Judith Ivey, Tony Roberts, John Rubinstein, Patty McCormack... To Star in Off-Bway MORNINGS AT SEVEN

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 6:59pm

"The comedy classic will star Oscar nominee and Obie winner Lindsay Crouse (The Homecoming), Obie winner Alma Cuervo (On Your Feet!), two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey (Steaming, Hurlyburly), Dan Lauria (Lombardi, The Wonder Years), Oscar nominee Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed, Frost/Nixon), two-time Tony nominee Tony Roberts (The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Annie Hall), Tony winner John Rubinstein (Pippin, Children of a Lesser God), Keri Safran (Typhoid Mary at Barrington Stage), and Jonathan Spivey (The Front Page)."

HOLY CRAP THIS CAST IS AMAZING!

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 9/2/21 at 11:39am

Thank you — just bought a ticket!

Thanks also to whoever posted a previous message on this board about the rebate offer for Telecharge purchases of $100 or more with an Amex card. I must have enrolled my card in that offer and then forgot about it, so I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from Amex saying I’ll get $25 back off the price of my ticket.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 9/2/21 at 12:03pm

Amazing cast for St Clements. Never saw a show there but it also seemed like a C list venue

[Huss417]

Posted: 9/2/21 at 12:20pm

Not sure about the seating but last row for $44.00 I grabbed a pair. :)

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 9/3/21 at 1:15am

Wow! What a cast!

[ArtMan]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 5:27pm

This isn't really selling either.  At least for the performance I'm going to.  I couldn't decide on this or Flying Over Sunset.  Many of you have raved about Sunset, but it doesn't really appeal to me for the cost compared to buying the last row for $44 from what looks like a tiny theater.  I know nothing of the play.  Not sure if it appeals to me either.  But I really like many of the actors in the cast.  For that price, I don't think I can go wrong.  Sunset doesn't look like it's selling either.  If they go low, I may change my mind.  Love the current policy of Telecharge.

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/29/21 at 4:21pm

Has anyone seen this?
Thoughts?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/29/21 at 5:22pm

I would describe the play as "cute." It's a slight piece of writing, and the pacing feels off. (It's only about 2:20, but it feels longer.) Upper-middle-class white people with small problems, and Dan Wackerman's direction and the performances never really illustrate why we should care about the stakes of their problems. The director is to blame above all. David Cromer's Our Town and Scott Ellis's You Can't Take It With You showed that old plays can be brought to vibrant life, and this doesn't do that.

Much of the cast is a little old for their roles, which doesn't help the stateliness of the production. Nowadays, I think audiences look for a little more virility in depictions of people in their late 60s (mostly played by actors in their 70s and 80s). All the actors are kind of working on their own plane and they haven't gelled as a cohesive ensemble. Dan Lauria and Patty McCormack are probably best-in-show here...Judith Ivey should be good for this role on paper, but I actually wanted her to go bigger.

Of the 2002 Broadway revival, Ben Brantley said "Morning's at Seven may look like a Norman Rockwell illustration. But its soul is out of a painting by Edward Hopper, who so vividly identified solitariness as an all-American trait." This production does feel like a Rockwell painting. The kind of play you see and say "that's nice" and then forget all about it. Nobody's embarrassing themselves, but it doesn't make a compelling case for the play.

Updated On: 10/29/21 at 05:22 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 10/29/21 at 5:50pm

Ermengarde, So when you say "it feels longer",  is the play boring?  My only other choice for a December 1 trip, is Flying Over Sunset, and that by the clips, doesn't look like it is my thing.  I already have a ticket to this (the $44 ticket) and can easily change it (thanks Telecharge) but there isn't anything else playing that I am interested in.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/29/21 at 6:24pm

I caught the Wednesday matinee this week. The show didn’t drag or feel boring, and they must have tightened up the running time, since I was on the street by 4:10. It’s a noble production of fascinating play, one that feels a lot more layered and daring in its portrayal of flawed human beings than you might expect from the time period. My main issue, however, is that while the actors all do very interesting individual work, they really don’t suggest a family with all its unspoken history and tension. This felt like a series of siloed star performances rather than a unified ensemble. Perhaps this will lessen as the run progresses.

