Greater Clements

[daninnyc]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:40am

Starting a thread to share thoughts on early previews.

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:47am

Haven't seen Dana Ivy onstage before. Very excited to see this stage veteran in action.

[daninnyc]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:54am

I'm sorry to say you won't get to see Dana Ivey, but you will see Judith, which is always a treat!

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:55am

oh no! *moves play to bottom of list*

[Kimbo]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 3:04am

Falsettolands said: "oh no! *moves play to bottom of list*"

Agreed. After seeing Judith Ivey’s campy borderline-drag performance of Margaret Thatcher in “The Audience” (especially after watching Haydn Gwynne’s savvy and restrained job with the same material in the NT Live presentation) - I think it’s safe to say that there’s a great difference between Dana Ivey and Judith  (I confess I’ve never gotten Judith Ivey - in my opinion of what I’ve seen she ranges from workmanlike to embarrassing - I thought her eye-rolling schtick wore thin in The Heiress as well - but maybe some of her best work (Hurlyburly I guess?) was happening years before I was going to plays.  She was okay in The Glass Menagerie off-Broadway, though even there not nearly as good as Jessica Lange, Cherry Jones or Sally Field.  
This one is a hard pass for me.

 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 3:06am

oh I mean, I don't have any problems with Judith.

I just thought I'd read Dana somewhere and was like "oooooo yes I want THAT for Christmas"

I loved The Whale and have even been in a couple Hunter plays myself, but this being such a busy winter for new plays I'm not sure I'll make it out without incentive.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 9:40am

Has anyone seen it yet?! Curious to see how the set is since they changed up the usual seating arrangements of the theater. Also, telecharge has it listed as close to 3 hours, wonder how accurate that is...

[Theater3232]

Posted: 11/16/19 at 10:45am

3 hours 2 minutes, but I was engrossed the whole time.  Excellent cast.  Things get crazy in the 3rd act.  Very sad tale.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 8:52am

Amazing that there is so little talk about this play on here. One of the best shows I have seen in a while, and closes January 19th.

 

Posted: 1/7/20 at 9:05am

I have to say I thought this was the most overrated play of the season. Beautifully produced of course, as is always the case at Lincoln Center, but I truly thought the play seemed like a first or second draft and needed a workshop before this mainstage production. There are some interesting ideas/characters here, but the WHY was lost among a lot of thoughts about class and it's limited opportunity. 

The actual story's structure wasn't present in a way that makes an audience truly engrossed in  what was happening on stage.

Some wonderful performances as well, but again, because the story wasn't well crafted they didn't affect us they way they should have. One more developmental workshop could have saved this show for me. 

[broadway86]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 9:10am

Seeing it 1/18, I'm excited!

[Kad]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 9:57am

I saw this a couple weeks ago and thought it was merely... fine. Certainly not up to par with Hunter's other works, and its runtime is very hefty for a play that is merely fine. 

[Mark Waltz]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 10:27am

I saw this early in previews. I call it "The Christmas Tree Play". It needs a really good trimming.

That being said, while it is painfully long, the performances are superb, and Judith Ivey remains one of my favorite stage actresses and character actresses in films and on TV. It's too bad that the TV sitcom "The Five Mrs. Buchannan's" didn't last long due to shuffling around. Ivey, Harriet Harris and Eileen Heckart are recognized as super stage actresses, and while Eileen pretty much dominated the show every time she was on, Judith & Harriet had some terrific moments of scene stealing themselves. 

I just saw "Harry Townsend's Last Stand" at City Center starring Len Cariou & Craig Bierko, and it was a delightful surprise, getting everything out in two hours and never dull. With "Greater Clements", I felt sleep pains during Act II and Act III, something I did not feel with either part of "The Inheritence" or other lengthy plays.