Hugh Jackman in THE RIVER on Broadway

[jo]

Time is flying

Weeks to go!!

[jo]

Have they sold out the RIVERBANK seats? Someone on ATC posted the information that riverbank seats have already been sold out -- and it seems this is true because a test-check on some dates yielded zero riverbank seats. Or maybe practically sold out? Also, on some dates, only premium seats are available.

Will this make the RUSH/SRO seats even more sought after?


Jo

[foxie]

It is amazing how he can go all around town all the time and isn't hastled my sister has seen him numerous times in her neighborhood and then the wildness of the stage door!!!

[jo]

People Magazine's STAR TRACKS followed Hugh on his bike through the streets of Manhattan --

[jo]

IMPORTANT ALERT !!


timestalks.com/detail-event.php?event=hugh_jackman_and_ian_rickson

Hugh Jackman and Ian Rickson

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014

6:30 – 8 PM ET
buy tickets



A TimesTalks Conversation


The New School's 12th Street Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, NYC

Academy Award®–nominated, Golden Globe® and Tony Award®–winning actor Hugh Jackman and acclaimed director Ian Rickson talk with New York Times reporter Sarah Lyall about their collaboration in bringing prize–winning playwright Jez Butterworth’s “The River” to Broadway. The play –a drama in which a man brings his new girlfriend to a remote cabin for a night of trout–fishing, when truth becomes the most elusive catch of all – opens in previews October 31 at Circle in the Square Theater.

Tickets: $40
buy tickets

Please check the original link/article for the important links.

The "BUY TICKETS" link takes you to this site --

web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/9954477


If you check this page, it seems that previous shows's highlights were eventually broadcast live on the web ?? Or were the highlights just archival in nature and were taken from a full live webcast??

timestalks.com/



Jo

[jo]

Is anyone going?

Is the New School the same venue for the Inside the Actor's Studio interviews? Wasn't The New School formerly associated with the Actor's Studio?


Jo

[jo]

Fall Broadway expectations --

www.huffingtonpost.com/cara-joy-david/broadway-fall-preview-wha_b_5937086.html

Broadway Fall Preview: What Ticket Buyers Want to See
Cara Joy David
New York-based entertainment journalist


Posted: 10/06/2014 11:10 am EDT Updated: 10/06/2014 1:59 pm EDT

I love the fall theater season. First, fall is my favorite time of the year in the city. Second, the fall theater season is chock full of new offerings, but the pressure to see them right away is less than it is with spring offerings, as the Tony Awards isn't as imminent.

Typically for my fall preview, I like to ask producers to promote their own shows. This season, for a change, I decided to find out what "regular theatergoers" were looking forward to and why. In my attempt to accomplish this, I posted a message on the Wellesley Club of New York's Facebook page and circulated an email in various law firms, companies in the financial sector and non-profit world. I asked only people who regularly attended Broadway to respond, hoping to rule out responses in favor of The River simply because Wolverine was in it.

I received just shy of 100 responses, 10 of which I will include below. Interestingly, a bunch of people wanted to choose The King and I, which is of course not coming until the spring. (Congrats, LCT, you have an upcoming hit!) Almost every show received at least one vote, with the exception of The Country House, The Real Thing, The Illusionists and Side Show. I was somewhat surprised about Side Show, because I believe the television commercials are effective, but it's possible they haven't been running long enough for impact.

Top vote getters were It's Only a Play (#1) and The River (#2). Because there aren't a ton of musicals opening, it was impossible to compare musicals to plays as a general matter. On The Town got nine votes, The Last Ship received six. Of those shows that received votes, Love Letters was the lowest vote getter, with a mere two votes.

For what it's worth, the show I was looking most forward to was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, with A Delicate Balance a close second. For Curious Incident, I read all the reviews overseas and it simply seemed like something that I would love. For A Delicate Balance, I've always found it one of Albee's most interesting plays. Plus, in addition to the rest of the stellar cast, I love Lindsay Duncan. If you've never seen her onstage, you should.

And now onto the people who matter... I've tried to include one write-up for every show that people chose.

