I had mixed-to-positive feelings, and it took a bit to process. It's very smart and thought-provoking, although I think the writing can be a messy at times and not always in a good way. The therapists are probably the weakest characters (while the others are written fantastically), and everyntjng relating to the whole nature of the roleplay situation itself (all couples having to stop when one does, all of the therapy everything being done as a whole group, etc.) seemed a bit...contrived. Overall, though, I think the strong points outweigh the weak ones by far.
At this point, my biggest curiosity (especially considering the play's major focus on listening) is that I would love to hear thoughts on this piece from people who are currently in interracial relationships or have previously been in interracial relationships. I welcome their insights. I apologize if anyone has already addressed that in this thread or elsewhere; I tried to look back through and didn't see anything, but I'm also very tired right now so who knows what I might've missed.
ArtMan said: "I'm in the minority on this. I hated it and couldn't wait for it to be over. The best thing was the legroom of my $39 ticket in the rear mezz."
Hah, if this is true, you must have loathed it, because our lottery seats were in the rear mezz last night (C 115-117), and I haven't sat in a seat with that little legroom in a very long time. It was extremely tight (and completely packed!) up there. But the sightlines are very good, so no complaints there, and I think the legroom in the front row of the rear mezz would be fine.
There were a handful of walkouts over the course of the show, which wasn't terribly surprising.
I'm still mulling it over, but I have appreciated reading all of the reactions and takes offered in this thread.
sm33 said: "ArtMan said: "I'm in the minority on this. I hated it and couldn't wait for it to be over. The best thing was the legroom of my $39 ticket in the rear mezz."
Hah, if this is true, you must have loathed it,because our lottery seats were in the rear mezz last night (C 115-117), and I haven't sat in a seat with that little legroom in a very long time. It was extremely tight (and completelypacked!) up there.But the sightlines are very good, so no complaints there, and I think the legroom in the front row of the rear mezz would be fine.
There were a handful of walkouts over the course of the show, which wasn't terribly surprising.
I'm still mulling it over,but Ihave appreciated reading all ofthe reactions andtakes offered in this thread."
sm33, my $39 wasn't a lottery seat. Regular price at that time. My seat was the last row in the center mezz. In front of me, were the stairs, so (at 6'3) I had all the leg room I wanted. The sightlines were still good and it was the best seat, as far as legroom, I've had in years. I just didn't care for the play. Had the act with the therapy session been shortened tremendously, maybe I would have liked it more.
this play wasn't written for me. (apologies in advance: im a white-ish cis male). i found myself willing myself to not want to identify/side with Dustin or (to a much lesser degree) Alana. Some of the rage felt by Kaneisha in particular was confusing to me- i dont question it, but it wasnt exactly explained.
but the play wasnt written for me. meaning, alot of people in the audience sure did appreciate it, and thats great. to the extent this isnt about Me (the white guy), more power to Jeremy Harris and this production. if the play was written to open my mind, illuminate racial tensions- it was a big miss, i'm afraid. (though i found the humor genuinely hysterical at times- the writing was sharp as a knife in places.)
i was a little taken aback about how obvious the first scenes were: meaning, i thought that the shtick was we didnt know it was all role play until later, but the actors made it obvious immediately. that said, they were all pretty great. I thought James Cusati-Moyer was the standout, but everyone did well. The play really belongs to Joaqina Kulakango- shes delivering a stunning performance but (see above) it was pitched to a hysteria that eluded me.
one last thing: i had dinner res for 10, with the understanding that the plays runs 90 minutes. Yes we started a little late but we got out at 10:13. It really was a full 2 hours- be forewarned.
I was quite bored by the play, well, until the very last scene that smashes all the facades that the characters built and maneuvered. Personally, I didn’t find verbiage very stimulating not provocative: it’s nothing you haven’t heard or read yet if you’ve taken any class on social and cultural analysis. The thing about the play that annoyed me to no end was the two “surprise” characters. I was disturbed not by what was said in the play, but how cartoonishly they were played and how they never let people finish but indulged in their sense of feeling-good “academic supremacy.” Not sure if this is the point the playwright was trying to make, but the only point that I got from the two characters was their annoyingness.
Yes, they were insufferable but i thought that was the point? They provided for some humor and were otherwise ridiculous (which i guess is part of why it was hard to take the "processing" seriously...
joined:10/16/17
joined:
10/16/17
Posted: 10/6/19 at 1:30am