THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH Previews- Page 5

[A Director]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 12:14am

Theatre 3232 - Many of the things you mention are already in the script.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 1:51am

Add me to the surprisingly long list of people who saw this today (or probably yesterday by the time I finish typing this out) and to the list of people who LOVED this show!!!

One note before I get into each act is that the setting definitely reminded me a lot of "The Wedding of River Song" from Doctor Who, where all of time happens at once. I loved it in that episode and I loved it here too! It's such a fun and creative opportunity!

From the very first moments, between the opening newsreel and Gabby Beans' incredible first scene, I knew I would love this play and I also immediately saw how someone could hate it if they didn't buy into the schtick. The first act was BANANAS and it just worked so well. Beans effortlessly slipped between her different personas and really elevated the whole thing. The puppets and puppeteers were AMAZING and the whole family did a good job too (although none of them really stood out to me). It was campy and fun and just worked for me. 

The second act, sadly, fell flat. Beans was once again my favorite, although Priscilla Lopez was wonderful and definitely elevated the act. The set was a standout for this act as well. I can't quite pinpoint what didn't work about this act because it felt so oxymoronic in nature. It felt too long and not long enough, high energy and boring, overstuffed and understuffed, but mostly just confusing. It just didn't click. 

However, the third act more than made up for it and I walked away loving this show. The whole beginning with the food poisoning and the rehearsal was so confusing, but in a good way because it comes around and just punches you in the gut. The tonal shift worked well and the actors executed it so well. The set was once again incredible and Beans was once again my favorite, but Rosyln Ruff and James Vincent Merideth got a chance to shine as the Antrobuses. The last sequence, when the substitute actors come back in and the refugees cross the stage, was just such an incredible synthesis of performance, direction, staging, set, and lighting. It was so impactful and by far my favorite scene in the whole play. I did also enjoy the very last Hadestown-esque scene (although I, of course, acknowledge that this show did it first) when Sabina resets to the top of act 1. It works so well in Hadestown and worked well here. 

 

TL;DR: Really liked this show overall. Beans is the standout. Act 2 didn't work for me, but the campy, bananas Act 1 and stunningly moving Act 3 more than made up for it. 

[BJR]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 7:49am

Oh how I loathed this at turns grating and confusing production.

But it's beautiful.

I'm quite a fan of Cruz, so I'm disappointed at this Bway debut. 3 hours of money being lit on fire. It seems often she got distracted by the stage picture at the expense of the human story. Not always, but far far too often. I left baffled why anyone loves this play, but people do and that points to the production.

Updated On: 4/25/22 at 07:49 AM

[inception]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 9:49am

 

Not sure I love this play.  I love "The Matchmaker" & respect "Our Town" so out of interest in the writer am interested in it.  I see its flaws - like an imperfect diamond.  I've only seen it twice, in two different theatre college productions; one in February 2020 was the last show I saw before the pandemic & it was just in a small black box theatre but was quite good.

 

BJR said: "Oh how I loathed this at turns grating and confusing production.

But it's beautiful.

I'm quite a fan of Cruz, so I'm disappointed at this Bway debut. 3 hours of money being lit on fire. It seems often she got distracted by the stage picture at the expense of the human story. Not always, but far far too often. I left baffled why anyone loves this play, but people do and that points to the production."

 

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 10:43am

I rarely post my thoughts on shows anymore, but I have to chime in here. I knew nothing going in.

This is a VERY unorthodox choice for Lincoln Center and LCT is all the better for it.  Sure, a bunch of old people left during the first brief pause, but I could've told you that was going to happen before the lights even went down and Megan Thee Stallion was playing as pre-show music. 

Gabby Beans as Sabina reminded me of Nina Arianda in BORN YESTERDAY - one of those increasingly rare, star-making, instantly unforgettable marriages of actor and role that any avid theatergoer should make a priority to see. She's got an incredible career ahead of her. Roslyn Ruff, who is always wonderful, does not disappoint either. And needless to say it's stunningly well-designed - the puppetry, sets, costumes, lighting, sound design, etc. are all truly as good as it gets.