Name: Brian Sogol
Show: A Delicate Balance
Reason why: I'm really looking forward to Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, starring John Lithgow and Glenn Close. My boyfriend and I both read the play a few weeks ago - I'm 35 and he is 26 and we both agreed it didn't really resonate. I mention our ages because we weren't sure if, thirty years from now, we'd feel quite differently. Some of the writing clearly sparkles, but the premise and its paralysis are so challenging that it was hard for us to really dig in to the words on the page. We'd really like to see it presented, then, and see how actors can channel it. And, we're very excited about this pairing. John Lithgow is, of course, wonderful. We're both big fans of Glenn Close, the most accomplished and recognizeable Unappreciated Actress out there, so that just seals the deal for us.

Name: Emily Wilson
Show: The Last Ship
Reason why: I would probably say I'm most looking forward to The Last
Ship. I slightly prefer musicals to plays, and, while I've enjoyed several of the big revivals over the last couple years, I really love a new GOOD musical -- Next to Normal, Gentleman's Guide, etc. And, I generally enjoy Sting.

Name: Michael Swarz
Show: On the Town
Reason why: The music. How can you go wrong?

Name: Frankie Interpol
Show: The River
Reason why: My wife and I went to that author's last show, and loved it. So when this was announced, I knew it was going to be a must-see for us.

Name: Linda Ragen
Show: The Elephant Man
Reason why: I missed the last revival and have never seen the show onstage. The cast is also outstanding. For one of our best film stars to be doing it is great. Patricia Clarkson is also an actress I have always respected.

Name: Nancy Reynolds
Show: You Can't Take it With You
Reason why: I was in a high school production of it. Loved it. Never saw it other than that, and I guess I never saw it that time!

Name: Taylor Ebling
Show: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Reason why: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, because I loved the book and have trouble imagining how it can/will translate to the stage. I'm looking forward to being pleasantly surprised.

Name: David Clark
Show: This is Our Youth
Reason why: I have heard so much about that great original production, about how amazing it was supposed to be. I identify with Lonergan's films and I've never seen one of his plays onstage. I remember reading years ago the show was supposed to come in from London and then that never happened. When this was announced, for a while, I thought it wouldn't come, like that one didn't. But once I knew it was coming, I knew I had to see it. Lonergan has such a unique perspective on human emotions. His characters, in his films, really feel. I'm looking forward to seeing that onstage.

Name: Alice Keen
Show: It's Only a Play
Reason why: It's solely the cast. I love them all.

Name: Jill Samuels
Show: Love Letters
Reason why: We don't get many date night plays. It's a lot easier to convince my husband to see a play than it is to see a musical. I just won't tell him the title. I'll tell him "Play with Angelica Houston" and we'll be set.

Inadvertently, I hit upon one press member during my search for "regular theatergoer." As she wrote the most detailed "why" for Disgraced, I include her as a bonus entry:

Name: Shavanna Calder
Show: Disgraced
Reason why: A writer from my site I created, Arts in Color (about people of color in theater) attended a talk at the Greene Space about Disgraced. Her write up, and the live feed from the talk solidified that this show is definitely a must see for the fall. Plus #DiversityOnStage is extremely important to me and this show celebrates that in many ways. The cast (south asian, black, white etc) and it's Pulitzer Prize winning author, Ayad Akhtar! I look forward to seeing some amazingly diverse talent represented on the Bway stage in higher numbers than the norm and hope that it continues past this season.

*"Regular theatregoers" have helped Hugh Jackman's last three Broadway appearances become financial successes! People forget that Hugh is not simple star-casting for Broadway... as Jeremy Gerard of Deadline.com's theatre group has said, "Hugh Jackman is the biggest star Broadway has produced in a generation"! He is a genuine stage star non-pareil!

*The voter who gave his opinion on The River did not even cite Hugh as the determinant of why he and his wife want to see The River. Presumably, they enjoyed Jerusalem tremendously. It is hoped they do find the new type of play that Jez Butterworth has written equally appealing, albeit it is viewed as completely different!



At the start of this particular Broadway season, straight plays seem to provide the more appealing shows compared to new musicals.

Re The King and I - my sister and I were just discussing the stage musical because "Getting to Know You" was playing somewhere and we saw the revival in London of King and I years ago. She said that while the movie musical version was very appealing, the stage version seemed very dated! To which I agreed -- I knew there was something about it that disappointed me at that time and she hit it right on the nose! Was it the book? I hope the LCT version is staged in a more appealing manner. Btw, I had the same feeling when I saw the recent South Pacific revival ( was the book also dated?) -- and I love the glorious music of Rodgers and Hammerstein.


