Burn This Previews

[Mike Barrett]

Previews begin this Friday at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway, for the new revival of Burn This starring Adam Driver and Kerri Russell. Im very excited to hear reviews on this one, anyone going this weekend?

[mamaleh]

Is there a discount code for this?  I can't seem to locate one.  Thanks. 

[Robert16]

DMBT1
Save up to 30% off
THEHUDSONBROADWAY.COM
or call 855-801-5876

[mamaleh]

Thanks!

[SJAfan]

Have they announced a lottery or rush yet for this? 

[n2nbaby]

SJAfan said: "Have they announced a lottery or rush yet for this?"

Not yet, but I am assuming it will be a TodayTix rush, that is usually what the Hudson does.

[SJAfan]

Thanks! That's what I thought... I was looking on todaytix but didn't see anything yet. 

[hellosydney]

I am going to the first preview tomorrow. Very excited! 

[Mike Barrett]

hellosydney said: "I am going to the first preview tomorrow. Very excited!"

Awesome! Please report back!! Im so intrigued by this show but want to hear reports first, so I can't wait to hear! 

[n2nbaby]

Currently all tickets on on sale for $39 but it won’t let you buy any. I’m assuming this is just a glitch and due to rush starting tomorrow.

[GeorgeandDot]

Apparently TodayTix will have a lottery. Ugh. Hopefully, there will be an in person rush.

[ELP]

Does anyone know if there’s an invited dress rehearsal tonight?

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

As the first preview is about to begin, I thought I'd give this thread a bump.

[LuPita2]

From Twitter:

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Are there any reports from the first preview people would like to share?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Shouldn’t it be Burn THESE Previews? Or Burn This Preview?

(I’m sorry, I’ll show myself out)

[James2]

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Shouldn’t it be Burn THESE Previews? Or Burn This Preview?

(I’m sorry, I’ll show myself out)"

I like your way of thinking!

[amygbrooks]

I saw this tonight. It was my first time at a first preview, and I wasn't familiar with the text beforehand. I am not a theater expert by any means, so please take this with a grain of salt.

It was....interesting. I LOVE Keri Russell, but I am just not sure about her stage presence. I think she might be one of those actors that is just better on film, with more close-up focus on their face and expressions, vs. needing to project the personality and physicality of a character into an an entire huge room. At times it felt like she was reciting her lines off a teleprompter.

Adam Driver was fantastic as Pale, and seems to truly fit this role perfectly. Brandon Uranowitz was GREAT as Larry, and David Furr (Burton) was very good.

It's weird, because I actually really did expect great chemistry between Keri and Adam after seeing all those amazing promo photos. They just look amazing together, you know? But it's just a first preview and they have weeks to work out the kinks so hopefully once Keri gets more comfortable that chemistry will have a chance to shine through.

There are a total of seven scenes, and one 15 minute intermission. After each scene in Act I the house applauded, but there was only silence after a couple scenes in Act II. I usually go to lively musicals, not plays, so maybe I was imagining things but the silence felt a little awkward at times.

Between scenes they played short, acoustic clips from 80s songs. I'm On Fire was one of them.

Matthew Rhys was in the audience.

I don't think this is really giving much away but if you want to avoid all spoilers then stop reading...

In the final scene Anna/Keri goes to burn a piece of paper in an ashtray. She tried striking one match and it didn't work. Tried a second and it also didn't work. Then Adam said something like "they're tenacious" and came over and took the matches and lit one himself. I have zero idea if it's in the script like that or if Keri just genuinely had trouble with them, but it seemed like a bit of a hiccup.

Something awkward also happened with the bow. All four actors bowed together, and then it looked like Keri was pushing Adam to bow himself, but he seemed to be trying to get her to bow, and she wouldn't/noticeably backed up, and they just kind of looked at each other then all four actors bowed again and then quickly left the stage.

It did not feel like the crowd had much energy, good or bad, when exiting. I sat in the front row of the balcony so it took awhile to file out then down all the steps, and no one was really saying much of anything about the show. Sometimes that can be good, like when you feel stunned (I felt that way after American Son's ending), but this was not that.

That's everything I can think of. Again, I am not expert, this was just my own experience of the show.

[Miles2Go2]

amygbrooks said: "I saw this tonight. It was my first time at a first preview, and I wasn't familiar with the text beforehand. I am not a theater expert by any means, so please take this with a grain of salt.

...

That's everything I can think of. Again, I am not expert, this was just my own experience of the show."

Thanks for your report from tonight! You paid your money to see the show and you attended it. As such, your opinion is just as valid as anyone else that was there tonight or anyone else on this message board. Again, thanks for the report! 

 

[hellosydney]

I really enjoyed this show and thought it was very witty. Adam was fantastic and so was Brandon. Both of their characters had the audience cracking up. I will echo amygbrooks statements about Keri. I felt like she may have been a little nervous and was just reciting her lines with no real personality to it. Hopefully she warms up to the stage and is able to fix that. Also the silence after scenes in act 2 was very uncomfortable. I wanted to clap but literally no one was. The set doesn’t change at all. It’s just the couch, small kitchen and a balcony behind the windows. The match incident that amygbrooks mentioned did seem like a hiccup but they played it off really well in my opinion.


If anyone is interested in merch, they had a magnet, mug and window card with the promo pic of Keri and Adam, as well as a shirt with the show title.

I wish I could see this show again after it opens!

[LuPita2]

I am only going for Adam and Brandon, happy to hear they are great. Thanks for sharing!

[Mike Barrett]

Adam Drive may be my favorite actor currently working so I feel this is a can't miss for me. Glad to hear the solid esrly reports!

[AC126748]

I imagine Keri Russell will improve during previews. She hasn’t done a play in 15 years and she’s never been on Broadway before, so she’s probably not used to a larger theater. She’s probably still getting comfortable being back on stage.

[cali8]

Thank you for the reports! Having recently finished The Americans, I was especially curious about how Keri Russell's work would be onstage and appreciate your thoughts (with the understanding that she'll get more comfortable over time). Looking forward to seeing this in the next few weeks.

[broadwayfan128]

Any stage door reports ?