I can certainly understand why this is not everyone's cup of tea, but for what it's worth, I thought it was one of the best things I've seen since theaters reopening...and maybe one of the best things I've ever seen at the Vivan Beaumont? I absolutely loved it and hope it gets the raves it deserves tonight!

Updated On: 4/25/22 at 10:43 AM

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 10:54am

Saw this yesterday and was utterly fascinated by it!  

Gabby Beans is an incredible find and I hope she scoops up a bunch of raves tonight from the critics. It takes quite an actress to pull off this role, switching on a dime from hyper stylized performance, to genuine raw emotion, to fourth wall breaking asides. She is absolutely phenomenal. 

The first act is BANANAS. And I loved it. Everything is paced perfectly and builds to a fever pitch. I want to watch it over and over. 

This will absolutely get into all 4 design categories at the Tonys and may win a couple of them. The whole production is gorgeous and inventive. 

My only qualms are with the Antrobus children. I felt like those story threads got completely lost. There is a lot to mine and follow over the course of the three acts about the kids' relationship with the dad. The daughter becomes his favorite (and in act 2 is "tainted" by following his lead) and the dad spurns his son after a horrific deed that occurred before the play starts. There should be tension building between the father and son before it explodes in Act 3. But the action in act 3 never gets to that point of explosion imo. If they could prevent the plot points with the kids from getting lost in the shuffle, this would be a truly perfect produciton.

But nevertheless I still loved it and it miraculously didn't feel long. I'd love to go back and analyze more of the many allegories packed in here. I can see why this style of theater won't be for everyone. But between this and Flying Over Sunset, I really commend LCT this season for swinging for the fences (and with productions that will no doubt piss off a large chunk of their stuffy subscribers, I'm sure). This is the type of work major non-profits should be doing. 

Updated On: 4/25/22 at 10:54 AM

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 11:45am

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "This will absolutely get into all 4 design categories at the Tonys and may win a couple of them. The whole production is gorgeous and inventive."

I would love to see this production sweep the design categories this year, the same way A Christmas Carol did at last year's awards.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 3:59pm

VERY VERY curious to see what the reviews say tonight. I'm sure Beans and the technical elements will get praise (and I would be legitimately upset with the state of reviewing if they don't), but what will they think of the production overall and of the direction? I'm much less sure.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/1/22 at 9:07pm

No longer in previews, but I was going back to read through other people's thoughts now that I've seen it and can't stop thinking about it.  This is definitely a text I'd want to sit down and read but I'm glad I knew nothing going in.  The sheer absurdity of figuring out how the first act works (I described it as Play That Goes Wrong meets Wandavision meets the Bible to a friend) and then to have that upturned in the latter acts, I'm not surprised people left but I felt such heavy anticipation during the intermissions waiting to see what else they could bring in the upcoming act.

I knew the script had been lightly edited, but I was actually surprised to find that it was originally written about a white family, as having a black family at its core just seemed to natural to me, though not sure if that speaks to the direction or edits made or the universality of the text.  I thought Sabina and Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus were excellent, but now that it's been pointed out, I agree with MayAudraBlessYou2 about the children.  I never really saw a mounting tension between Mr. Antrobus and Henry, more of just a coverup for a past incident, and his attitude towards Gladys didn't necessarily seem like she was the favored child either.  I read him more as just a somewhat distant father overall, so some of the issues with Henry in act 3 came as more of a surprise than I think it should've been.

But this show was right up my alley with the right balance of being absurd but capable of being mined for depth.  It's funny because I think another fitting title for the show could almost be Everything Everywhere All At Once, and it does share a few traits with that movie as well, though in vastly different ways.  I think the loge was maybe a third full when I saw it, and the extreme sides of the orchestra were quite empty (4 people in my row left after the first intermission), so an extension seems very unlikely, but I wish it would happen just so I could see it again.  (For anyone that happens to still be curious about seating, I think house right might be slightly better than house left.  I was in the 100s a few seats off from the center aisle and there were a few things that were cut off, not enough that I missed anything vital, but just enough to find it annoying.)