Jo

[jo]

www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/circleinthesquaretheater/the-river.php

Mr Butterworth is good at confronting his urban audiences with vistas of nature. Away from concrete, man reverts to something more feral. The Daily Mail

Jez Butterworth is a playwright known for works which toy with the darker side of human nature. His play 'Jerusalem' opened on Broadway in 2011 where it was nominated for a Tony award. Like its predecessor, The River is a bewitching play written in Butterworth's very poetic and often quite searching style which presents man's wild nature alongside the wildness of nature itself.

What is The River about?

The nature of the play and its inherent mystery means that the finer details of its plot and characters should be kept a secret. We can, however, reveal the following: The Man (our nameless and rugged central character) has whisked his new lover away to a remote woodland cabin where he wants to go trout fishing in the darkness of the new moon. As the play evolves we become less sure about his intentions... or of the nature of his relationship with those he entertains at his cabin. "And the next day I went back to the river, and I took off my clothes and I dived in the water, and I looked for the fish, and I couldn't find it, but when I surfaced, I was holding something. Something else."

[jo]

Hugh Jackman @realhughjackman · 2h 1 hour ago

Loving learning to fish for @theriverplay. Thanks to my mates at @troutunlimited

[jo]

Theatre Talk ( which last featured Hugh when he was on Back on Broadway) is going to look at the fall season. Michael Riedel and Susan Haskins will be joined by three other theatre pundits.

www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Jesse-Green-Michael-Musto-and-Patrick-Pacheco-to-Join-Co-Hosts-For-THEATER-TALKs-Fall-2014-Preview-This-Weekend-20141008#

Jesse Green, Michael Musto and Patrick Pacheco to Join Co-Hosts For THEATER TALK's Fall 2014 Preview This Weekend

October 8
?by TV News Desk

Related: THEATER TALK, CUNY TV, THIRTEEN, Jesse Green, Michael Musto, Patrick Pacheco, Michael Riedel, Susan Haskins
Jesse Green, Michael Musto and Patrick Pacheco to Join Co-Hosts For THEATER TALK's Fall 2014 Preview This Weekend

Theater journalists Jesse Green (drama critic at New York Magazine), Michael Musto (MUSTO! The Musical/Out.com) and Patrick Pacheco (NY1) are back once again with Theater Talk co-hosts Michael Riedel of the New York Post and Susan Haskins for a preview of the fall theater season, weighing in on casts, creators, opinion, gossip and heresay with their typical flair.

The Fall Preview 2014 edition of THEATER TALK premieres in the New York City metropolitan area Friday, October 10 on Thirteen/PBS at 1 AM (Saturday morning), and continues on CUNY TV* Saturday, October 11 at 8:30 PM, Sunday, October 12 at 12:30 PM, and Monday, October 13 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

They discuss upcoming shows on Broadway including: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Disgraced, The Last Ship, It's Only A Play, You Can't Take It With You, Side Show, A Delicate Balance, The Elephant Man, The River, This Is Our Youth, and Harvey Weinstein's Finding Neverland.

THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York (CUNY) TV in Manhattan, and is distributed to 70+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The TDF/TAP Plus Program, The CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast in the New York metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Cablevision/Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). The show is available online anytime at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org and via iTunes podcasts.

[mamaleh]

Looking forward to hearing what they have to say about THE RIVER, but the discussion of FINDING NEVERLAND might prove to be the most spirited, given Riedel's "dead in the water" comment and his subsequently being doused with an ice bucket by a not-too-friendly NEVERLAND producer Harvey Weinstein.

Ellen

[jo]

Haha - that is why I am interested to know what they will talk about on " opinion, gossip and heresay with their typical flair."

I am hoping this will find itself online at some point.


Jo

[jo]

Louis Rozzo ‏@frozzoandsons · 2m2 minutes ago
Fun fact: Hugh Jackman uses F. Rozzo & Sons' seafood in his current show on Broadway! #seafood #nyc

SPOILER: Click to show

If you haven't read the book/script, the character of The Man is going to be cooking fish in the storyline

[mamaleh]

I was happily surprised how reverentially and respectfully most of the THEATER TALK panel addressed Hugh's return to Broadway--and was almost as happy to see how they seemed to be giving Bradley Cooper (THE ELEPHANT MAN) the short shrift. Video was included of Harvey Weinstein's dumping ice (via the ALS bucket challenge) on Michael Riedel, LOL. Good episode.

