SLAVE PLAY 2021 Previews- Page 3

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/24/21 at 12:56pm

It had an intermission at The Golden, right?

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 11/24/21 at 12:59pm

Jordan Catalano said: "It had an intermission at The Golden, right?"

It did not.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/24/21 at 1:08pm

Jordan Catalano said: "It had an intermission at The Golden, right?"

No, nor downtown. I don't recall it running over 2 hours, but it was close.  

[dan94]

Posted: 11/24/21 at 5:51pm

Also there last night. Luigi Sottile was on as Jim. 

The lobby is beautiful. They have a table of plays curated by O'Harris for sale, although it isn't the clearest where you go to check out. JOH was signing copies of the script before the show and seemed very approachable.

The house seemed half full. I was in the mezzanine and had similar sound problems. It was the contrast between the music and the dialogue that kept throwing me off. It took the ears a minute or two to adjust back to the dialogue levels once the music stopped.

I was entertained. The play made me think about a lot of things I am not actively cognizant of. I am not the intended audience member this play was written for so I will let others assess whether it is good. But I am very glad I had the opportunity to see it.

Updated On: 11/24/21 at 05:51 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/24/21 at 7:23pm

dan94 said: "Also there last night. Luigi Sottile was on as Jim."

I know it's not technically a first preview per se, but really, an understudy already?

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/25/21 at 3:13am

Could be a planned absence since clearly the understudy was prepared to go on, which is unusual in a preview process. 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 9:04am

Can anyone going this weekend report back if Paul returns? 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:04am

Can anyone speak to reading the published script vs seeing this production? I’m only curious because sometimes (like The Inheritance, for me) plays can be fantastic on paper and the production doesn’t really nail it, or vice-versa. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:50am

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Can anyone speak to reading the published script vs seeing this production? I’m only curious because sometimes (like The Inheritance, for me) plays can be fantastic on paper and the production doesn’t really nail it, or vice-versa."

Slave Play is just fantastic on paper, and I wish I could see it on stage.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 1:58pm

Just checked several mid-week dates in December and lots of great orchestra center seats available for $69 or $75.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 2:09pm

Jordan Levinson said: "Slave Play is just fantastic on paper, and I wish I could see it on stage."

So why don't you?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 4:28pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Jordan Levinson said: "Slave Playis just fantastic on paper, and I wish I could see it on stage."

So why don't you?"

I can't carve out the time and money to see everything, BroadwayRox. I'm hoping that breaking into the industry in the future will give me the chance to see more shows at low / no prices. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 4:36pm

Jordan Levinson said: "BroadwayRox3588 said: "Jordan Levinson said: "Slave Playis just fantastic on paper, and I wish I could see it on stage."

So why don't you?"

I can't carve out the time and money to seeeverything, BroadwayRox. I'm hoping that breaking into the industry in the future will give me the chance to see more shows at low / no prices."

I hope so, as well, my friend. :)

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 4:49pm

everythingtaboo said: "dan94 said: "Also there last night. Luigi Sottile was on as Jim."

I know it's not technically a first preview per se, but really, an understudy already?"

Apparently Paul Nolan is out their entire first week of previews? Can anyone confirm?

 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 10:13pm

ACL2006 said: "everythingtaboo said: "dan94 said: "Also there last night. Luigi Sottile was on as Jim."

I know it's not technically a first preview per se, but really, an understudy already?"

Apparently Paul Nolan is out their entire first week of previews? Can anyone confirm?

"

Where did you hear this? 

[Square Peg2]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 1:02pm

GreasedLightning said: "Can anyone going this weekend report back if Paul returns?"

Paul was in last night. 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/30/21 at 8:02pm

Seeing the show tomorrow night. Their website has no FAQ, so is it still around two hours with no intermission, as noted earlier in this thread? 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/30/21 at 8:17pm

It's now on TDF, most performances in the immediate future. 

When I saw it at the Golden, it came down about 4:00 on a Wednesday matinee. I remember because I had to time trains pre-rush. 

There's no place for an intermission.

I'm most curious to learn if the producers can find a more diverse audience. That's the challenge this time. I saw it with a 95% white house the autumn of 2019, and most friends did too, including two playwrights of color, who noted the oddity (and didn't like the play, another conversation). We can hope that Trouble in Mind (which I loved) finds demographics beyond the white boomer audience. We need audiences, period. But Slave Play -- a production that is returning without awards-driven fanfare -- surely will make fuller outreach efforts with this return. 

Updated On: 11/30/21 at 08:17 PM

[OhHiJohnny]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 9:09am

Saw the production this past weekend. Having seen the OBC, I have to say I enjoyed this reproduction much much more. I don’t know if it’s been the perspective of the last two years, or just me being more familiar with the text, but I found the show much more successful this time around.

 

One interesting thing of note:

***SPOILERS***
At the end of the show, when Paul Nolan disrobes, where he used to circle the bed fully nude, he now only goes to the side, turns his back to the audience, and drops trou before turning into the bed, fully covering his front. 
 

I don’t know why this change was made, but given the hubbub over the scene last time around, I have to imagine they altered the blocking to protect Paul. 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 11:04am

Well there goes my reason for seeing the show

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 11:06pm

Saw the show tonight, and well...at least I can say I saw it. I'll say I won through the lottery, and I got 5th row center orchestra for $25. Which I don't know says a lot about sales.

As for the show itself, there's a lot of talent on that stage (kudos to Galen Williams u/s for Gary) and the physical production itself is quite striking. But this script...I don't know. I feel like there are a lot of big ideas presented, and seemed as though they could be going somewhere, but as the second half progressed, all these "a-ha" moments by the black characters should have opened up other questions that would go a long way towards explaining why they're even couples to begin with. But we don't get any of that. It seemed like the playwright didn't care about resolving them. So why should we care? So in the end, it all felt a bit flat.

Updated On: 12/1/21 at 11:06 PM

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 12:14am

Love to hear more about the physical production and how the set works! 

[troynow]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 7:03am

Interesting…. Thoughts of a Colored Man, both times I have seen the show is 95% Black. I found that odd and yet thrilling to be the minority. I wonder what the difference is.

[kwoc91]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 9:43am

Saw this last night without knowing much about it. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I certainly wasn't expecting to be as bored as I was. This play wants to be so much more provocative than it really is.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 10:09am

kwoc91 said: "Saw this last night without knowing much about it. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I certainly wasn't expecting to be as bored as I was. This play wants to be so much more provocative than it really is."

So I wasn't the only one in the audience underwhelmed by what I was watching?  I feel better now! 

I think I read he wrote this his freshman year of university, and in retrospect, that's how it feels watching it. It's attempting to be provocative, but it's leaving the audience to fill in the gaps - and gasps - based on their relative guilt and need to feel like they're watching something "woke." (And maybe pre-George Floyd it was more effective?)