Patty McCormack, Judith Ivey and Dan Lauria were the standouts. Alma Cuervo’s performance is a little big for the space — she acts like she’s playing a thousand-seat theater, not a tiny Off-Broadway house. Lindsay Crouse made a lot of interesting choices and was ultimately successful, but her timing was somewhat off, especially in the early scenes. I liked the two younger actors quite a bit.

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/29/21 at 10:25pm

What age is this appropriate for?
Thanks!

[LarryD2]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:40am

Judith Ivey has left the production due to an injury, with her understudy taking over. The opening has now been rescheduled to November 15.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:45am

LarryD2 said: "Judith Ivey has left the production due to an injury, with her understudy taking over. The opening has now been rescheduled to November 15."

LarryD2, Is this a temporary leave?  Or has she left for the entire run?

[jbm2]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:47am

ArtMan said: "LarryD2 said: "Judith Ivey has left the production due to an injury, with her understudy taking over. The opening has now been rescheduled to November 15."

LarryD2, Is this a temporary leave? Or has she left for the entire run?"

Saw this last night.

she is out for good 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:49am

Thanks for the info.  

[LarryD2]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:49am

Ivey is out of the production permanently. The opening night has been rescheduled to allow her replacement, Nancy Ringham, to get a few performances under her belt before the critics come in.

Updated On: 10/31/21 at 11:49 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 11:51am

Hope she’s ok. I aways look forward to seeing her onstage

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 12:11pm

Is this a recurring injury? Ivey missed a lot of performances of GREATER CLEMENTS a few years ago. I know more people who saw her understudy than saw her in that show, although I believe she completed the run. Ivey seemed fine at Wednesday's matinee this week -- does anyone know when her last performance was?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 12:27pm

torn tendon in her leg. I have no idea if she had previously had a similar injury. 

[ijest22]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 2:15pm

AC126748 said: "Is this a recurring injury? Ivey missed a lot of performances of GREATER CLEMENTS a few years ago. I know more people who saw her understudy than saw her in that show, although I believe she completed the run. Ivey seemed fine at Wednesday's matinee this week -- does anyone know when her last performance was?"

It was Thursday night. The injury occurred during the first act.  I didn’t see it happen but noticed she was limping. After intermission an announcement of the injury was made and that she would finish the show, but one particularly physical scene was truncated to accommodate her. So sorry it happened, but really glad to have seen her. 

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/31/21 at 2:22pm

It's a lovely, beautiful play and this is a wonderful cast.  If I was in New York I would be first in line.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 11/5/21 at 1:10pm

I've never seen Alley Mills onstage and don't have any real nostalgia for The Wonder Years, but this is still cute casting.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Alley-Mills-Joins-the-Ensemble-of-MORNINGS-AT-SEVEN-20211105

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/5/21 at 1:17pm

MemorableUserName said: "I've never seen Alley Mills onstage and don't have any real nostalgia for The Wonder Years, but this is still cute casting.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Alley-Mills-Joins-the-Ensemble-of-MORNINGS-AT-SEVEN-20211105"

Thanks for posting this.  I may have to repurchase my ticket  now.  Was disappointed that Judith Ivey left.

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 11/5/21 at 3:25pm

Unless I’m missing something, this announcement doesn’t say when Mills’s first performance will be — it just says she “will assume” the role, but it doesn’t say when. I’m seeing it tomorrow, and I’m wondering whether I’ll see Ringham or Mills. Oh well, I guess I’ll find out when I pick up my program,

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/5/21 at 3:41pm

Harriet, Please post back.  Alley is listed on the website, but that doesn't mean she has already started.