Ellen

[jo]

Thanks, Ellen. Hopefully, it will show up on an online site soon? How did we get the past episode when Hugh was featured solely in the show during his Back on Broadway stint?

Not surprised - Michael R and Susan are supportive Hugh admirers...and maybe Michael Musto and Patrick P, too? Not too familiar with Jesse Green but I remember that he writes articles about the theatre.

Maybe they appreciate it more when an actor takes up a new challenge in a new work ( because that is really promoting the theatre!) than when he does an oft-revived work?


Jo

[jo]

Somewhat Off-Topic...but


I looked up Jesse Green's possible articles on Hugh Jackman, esp at the time of THE BOY FROM OZ..and came up with this great interview --

www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/theater/newsandfeatures/05GREE.html?_r=0

Wow - rereading it is very evocative of the TBFO experience! How have things changed with Hugh since 10 years ago?

DEBRIEFING
Exhausted but Proud, Hugh Jackman Retires His Sequins
By JESSE GREEN

Published: September 5, 2004


Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
Hugh Jackman before a recent performance of "The Boy From Oz," onstage at the Imperial Theater: "I don't think I've ever worked this hard, and probably never will again."



WITH its pharmacopeia of teas, powders, pills and soothing cinnamon candles, Hugh Jackman's dressing room at the Imperial Theater is little more than a pit stop for his eight-times-a-week endurance marathon. Singing in 20 of the 27 numbers in "The Boy From Oz," he is onstage for all but three or four minutes. Critics reviewing the opening last October were glad of his omnipresence, applauding his Broadway debut as the flamboyant performer and songwriter Peter Allen, while panning almost everything else about the show, especially its schematic and sometimes cringe-inducing book. But Mr. Jackman's charm made the production (which improved with time) a hit anyway; when it closes next Sunday, after 32 previews and 365 regular performances, it will have recouped its initial investment of $8.25 million on gross ticket sales of more than $42 million. Astonishingly, when Mr. Jackman sat down for a conversation a few weeks before closing, he had not missed even one of those performances, a feat that gave him, he said, a masochistic thrill but had also taken its toll. Two hours before a Friday night curtain, when he should have been eating his dinner, he talked about what the experience had meant, and done, to him.

JESSE GREEN How tired are you?

HUGH JACKMAN At the end of an individual show I often feel fine. Cumulatively, though, I'm exhausted. I am really, really tired. I've never been this kind of tired, to be honest with you. And I don't think I've ever worked this hard, and probably never will again.

Q. Do you wish you hadn't agreed to do it for so long?

A. No, I don't. But if I had to do it again, I would probably say, "I think I can only do seven a week." Give them 100 percent, and actually have a life outside of it.

Q. The show couldn't have recouped without that eighth performance.

A. I'm actually a proponent of eight a week, just not for this particular show. I mean, Trevor Nunn came to see it, and he says: "Hughie, this is `Lear.' You can't do this eight times a week." Well, it can be done; obviously I'm doing it. And I don't think I will look back in 10 years and think of the exhaustion. So I don't want to overplay it, but I think it's just a bit too much.

Q. How close have you gotten to missing a show?

A. Once I had a cold and was so incredibly dry I almost couldn't make a sound. It was to the point that I had the stage littered with glasses of water. Sometimes in the middle of a song I would have to drink. Sometimes I'd think, at the interval: "I can't go back out. I'm not going to make noise." Four or five times I've been to the doctor with a slight illness, and say two of those times, I've thought, "Well, I'm going to be taking a day off." But she gives me a shot of this or that, or an antibiotic, and I feel better in a matter of hours.

Q. What other kinds of maintenance have you had to do to get through it?

A. I have massages twice a week, after the matinees, which sounds great but they're like hell. This guy, Greg, sometimes I almost want to deck him, because it feels like he's just taking out all his childhood angst on me on the table. And I'm not from a dance background so my body was kind of like, "Wow, hang on a sec." So I see a woman who does body alignment once a week. She just . . . fixes me. And I do yoga once or twice a week, train in the gym once or twice a week, tai chi once a week. So generally something once a day, except the Monday, nothing. I don't know how much detail you want.