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 5/2/22 at 12:25am

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "Saw this yesterday and was utterly fascinated by it!

Gabby Beans is an incredible find and I hope she scoops up a bunch of raves tonight from the critics. It takes quite an actress to pull off this role, switching on a dime from hyper stylized performance, to genuine raw emotion, to fourth wall breaking asides. She is absolutely phenomenal.

The first act is BANANAS. And I loved it. Everything is paced perfectly and builds to a fever pitch. I want to watch it over and over.

This will absolutely get into all 4 design categories at the Tonys and may win a couple of them. The whole production is gorgeous and inventive.

My only qualms are with the Antrobus children. I felt like those story threads got completely lost. There is a lot to mine and follow over the course of the three acts about the kids' relationship with the dad. The daughter becomes his favorite (and in act 2 is "tainted" by following his lead) and the dad spurns his son after a horrific deed that occurred before the play starts. There should be tension building between the father and son before it explodes in Act 3. But the action in act 3 never gets to that point of explosion imo. If they could prevent the plot points with the kids from getting lost in the shuffle, this would be a truly perfect produciton.

But nevertheless I still loved it and it miraculously didn't feel long. I'd love to go back and analyze more of the many allegories packed in here. I can see why this style of theater won't be for everyone. But between this and Flying Over Sunset, I really commend LCT this season for swinging for the fences (and with productions that will no doubt piss off a large chunk of their stuffy subscribers, I'm sure). This is the type of work major non-profits should be doing."

Great review! I agree with a lot of it, and I also agree about the Antrobus children. But I felt I need to either see it again or read the text for that to make more sense.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/5/22 at 2:27am

Questions for anyone who knows the original script

Is the scene in act two when Natasha (Sabina)

 

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refuses to perform the full scene where Lily (Sabina) convinces Mr. Antrobus to leave his wife included in the original script with the same dialogue? The line about thinking people shouldn't be hurt by what they see in the theater stood out as potentially part of the new edits. 

Is the scene in act two where Mrs. Antrobus 

 

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throws the bottle with the paper inside into the ocean in the original play with the same dialogue? The assertion that there might be more to Mrs. Antrobus and that there might be more to all women beyond the roles they were given in this play felt like it might have been added.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/5/22 at 2:43am

UWS10023 said: "I saw the show and thought the direction was clumsy and the acting was weak. There was an ensemble of background actors who seemed to awkwardly move in and out without purpose much like it was their first community theatre production. The woman who played the maid showed some potential when she stepped out of the play but while she was “acting” she was hard to understand, talking rapidly in a fake voice that sounded like Tattoo on Fantasy Island, missing much of the humor. Sorry folks! I see no Tony noms here. The house was quite small. I liked the pre show music and the color palettes used in the set and costumes but that was about it."

I ended up finding enough in acts 1 and 3 to latch onto but I agree with most of this. The actors who were pulled out to deliver those quotes in act 3 were fine but all the other ensemble scenes were my least favorite moments. The guy with the acoustic guitar followed by two religious figures and then the ensemble huddled in the corner singing Christmas carols sotto voce (and badly) sapped all the sympathy I was supposed to feel for those characters. I was desperate for the poorly choreographed dancing at the boardwalk to end. I think it was supposed to be fun but it just made me sad, like seeing a children's dance recital and knowing you have to say something positive later. Also, Priscilla Lopez's delivery as the fortune teller was deadly... so slow and boring. I agree that at least in act 1, Gabby Beans rushed the lines so much like someone who did not understand what she saying that I got very little from that part of the play when she was in character. Act 2 is not without value but I'd probably have enjoyed the play more if I'd left at the pause and come back after intermission.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/5/22 at 2:47am

If there are any changes, they are minimal and do not alter the essence of the two sections you ask about. I can see why you might think they have contemporary resonance that would be new, but they basically are as they were.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/5/22 at 3:16am

chrishuyen said: "I agree withMayAudraBlessYou2 about the children. I never really saw a mounting tension between Mr. Antrobus and Henry, more of just a coverup for a past incident, and his attitude towards Gladys didn't necessarily seem like she was the favored child either. I read him more as just a somewhat distant father overall, so some of the issues with Henry in act 3 came as more of a surprise than I think it should've been."

