get rush tickets, but I'm not sure if there will be any available by now."

I wasnt there when box office opened.  Happend to be in the area at about 11am and thought id ask if they were doing rush.  Its marked partial view.  But dame seat I usually get rush for at the Booth.  Worth a try later in day.  Especially before they announce a rush policy.

[Relevance81491]

bumping for reports

[InTheBathroom1]

First preview just got out and I have to say besides for a few line flubs, this show is in excellent shape. Nathan Lane is incredible as always. Kristine Does absolutely remarkable work and I truly commend her for learning all of that in a week. It is not an easy feat and she did a remarkable job. And Julie White is a lock for a featured actress nob, hysterical and hilarious.

I understand the play won’t be everyone’s taste as it is truly an absurdist comedy, but it presents a lot of questions and arguments and never in a way that feels preachy. Taylor Mac is a true master of judy’s craft. That being said, the play is extremely solid and very funny as well. I intend to revisit. The set is a site to behold with some amazing prop work as well.

And it was truly an exciting night. The theatre was packed, the audience was engaged and laughing, and we were watching theatre magic happening right before our eyes. Rooting for this come Tony time.

[WhizzerMarvin]

I don’t even know how to formulate into words what I just saw, but let me take Gary’s advice and start and bottom and work my way back to the top...

I was so moved by the curtain call when Nathan thanked Julie and Kristine and both of them broke down in tears; Kristine was full on sobbing and I quite frankly I don’t know how she memorized this in a week. Some of the dialogue is blank verse, but some of it is rhyming couplet iambic pentameter and there’s no faking that. Knowing she only had one week to nail down the script AND put together this caliber performance, well it is time to bow down and worship this woman. Brava!

As for the rest, well it’s impossible to discuss the play/production/performances without spoilers, so stop reading if you want to be surprised

*****************


The play opens with the curtain down and Julie White’s character coming out to give us the standard Shakespeare prologue. A few couplets in and blood starts spurting out of the right side of her neck. She plugs the hole and attempts to continue until blood starts spurting of the left side of her neck too. Now drenched in blood, White becomes dizzy from the loss and starts staggering around the stage, but with a determination to finish the prologue.

This sets the tone for this wacky evening that involves farting corpses, bloody appendages galore, cloth penises, blood, guts and every juice that can you find in a body. There is a spectacular spectacular that is one of the weirdest things I’ve EVER seen on stage.

As Gary remarks in one of the many meta moments, this could be a thinking man’a comedy or it could be a real knee-slapper. Sometimes I was hysterically laughing, but often in absolute shock at what I was witnessing on stage.

Ultimately Mac’s message is rather muddled, but it’s an interesting ride to take. The performances are wonderful. Lane is having a ball as a clown promoted to a maid who dreams of one day becoming a fool. Nielsen is a more practical maid and Julie White is absolutely RIOTOUS as a midwife.

The play leans heavily on knowledge of Titus Andronicus, so read the Wikipedia synopsis ahead of time if you don’t know the play.

In a season that has been largely gutless, it is ironically the show that features the most gutless corpses that has the balls to stand out from the crowd.

Love it or hate it, but you won’t soon forget it

[JudyDenmark]

Thank you, Whizzer and IntheBathroom! This sounds incredible, and now I am extra excited. I got choked up just thinking about what that curtain call must’ve been like. All three of them are superheroes. Andrea Martin too.

Re: cloth penises and bodily fluids... should I be regretting right now that I got tickets to go with my parents? How much white-knuckling are we talking about?

[GeorgeandDot]

This does sound like a mess, but in a good way. This sounds like a wild time. How was Elfman's score? Any musical numbers?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Judy, how chill are your parents? Ha. :)

George, I hope no one answers you for now because it would involve major spoilers. It is a very, very wild time though- you’re right about that!

[SomethingPeculiar]

So Nielsen would be placed in the Lead Actress category, yes?

Also, what was the running time? :) 

[InTheBathroom1]

I think as much as they want Kristine to be considered for featured by placing her name below the title, I think the nominating committee will put her in for lead as they really are co-leads.

Started about 10 minutes late and we were out by 9:50 so about 1:40 but it’ll get shorter

[WhizzerMarvin]

I agree; Nielsen will be considered lead along with Lane and White will be featured.

George C Wolfe stretched his creative muscle once again with this, and yes the set is fantastic. Santo Loquasto does positively inspired work here. Easily a career highlight, and the man has had quite the career!

[\_(•_•)_/]

What would you say the age rating would be?

[poisonivy2]

Would you say this play is a lot like Tom Stoppard plays?

[InTheBathroom1]

I’d say 17 and up. Kind of like an R rated movie.

And not at all like Tom Stoppard. This play is in a league all its own. The closest comparison I can think of is Ionesco.

[Ahmy]

For the $39 tickets in the mezzanine, would the left or the right side of the mezzanine be better in terms of being able to see most//all of the action on stage?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Well, I do think it pays homage to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead quite a bit. It’s not restrained and ordered like Arcadia or the like. The premise is already so absurd that anyone would write a sequel to Titus Andronicus because everyone is dead by the end of that play, and to use that as a springboard for wild comedy is both a hot mess and divinely inspired.

It doesn’t come together as nicely as a Stoppard play, but is not meant to.

[dramamama611]

Im squealing over these reports....cant wait.

[WhizzerMarvin]

It can’t be stressed enough what Nielsen accomplished tonight. It was like they sent her into open heart surgery after only one week of medical school and she somehow fixed the heart!

Her expression of relief, exhaustion and gratitude at the curtain call reminded me of that line from Venus in Fur when Vanda says, “You don’t have to tell me about sadomasochism, I’m in the theater!”

[MarkBearSF]

I just checked. Our seats are BB center. Should we dress protectively? Or, as in a number of Taylor's shows, are we in danger of being reassigned? (My husband has mobility issues and uses a cane)

Aside from those concerns, I'm really excited about this one for our June visit.

And thank you again for your wonderful reports Whizzer. You've become a voice from Broadway that I always enjoy reading and depend upon.

[all_that_jazz]

I have to say above all else...kristine Nielson deserves every award we can round up for what she just did. Knowing the amount of work we put in for just a 2 minute audition monologue i am in complete awe of what she pulled off.

This play is wordy..in a good way bit my god words...lots of words...monologues...pages of monologue. I was prepared for a call for a line or momentary pauses and all would have been warranted. But damn it. She had it down. With accent and emotion. Truly remarkable!!!

Julie White as well to give the performances they gave tonight with a weeks preperations is remarkable and a testament to how talented they are.

And of course Nathan...well he gives us pute Nathan perfection. My mind boggles trying to think about tony award play categories this year its gonna be hard. I do think Kristine would be put into lead actress. The two leads are complete co stars and feed off each other equally.