Q. All of it, details.

A. So before I go to bed, I steam for 10 minutes, a little personal inhaler. When I wake up in the morning I steam again. Let's see, I take vitamin B-12 shots a couple of times a week; I just do them here myself. Lots of vitamin C. And probably the greatest source of rejuvenation is that I meditate twice a day. And then, normal warm-ups. I do a singing lesson every day before the show for 15 minutes with our musical director, Patrick Vaccariello, and we go through any problems I'm having.

Q. Problems? Even at this point?

A. Absolutely. You know what's really weird? I actually got stage fright for the first time in my life six months into the run.

Q. Where from?

A. One night, during the song "Quiet, Please, There's a Lady on Stage," I cracked a little bit on a note. I forgot about it, but the next night when I came up to that note, about a line before, I sort of remembered, and then I really cracked on that note. I woke up the next morning and it was the first thought in my head. So I thought, "This is ridiculous," and forgot about it. That night, I was nervous all the way through Act I and then cracked badly. It was this feeling of humiliation onstage, where literally I would turn red and then get angry, and then I'd feel it underneath while playing the whole show. It started to envelop me, to the point where I'd wake up and I'd be nervous coming to the show. I've never had stage fright, I've never really understood it, but all day it felt like a Herculean effort to get out on the stage. I started thinking, "I don't know how to sing." And whatever used to happen naturally I was second-guessing. I wanted to vomit, all from a little note!

Q. Did you ever figure out what it was about?

A. No. But one day about a week later, thank God, this thought came into my head saying: "Even if you don't sing a note, just speak the words. This song has nothing to do with you. It's about Judy Garland." And I sang that night and I was just fine, and I literally felt like a demon was leaving my body. I looked down at Patrick and he was just smiling, and I wanted to cry.

Q. How has the show changed from a year ago?

A. About three weeks into rehearsal I began to feel we really had to break the thing open, that I had to do some kind of ad-lib audience-participation. So I just sketched out a thing, and I did it at rehearsals, and if you can imagine in the rehearsal room, with no audience, it's not really funny. So we dropped it, but then it kind of recurred organically one night, after we opened, when someone came in late, with the usher shining the torch, and sat down right in front of me in the front row. I just sort of stopped short and started having a conversation. Now, when the latecomers don't come, I really regret it because the whole of Act I is very different. Of course, I have to be careful who I pick because some people come late deliberately to do routines; I can tell. I never pick a latecomer who is in the front row.

Q. The ad-lib section at the beginning of Act II, when you often invite someone to come onstage and banter or dance, has become one of the highlights of the show. People come back for it.

A. It started around November, and I was nervous that I would trip myself up, that I wouldn't be funny. But now I've realized that people laugh just because they sense that you're winging it. And, really, they do all the work. I get someone up to dance and people just go mental because they're all thinking, "That could be me."

Q. Has it ever gotten out of hand?

A. One woman took her top off. She was in the front row, and I was just speechless. Another time, someone yelled out, "I want to bite your butt." And I said, "Well, come on, lady, come on down," thinking she wouldn't. But down she came, and I stuck out my bum, and she just chomped in.

Q. Well, that's certainly in the Peter Allen spirit. Did you at some point ask yourself whether you really wanted to take on what must be the most flamboyant role in the world?

A. Do you mean about his being gay? Because that never bothered me.

Q. Not the gayness per se. I mean the hugeness, the abandon, the big campy silliness of the character.

A. Yeah, that was nerve-racking, and yet also what I needed as an actor. At drama school you have that abandon. You try anything. And I was witnessing in myself, and also I watched in other people's careers, that the abandon seems to get less and less. And some people say, "Well, I just know what I do best now, and this is what the market wants, so I'll do X-Man movies." So it scared me but I said yes right away.

Q. Not to make this a "Tootsie" moment, but are you saying you're a better actor for having worn Peter Allen's drag?

A. It's made me trust my instincts more, and want to risk more, too. Now I want to do a one-man show as Hugh Jackman. I never had the guts to admit that before. I want to do some stage work every year. And in the next movie I'm doing, "The Fountain," Darren Aronofsky is asking me to do things I've never done, and I can't wait. After doing "The Boy From Oz," I thought, "I want to have this feeling on film — this feeling of `This is going to take everything I've got.' "

Q. If you got that feeling from "Oz," I wonder how much of it was the material, which as you must know was not critically admired, and how much was what you accessed through the material?