I think this was a place where the 1950's nuclear family framing was very useful. Mrs. Antrobus acts with a "boys will be boys" permissive towards Henry, letting his toxic masculinity and inclination towards violence flourish (reprimanded but) unchecked. His privilege being a part of this "first family" of sorts combined with Mrs. Antrobus' devotion to the family unit meant he could never be cast out. If there's a tension, I think it's in the way they should get rid of Henry but they never do/can. The play presents him as a part of society that can't be excised. This got a little muddled for me in act 3 with the part about the actor's trauma and Henry's revolutionary rhetoric coming back from the war. I could not tell if Wilder wanted Henry to be sympathetic but I do think this production left it more of an open question. Because of her brother, and also because she was born a girl, Gladys' life was much more restrained. She had to be "perfect" and could not wear makeup in act 1 or colorful tights in act 2. There was a much more rigid policing of her body and presentation while no one was dealing with Henry's repeated violent behavior. I would have liked some more exploration of how she even ended up with a baby in act 3. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/5/22 at 4:02am

HogansHero said: "If there are any changes, they are minimal and do not alter the essence of the two sections you ask about. I can see why you might think they have contemporary resonance that would be new, but they basically are as they were."

Thank you, Hogan. You're right. I realized I could find the play on Open Library. The dialogue is exactly the same. I'm not sure if that makes me think more or less of the play. The addition of bell hooks and Confucius to the philosophers at the end feel like the most significant change I can think of then.

[PhilipR2]

Posted: 5/21/22 at 5:31am

sassylash3s said: "I didn't know the play at all going in, so I'm curious to hear what exactly the "additional material" was. Some of it was obvious - Sabina has an aside to the audience where she mentions being out of work because of the pandemic, for example."

Assuming I'm thinking of the same aside, I thought that was the most obvious one too, but then looked at the script afterwards, and miraculously that is not the case and it is exactly what was originally written!

• "For two years I've sat up in my room living on a sandwich and a cup of tea a day, waiting for better times in the theatre."

 

[TBone]

Posted: 5/21/22 at 8:53am

Has anyone seen this via the lottery? Where have the seats been?

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/21/22 at 8:11pm

Tonight’s show cancelled according to a friend’s post on FB. 

[UWS10023]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 2:53am

I wonder if the Times reviews helped the house sizes?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 9:37am

UWS10023 said: "I wonder if the Times reviews helped the house sizes?"

It didn't.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses/THE-SKIN-OF-OUR-TEETH

[UWS10023]

Posted: 5/25/22 at 1:58pm

I am curious about Epiphany which starts previews downstairs this weekend.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/29/22 at 11:03pm

Saw the closing performance and found it absolutely transcendent. Act 1 hit me right in my heart, Act 2 was hypnotic, and Act 3 changed me. From the moment the curtain raised, I was hooked. Gabby Beans and Roslyn Ruff gave two remarkable and very different performances, and I’ll treasure the memory of it forever. Give Gabby the Tony now. The confrontation scene between them in the first act was first-rate.

I wish it hadn’t closed today. I would be telling everyone I know to drop everything to see it.

Updated On: 5/29/22 at 11:03 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/29/22 at 11:11pm

I have been a bit out of the loop lately. Was it scheduled to close today or did it close early? I was hoping to see it next week.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/29/22 at 11:18pm

uncageg said: "I have been a bit out of the loop lately. Was it scheduled to close today or did it close early? I was hoping to see it next week."

It was originally scheduled to close today. 

[lachri5]

Posted: 5/30/22 at 9:31am

Add me to the list of seeing this at the closing performance and was really impressed. And they had free snacks at intermission, mini-pretzels, jelly beans, m&ms.