Is Top Girls any good?

[winston89]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:00pm

I have wanted to see this show for some time due mostly to the cast.

But, is the show itself any good? Is it worth going to?

[stagecandy]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 2:51pm

This show was terrible. I have never seen so many people fall asleep during the show and walk out during intermission.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 2:55pm

I second what stagecandy said...absolutely dreadful show.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 2:59pm

I haven't seen this production, but I didn't like the original...

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:01pm

The reviews were all pretty solid. But if you don't like to use your brain when you go to the theater, I would skip it.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:01pm

saw it in London at the Royal Court....couldn't keep my eyes open.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:04pm

The airbrushed glamour shots on the poster confused me, since the actresses are all dressed down in the production.

I guess it is a very intellectual piece, so staying awake might be important. A few friends saw it and didn't like it, but they thin it was because they weren't smart enough.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:12pm

No. Dreck.

[jaesdare]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:27pm

It's a very intellectual show! Filled with social and cultural references. I would recommend reading the play beforehand, because it's pretty dense material. I personally really enjoy
Top Girls. And the actresses in this production are great.
I agree with the poster above, if you go to the theatre for thought provoking material, this is it. But if you want to breeze by and not really think, you might just fall asleep!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:27pm

Sorry, but I just read the play a couple of days ago and it's simply fascinating. I can't imagine falling asleep during the first act of this play, for example, the language and the interaction between the women is so fantastic. Unless this is a really bad production (which I doubt given the top-notch cast and solid reviews it got), then I can't see it being as bad as people on this board make it out to be. It's such an intellectual play and yet I find it quite witty, thrilling, and yes, very important for today's generation. It poses so many questions.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 3:31pm

I love it!! It's definately an intellectual piece, so it's not everyone's cup of tea.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 4:23pm

I saw it on Wednesday and really liked it, although the seats emptied out in the mezzanine by the third act. (There's two intermissions.) Guess a lot of people didn't care for it.

While I don't understand how Martha Plimpton keeps getting cast in roles meant for actresses in their late teens/early 20s, the acting was terrific. Mary Beth Hurt doesn't have much of a role though. Marisa Tomei is great.

Do go, but don't judge it by the first act, which really doesn't have much to do with the rest of what happens. I think people should go see this.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 5:52pm

The impression I am getting from this thread is that it is worth seeing if you like to go to a play that makes you walk out thinking.

But, if you want to see something that will just entertain you for a couple of hours where you don't have to think then go and miss this one for sure.

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 6:09pm

This show is NOT so good! Even with six years of college, plenty of English lit and Women's Studies courses, time spent living in London during the 70s, and yes, even studying for this play in advance, for the most part it was BORING! The first act is definitely interesting (but only if you study, the Guthrie Theater put out a great guide a few years ago and it can be found on Wikipedia near the bottom of the "Top Girls" entry) but the second and third acts drag terribly. People can certainly have differing opinions, but I'm starting to resent the premise that if you want an intellectual show where you have to think, you will love Top Girls. I loved Coast of Utopia, but Top Girls just didn't cut it. For me, the most accurate review is the one from the Newark Star-Ledger which can be found on the Top Girls Reviews thread...

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 8:25pm

For those of you that saw this show and didn't like it, I have a question. Do you think it was the production or the script itself?

[bschneid76]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 9:52pm

The show is really worth seeing, and I feel it is one of the best shows of the season. Everyone in the cast is terrific. Granted not a show for everyone. I hated the play when I read it in College, but felt the show was 100 times better. Definitely worth checking out.