A. I don't think I'm so talented that I transcend the material. Particularly in a musical where a lot of time is spent singing. If the music's not good it doesn't really matter who's out there singing it.

Q. But you know there was a lot of criticism about the show itself, in essence saying that you were giving one of the great performances of the season in one of the worst shows of the season.

A. It doesn't make sense to me. If I'm speaking what must be 50 percent of the book, how could you literally trash the book and give me praise? I've been in dogs before, and I never felt that here. And that's why I was shocked by the venom against the show. I was like, "Wow, this just doesn't compute with my experience," which was sort of disorienting to me. I thought I had jet lag or something.

Q. How hard is it to be the one guy getting all the praise while everyone else is getting slammed?

A. Because I was committing a year and a half of my life to the show, I didn't feel like I was separate from it. I wanted the show to get that praise. I was very disappointed. Not just for them, for myself.

Q. But did you agree with any of it?

A. Parts seemed arduous and felt clumsy, but we worked on it, and I think it doesn't feel that way so much now. I really felt this show could affect people, show them a really great time and mean something. I don't mean like Chekhov or Shakespeare, but that we could make a connection. For me and many in the audience, it has proven to do that; almost universally for the critics, not at all. It's sort of like having one of those "Santa Claus isn't real" moments as an adult. But no matter what criticism you have of the show, I think there's a spirit intrinsic in the material that elevates it beyond that. It's not me, it's the show.

Q. I don't know . . . you're leaving and it's closing. Did you want someone to take over for you?

A. Absolutely. It's a great role, and all we needed, the producer said, is someone to do it for 12 weeks, to show that other people could do it, and do it their own way.

Q. Who would you have wanted?

A. Ewan McGregor. He's probably top of my list. And also Robbie Williams would have been brilliant.

Q. So why aren't they in the wings?

A. I think that they were asked and just turned it down.

Q. Ricky Martin: true or false?

A. I think they asked him. They asked Harry Connick Jr.; that would have worked, too.

Q. Who or what wouldn't have worked?

A. Someone who can't connect with the audience.

Q. You mean from the stage. What about the connection at the stage door after the show?

A. Yeah, that could sometimes be a bit much. But John Travolta told me to look every one of them in the eye. Sometimes that's all it takes.

[jo]

Maybe we can watch out for this site, if and when it uploads the full/partial episode?

theatertalk.org/2014-season-preview-oct-10-13-on-thirteen-and-cuny/

[hughmanity]

Just found Theater Talk 2014 Fall Season Preview uploaded on YouTube by cunytv. About to watch. Also, so thrilled; finally got my Riverbank seats! 3 minutes to happy birthday

[jo]

Do you have the online link? Can't seem to find it. Thanks.

And enjoy watching The River by the riverbank


Jo

[mamaleh]

Jo, this appears to be the full episode:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=egV2bqQiqd4&list=PL148A6D249CA7AAF4&index=1

Ellen

[jo]

smiley-signs101 Ellen

I enjoyed the discussions of these theatre pundits!

*I wonder how Finding Neverland is finally going to end up. I don't wish any show any ill will but I cannot stand Harvey Weinstein because of his Oscars shenanigans! Will he do the same thing with Tony voters as he does with Academy Award voters? We'll see...

*Michael Riedel, when he is on Theatre Talk, seems more sympathetic than how he is viewed when he writes his occasional controversial columns! I find him candid but not unkind.

*Jesse Green and Patrick Pacheco ( does he still cover Channel One theatre news?) seemed to embue a more ohjective quality to their views on the new plays. Michael Musto seemed to project a more personal type of preferences - or was that just me?

*Susan Haskins was not particularly talkative, except to inject her objections to Michael when Michael said that he was not overly impressed by " Curious" because, like "War Horse", it wins audience sympathy more because of the stagecraft.

*I thought the comment by Michael Riedel on The Elephant Man again harkens back to his derisive view of a particular play's staging. Poor Bradley, although the play will undoubtedly be at least a commercial hit.

