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Post by prefab on Mar 7, 2024 22:09:37 GMT
I saw the matinee this afternoon and really loved it. I will say that even though the play is only about 10 years old, some of the comic scenes in the first act seemed really dated, especially the jokes about Max's pronouns and the way that Isaac reacts when he sees his transitioning younger sibling. But I was totally gripped by the more overt mother/son conflict in the second act, and I thought Huffman was amazing, bringing humanity and depth to a chracter who could have easily been played as simply crazy.
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Post by frauleinsallybowles on Mar 9, 2024 10:07:08 GMT
Caught this last night, as a longtime Desperate Housewives fan and a free Friday evening I grabbed a ticket a few hours before showtime. Quite unfortunate that for a 200 seat theatre there were a fair few empty seats, but with mild reviews and a difficult choice of play I can see why this wouldn’t have universal appeal.
I wasn’t sure how I would react to this after reading the posts on the forum, but I ended up feeling quite affected and thinking about the play on my way home and this morning. The gentleman in front of me seemed to be crying quite hard during the final scene, which was not my reaction but I did find the piece moving in a strange way—thinking about what a mother does for their child even with all of their shortcomings. I think my reaction was heightened by the fact of seeing a fallen Hollywood star (and mother) at such an intimate venue in Finsbury Park (!)
She came out afterwards and was exceedingly gracious with fans, chatting to them for a long while (shaking hands and introducing herself as “I’m Felicity”) and it is endearing to see how adoring fans are even after her very public fall from grace.
I did enjoy this, though some of the humour grated at times and parts of the text made me uncomfortable. 3.5-4 stars for me, and I do feel grateful to have seen this wonderful actress perform up close as she doesn’t done work on stage for many years.
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Post by zuberin0 on Mar 10, 2024 14:30:52 GMT
Thought it was okay. Kinda old-fashioned in its execution. Passed the time well enough. Not sure it'll stick though.
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Post by Mr Snow on Mar 13, 2024 10:32:46 GMT
One of things Covid hit was Taylor Mac perfoming in London. We had caught 4 parts of his 24 decade History of popular music" and what a blast it was. Great subject uniqely tackled. Judy had hoped to build it over here.
Such a great performer, I hope its revived. This thread prompted me and I see it has been filmed. Will check it out.
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1,495 posts
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Post by Steve on Mar 13, 2024 11:27:33 GMT
Saw this, thought it worked wonderfully and really liked it. Much preferred it to the Bush Production, where one of the characters was directed differently. This version is less grotesque, more thoughtful. Felicity Huffman is great, as are the entire ensemble. Some spoilers follow. . . The premise of the play is that an abusive bloke (Simon Startin's Arnold) has had a stroke, and his wife (Felicity Huffman's Paige) has ditched all his controlling rules. Her 15 year old trans son (Thalia Dudek's Max) has gone along with this, but now, Paige's antsy soldier son (Steffan Cennydd's Isaac) comes home. At the Bush Theatre, Ashley McGuire's Paige was on a massive revenge kick, and was wantonly cruel to her disabled husband in almost every scene, savouring her sadism. The effect was grotesque and off-putting. In this production, Felicity Huffman's Paige treats her husband like someone tending a vegetable garden. Its matter-of-fact and there's no sadism. This means we can take her point of view more seriously, and her conflict with her soldier son plays out in a more balanced, more intriguing way. In fact, you could almost see this as an episode of "Desperate Housewives," Season 20, as that show was always coming up with quirky ways for the Housewives to deal with abusive partners, and the events here don't really jump the shark of that show's tone by more than a whisker. I really loved Thalia Dudek's performance as the trans son, as their work here is so deeply empathetic. 4 stars from me.  |
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