TAKE ME OUT Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/9/22 at 12:00am

Time to buy some peanuts and Cracker Jack and root, root, root for the Empires.

The first Broadway revival of Take Me Out will throw its first pitch tomorrow night at the Helen Hayes Theatre, prior to an April 4 official opening. The play is written by Richard Greenberg and directed by Scott Ellis. Jesse Williams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson lead the cast, which also includes Patrick J. Adams, Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Tyler Lansing Weaks, and Eduardo Ramos. Take Me Out’s limited run is currently set to conclude on May 29.

“When Darren Lemming, the star center fielder for the Empires, comes out of the closet, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.”

Who’s getting their baseball fix?

[mar6411]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 9:47am

I like to have all the duplicates near each other.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 11:51am

mar6411 said: "I like to have all the duplicates near each other."

 

Huh?

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 12:15pm

Seeing it in 2 weeks.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 12:20pm

JSquared2 said: "mar6411 said: "I like to have all the duplicates near each other."

Huh?"

A new Take Me Out Previews thread was started this morning, not to be confused with the old "Take Me Out Will Start Previews March 2021" thread. I bumped the latter with a rush question (before the third one was started), figuring this one should be left solely to discussion of the previews. After the new one was started, mar6411 bumped this one, which was started yesterday, so all the threads were together, hence all the duplicates near each other. And here we are.

Updated On: 3/10/22 at 12:20 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 10:09pm

The first preview should be almost over at the time of this writing. Was anyone there tonight? If so, how was the show?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 10:28pm

It’s somewhat poetic that Major League Baseball ended what was a 99-day lockout earlier today. And now, the first preview of Take Me Out.

A great day for baseball fans indeed. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 3/10/22 at 11:28pm

I'm on the board for my dorm and we're taking a group of residents to see this in April! Can't wat!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/11/22 at 10:25am

Did anyone go last night?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/11/22 at 10:38am

EDSOSLO858 said: "Did anyone go last night?"

We like to write about other stuff before we get to actually commenting on the actual topic.  That should start about midway of the 2nd page of this thread.  Please be patient.  

[kwoc91]

Posted: 3/11/22 at 10:42am

I'm going to the Sunday matinee and will report back afterward!

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/11/22 at 10:44am

I'm sure Anyone Can Whistle has something to do with the lack of reports from last night.

Updated On: 3/11/22 at 10:44 AM

[brbutterz]

Posted: 3/11/22 at 3:27pm

I will be attending tonight's performance and will report back as well!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/12/22 at 8:00pm

Curious to know if they are using real water in the shower scenes.

[@z5]

Posted: 3/12/22 at 9:44pm

Yes there is real water used in both shower scenes. I was at the first preview in the orch. The actors are soaked. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 1:04am

Could you tell whether it was bottled water or tap?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 10:18am

There are a few reviews in the old previews thread, but yeah, this doesn't seem to be doing well. Someone noted it's been on TKTS; there are currently over a hundred tickets available for each of today's shows, not great for a theater that only seats 600. I thought there would be more interest and it would be a bigger deal, but maybe not.

[denali.fire]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 11:25am

Dollypop said: "Could you tell whether it was bottled water or tap?"

And what temperature is the water?

Do these guys have to take cold showers during the show?

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 11:42am

EDSOSLO858 said: "It’s somewhat poetic that Major League Baseball ended what was a 99-day lockout earlier today. And now, the first preview ofTake Me Out.

A great day for baseball fans indeed."

I'd say coincidental rather than poetic (just me), but it's also a coincidence that Jussie Smollette received his sentencing, and began his incarceration on 3/10.

Smollette's verbal reaction to his sentence is saddening to me. He seems to be a troubled man, in need of some form of counseling.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 1:09pm

denali.fire said: "Dollypop said: "Could you tell whether it was bottled water or tap?"

And what temperature is the water?

Do these guys have to take cold showers during the show?"

Cold showers are natural enemies of male nudity 

[denali.fire]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 6:58pm

imeldasturn said: "denali.fire said: "Dollypop said: "Could you tell whether it was bottled water or tap?"

And what temperature is the water?

Do these guys have to take cold showers during the show?"

Cold showers are natural enemies of male nudity"

Precisely my point.  Maybe some in the audience might need them?

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 7:13pm

Has anyone here seen both the original and the revival? How do they compare? 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/13/22 at 8:23pm

Ahem, back to the show…

I saw today’s matinee via rush (Orch M5 but had to move because JESUS, those seats are NOT for tall people) and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Patrick J. Adams does a fantastic job of keeping the proceedings moving as the insightful narrator and main best friend. He definitely does most of the talking in the play and feels naturally at home when addressing the audience directly. 

Williams took a bit more time for me to warm up to. I know the character is supposed to be a bit self-centered with the aura that he feels he’s untouchable, but it started off as a bit cold and aloof, which made the emotional punch at the end of Act 1 not hit as hard for me when he’s slandered on television by Shane. Oberholtzer as Shane was actually very good and I was definitely invested more in his character by the end when he’s shouting down Darren and Kippy in the police station.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson was fine and I think he did well for the character but I never really felt much in the way of chemistry between him and Williams. Very much a “second banana”. He definitely had some of the best jokes but I could see him leaning on his “Mitchell” from Modern Family a bit.

Overall, it’s a great revival and I enjoyed it. I’ll be back again in three weeks and I wonder what will have gotten tighter by then.

As per the nudity, I was very surprised at how well behaved the audience was and didn’t act all immature and titillated by it. It’s also a testament to how the nudity is built well into the structure of the play where it feels normal and not gratuitous. (I will not be commenting any further on it here as I’d like this post to stay up.)

Updated On: 3/13/22 at 08:23 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:13am

I'm not a fan of Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He plays everything the same. I think Jim Parsons would be ideal for this role. He has much more gravity. 

[kwoc91]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:42am

I was at the Sunday matinee as well. Overall I enjoyed it but found the script a bit uneven and it definitely feels dated 20 years later.

The performances were generally quite strong. Agree that it take a bit to warm up to Jesse Williams' character but it's certainly a tricky role to nail emotionally. Patrick J. Adams did a commendable job as the narrator and kept the pace moving along. Michael Oberholtzer was the stand out for me. Jesse Tyler Ferguson was regurgitating his Modern Family character but the audience ate it right up.

Some technical notes...the sound cues were far too loud and often overpowered actor's dialogue (at least from where I was sitting in the rear Orchestra), and the stage remains quite wet after the shower scenes, leading to lots of squeaky shoes.

Regarding the salacious bits - the straight couple next to me was horrified by the nudity and left at intermission. The man in the couple was genuinely losing his mind. I felt bad for the woman. Too bad they missed the shower scenes!

Lastly, the Yondr pouches. I personally didn't have an issue with them at all. When entering the Hayes, there are two lines - one for digital tickets and one for will call/physical tickets. I picked up at the box office, but I believe they write down your seat assignment for you if you have a digital ticket. My main issue with the pouches was the time a phone went off and there was no option but to let it ring. The ushers do a great job asking multiple times if your phone is off before placing it in the pouch, but some people just can't bring themselves to follow directions.