*Overall it seems the straight plays will dominate the first part of the current season, with a dearth of new musicals!


Hugh and The River --

*I like how they say that the play evokes Pinter and Hitchcock! That balance will probably be the key to the success of the show, plus of course the acting and the stagecraft!

I am very intrigued as to how this play by Jez Butterworth will be received. Will there be undue expecations because of the critical and commercial success of Jerusalem? Will it disappoint ( in comparison to Jerusalem) or will critics and fans give this new type of work from Butterworth an admiration society of its own? London loved it - will Broadway give it acclaim? Pinter and Hitchcock - that sounds very intriguing!

It looks like no one from the group knew that the Broadway staging will run for NINETY, not EIGHTY, minutes. That's what the official site for The River says. Do 10 minutes really matter? That's more than 10% of the original London staging. I find this worthwhile noting because it could mean that the Broadway staging will be improved - either with new material written by Butterworth ( to add clarity to some of the baffling scenes or dialogs) or that they might add a bit more of spectacle to the staging. We'll see how it eventually evolves onstage at Circle in the Square!

Re the "reverential tone" to how Hugh Jackman is regarded -- I think they respect him for putting his stage work as almost an equal priority ( including in his choice of material and maybe the preference for new work) -- but I was LOL-ing when Jesse G compared the return to Broadway of this star, nay one of the biggest actors in the world, to someone who comes to our little coffee shop and orders a hamburger... and we are impressed! Haha! Ironically, Hugh is known to be one of the least-starry egos in the performing community ( film and stage) and even with his fans. I hope they know that the stage is Hugh's first love!

And of course I am keen to see that Hugh is perceived again as a fine actor and that his performance will be viewed as a nuanced and strong portrayal! That would be my most wished-for expectation for The River!

But I am also amused when I see not just tweets from the Broadway fanbase but also from all over the USA and even other parts of the world which excitedly anticipate seeing Hugh Jackman on stage ( present company not exempted )

I wonder if Michael Riedel and company realize how universal his fanbase is! smiley-signs002


Jo

[carouselkathy]

I watched the video, and I am angry, Jo. Hugh Jackman has sacrificed film opportunities because of his love for Broadway. He put his film career on hold and worked to exhaustion in TBFO. He's a stage trained actor, and not a movie star slumming on the stage in order to make a few more paltry millions (compared to what he could make in films). He's not just stopping in for a burger. These critics are snobs and self-entitled ########! They are forming opinions on productions before they even open.

Maybe Hugh needs to get in a Harvey Weinstein movie.

[jo]

Kathy,

He's been in a Weinstein movie - Kate and Leopold. But I'd hate to think that his Golden Globe nod had anything to do with the producers ( Miramax then)- he was wonderful and such a breath of fresh air in that film which probably won him his first legion of female fans smiley-love029

Re the Theatre Talk panel -- Sorry, but I did get a different tone to their regard for Hugh. Michael is known for his fondness for Hugh now ( if that can be discerned from his constant mentions of Hugh as Broadway's biggest star in his columns...and I did enjoy his Theatre Talk session when Hugh was doing Back on Broadway). Jesse Green did that lengthy interview with Hugh ( I just posted it maybe on this page of the message board) when Hugh was about to wrap up TBFO and the article and tone of interview showed the respect for Hugh's yearlong association with Broadway. I have only come across Patrick Pacheco occasionally and he is probably another Hugh admirer. Even Michael Musto knows what Hugh has done for Broadway although sometimes he delves more on his speculations about Hugh's personal life. Susan is a Hugh fan ( check out that Theatre Talk interview when he was doing BOB)...In this particular session, I think they were simply saying that Hugh does all that you have mentioned and that is why the community gets excited when he returns to the stage. I think there is full appreciation not only of his artistic efforts but all what he does for Broadway ( hosting, BC/EFA, other events). Sorry, again, if "the hamburger joke" attempt struck you in a different way


Jo

[jo]

Hugh Jackman @realhughjackman · 2h 2 hours ago

Monday morning hike with Dali before rehearsals for @theriverplay . #lovinlife

http://instagram.com/p/uGBHqGihLk

The forest-like setting does not look like Central Park or other leafy parts of Manhattan. Unless it is a very woodsy part of a Manhattan park ? Or could they be rehearsing out of town?

