OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW..RUN TO THE THEATRE

[sparky310]

Posted: 11/17/03 at 4:54pm

This is one of the seasons best.she is marvelous,engaging funny...charming..and you dont realize that after you leave and hours later you think about the show..the memories you have are hers..its amazing..the picture painting in the mind is extaordinatry

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 1:37am

Unfortunately, Sparky, the print reviews so far do not agree with you. I am sad, but not surprised. Although Burstyn is one of the best and one of my favorites and the novel means so much to me, I could not help but feel this was a misguided idea from the start. I was hoping I was wrong, but the reviews seem to confirm my initial suspicions. I am sorry to say it.

[twogaab2]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 9:47am

I enjoyed it anyway.

TWOGAAB
"A Class Act" will never die!

[sparky310]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 9:48am

in what way was it misguided..please be specific...i'm curious to why you would feel this way.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 11:31am

A one woman show with hundreds of characters spanning more than a century narrated by a 99 year old woman from her hospital bed where she is at death's door? Quite a lot to bite off and chew on, don't you think? I believe a better idea would have been to take the NICKLEBY or CIDER HOUSE RULES route with few actor's playing mulitple roles. Lucy could still be the major narrator, but it might be more engaging theatre than the "lecture" format.

I am glad you enjoyed this show, and like I said before, I adore Ellen, but when I heard about this project all I could think was I am happy she is getting such a juicy role and that Gurganus' book might get a little wider audience, but I wish it was in a different format.

[sparky310]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 1:24pm

ahhh..now i understand..see i didnt read the book..so for me it was a first time experience...i looked at it with no previous knowledge..although i have to admit act i needs a bit of work..i was moved by the stories and the performance..but i now understand your perspective..thank you for clarifying...it helps me a great deal as i dont believe in right or wrong in theatre...so i always want to know the other persons perspective..thanks..and hope we can chat more about future shows...keep well
sparky

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 1:37pm

DOWN WITH THE CRITICS!

[CourtneyM]

Posted: 11/18/03 at 3:14pm

i enjoyed the show very much. i thought Burstyn and the story were both amazing.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/19/03 at 2:24am

Closing? I am sorry, but everyone go read the book!

[leeinlondon]

Posted: 11/19/03 at 7:58am

According to other boards the show has now closed ala Bobby Boland.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/19/03 at 8:44am

Actually, Lee, Bobbie Boland closed in previews, Widow closed after opening. Not much difference, except that it will qualify for the Tony's.

[JKB2]

Posted: 11/20/03 at 1:10am

After I saw how the reviewers described what "Six Dance Lessons" is like, I wouldn't trust anything they said to confirm *any* ideas I had about how a play was going to turn out. In fact, if they said it was a bright sunny day outside, I would grab an umbrella. At least now I know never to look to the reviews for guidance about shows I'm interested in in the future -- and for a show I haven't seen, I certainly wouldn't take their word over that of an audience member who isn't a professional critic. So if somebody says "Oldest Confederate Widow" was very enjoyable, that's enough to make me wonder whether Broadway has missed out on something good with this sudden closing.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 11/20/03 at 1:58am

Gosh that closed fast. I was looking forward to seeing it too. I think she is a great actress.