[jo]

I just caught the very last part of a Trevor Nunn interview with Charlie Rose ( probably an old episode)... and he was talking about Harold Pinter's " pause" and " use of silence" and "use of language". That rang some sort of a bell when I think of the language and dramatic style in THE RIVER... The other day, was it Michael Riedel who said that THE RIVER is part Pinter and part Hitchcock? I think I understood the Hitchcock reference which I took it to mean that there might be an underlying suspense or mystery enveloped in this play ... but I'm woefully ignorant about serious modernist/abstract ( I hope I am using the right terms) plays - and did turn to Wikipedia for some basic knowledge of Pinter's style of playwriting --

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characteristics_of_Harold_Pinter's_work

I understand that THE RIVER playwright, Jez Butterworth, is a great admirer of Pinter's work.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jez_Butterworth

A major influence on Butterworth's work is 2005 Nobel Literature Laureate Harold Pinter: "I know and admire Harold Pinter enormously. He has a ginormous influence on me. Conversations with him have inspired my work."

Some people on BWW have also suggested that Butterworth's style in this particular work was reminiscent not only of Pinter but also of Samuel Beckett. After the Trevor Nunn interview, Charlie Rose interviewed an English stage actress who discussed Beckett at length and I felt like I knew nothing about plays or its staging at all.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett

I think we are going to have our (audience) part of this stage interaction in THE RIVER cut out for us. I hope the director and the actors will make it easy for us to find the play really accessible...and enjoyable! Hugh must be reveling in this new challenge for him!

Re-quoting parts of the Vulture interview --

What was your first meeting with Jez Butterworth like? He’s this strange combination of being a dark playwright who also writes blockbuster movies .

Jez is very kind of ... he has a demeanor of someone who’s like, “Oh, gee, thanks for inviting me to lunch.” I’m like, man! You wrote this incredible play! He’s very off the back foot. One of the first things I asked him was what motivated him to write this story — because I was really affected by the story emotionally, which doesn’t always happen. And he said he wanted to give goosebumps. It’s mysterious, you don’t know what’s happening next, you’re not 100 percent sure where the actors or the writer is going to go to the point where it gives you goosebumps. But I just loved that he has a child’s quality, of being very curious, very humble.




Did you see Jerusalem?

I thought that was extraordinary. And again, it was one of those rare experiences where you walk in not knowing what to expect and, wow, you’re completely transported and blown away. I got the sense there’s that possibility with this play as well. But I actually think they’re very different. I think he deliberately wanted to write something quite different; ours is much shorter, like 89 minutes. In Jerusalem, Rooster is a very bombastic, larger-than-life character. This is not like that, it’s in a way like a piece of chamber music; it’s more subtle, there’s a poetic edge to it, though I think Jerusalem had that too. There’s obviously a love of poetry in Jez’s blood. But that also hooks into his love of fishing! That is something I knew nothing about, and I'm learning a hell of a lot about fly fishing.



It seems like a very oddly Zen thing, fly fishing?

It’s an extraordinary kind of endeavor, very human — how to take something that’s really about survival and make it harder than it has to be. [Laughs.] There is a beauty to it; it’s really becoming one with the fish, understanding the fish, how to seduce them to the end of your line. How to catch something without any bait, there’s something really beautiful about it. Jez has used it both literally and metaphorically in the play. It is sensual, I should say. Everyone who does it talks about how their mind goes blank, it’s like a form of meditation. And the people who do it, it’s like a drug to them — you’re connected to something very elemental in nature, and I think that’s what the play explores.



The play does have a quietness about it — is keeping things at that kind of level a challenge for you?

Yeah. Maybe I’ve done too many action movies. But there are no explosions, I guarantee — no shirts come off, I’m pretty sure. [Laughs.] No, it is different in every way. It’s the kind of play I haven’t seen in a long period of time. Literally from the moment it opens, you’re brought into a world where the audience will feel almost uncomfortable to be there — it’s very private, very interior. It really asks, when you find someone in life, are we actually just trying to recapture something we’ve lost, or is it real. The play twists and turns a lot, but in a very subtle, quiet, mysterious way. I’m excited about being in a play with that kind of calm, and requires you to sort of calmly let go of your life and connect with the play. And the fact that we’re doing it in the round? It’s going to be very intimate.

Jo