As Peterquennell suggested, here is The Crucible reviews thread.
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jlent — 10 years ago(March 02, 2016 09:36 PM)
Some comments from that link:
Still reeling from the preview yesterday. Ive never seen an Ivo Van Hove production so in some ways Im coming to the party late. But after the acclaim that A View From the Bridge received I had to see what all the fuss was about. And I did. Everything from the design to the Philip Glass score was impeccable, and also incredibly powerful.
It was only the first preview and Saoirse was completely confident and her Abigail was fully achieved.
Ben Whishaw never disappoints Im confident hes in the top 3 of theatrical talents of his generation. And Tavi Gevinson was a huge surprise and incredibly moving as Mary Warren. Its an amazing company. Ciaran Hinds is always worth the price of admission. And Bill Camp was the perfect Reverend Hale. He brings such nuance and emotion and texture and detail to everything he does.
I was very pleased by the new production of THE CRUCIBLE at the Walter Kerr.
Saoirse Ronan is certainly having her moment, and what a role for her to have chosen to make her debut on Broadway she seamlessly inhabits the cold, manipulative Abigail Williams, and convincingly exercises the strength of her will over the inhabitants of Salem.
The performances were pretty strong. I wasn't a fan of Sophie Okonedo in Act 2, but found her to be much more interesting in Act 4. I felt similarly about Wishaw, who really hit his final moments in the play brilliantly.
Ronan is excellent in my opinion, and a real highlight of the production.
Gevinson was much better here than she was in This is Out Youth. Or rather, her loud and over-the-top acting style was more appropriate for this play than it was in the other. Bill Camp was excellent as Reverand Hale, and I would love to see him snag a Tony nom for this.
Some wags are claiming these positive notices are from production shills. No proof but I mention it -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(March 03, 2016 05:26 AM)
The Crucible previews#117
Posted: 3/3/16 at 12:22384am By: JBroadway
I saw this tonight, and let me just start off by saying that I do NOT like this play, and I knew that going in. I've read it twice, and disliked it both times (though a bit better the 2nd time). I realize that it is a classic and I understand why, but I have always found most of it rather dull.
So now onto this production. I had hoped that Van Hove would be able to take the more boring (IMO) sections and liven them up, but no such luck. Long sections of this production dragged like a dirge, just where I expected them to. On 5b4the other hand, the exciting climaxes of each act are quite well done. In particular I enjoyed Act 4 and the latter half of Act 3. The underscoring was way too much at times, but the musical shifts were used very effectively. The music at the beginning of each act was also used effectively.
The performances were pretty strong. I wasn't a fan of Sophie Okonedo in Act 2, but found her to be much more interesting in Act 4. I felt similarly about Wishaw, who really hit his final moments in the play brilliantly.
Ronan is excellent in my opinion, and a real highlight of the production.
Gevinson was much better here than she was in This is Out Youth. Or rather, her loud and over-the-top acting style was more appropriate for this play than it was in the other. Bill Camp was excellent as Reverand Hale, and I would love to see him snag a Tony nom for this.
This is a production that absolutely has bright flashes of brilliant direction, and in the end I'm definitely glad I saw it. I think the pacing will get better through the preview period, and the weaker moments will get worked out. I might return to see it again later in the run to see how it's developed, but realistically I doubt I will get around to it with everything else opening. If you can spare the time and money, I'd say see it, especially if you're curious what Van Hove has done with it, or want to see the great cast.
Went to the stage-door tonight16d0, with very little luck. Ronan, Okonedo, and Wishaw all went out other exits, while the rest of the cast quickly darted out the stage-door. I perfectly understand, however, given how cold and windy it was tonight. I'd be curious to hear if Ronan et al will come out and sign in warmer weather. -
jlent — 10 years ago(March 03, 2016 06:04 AM)
What intrigued me was the line about wanting Bill Camp to get a Tony nomination. What about Saoirse, who was, in his words, "a real highlight of the production" yet doesn't get his Tony love. What is she, chopped liver?
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Steve7216 — 10 years ago(March 03, 2016 07:23 AM)
Well, we'll probable read inconsistent posts about the play and her performance from the theater attendees. Right now I'm glad to have seen her so happy the past few months and apparently scratching the theater itch, but I'm looking forward to the successful run of the play followed up by two film roles this year. In addition, I'm hoping for the best from The Seagull because it'll be our only chance to see her on the big screen this year. Perhaps a distributor like Sony Pictures Classics will acquire the title.
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zorrodvd — 10 years ago(March 03, 2016 11:57 AM)
Some tweets from director Michael Mayer which are several months apart but latest 2 hours ago.
Mar 3rd
Locked Picture! #theseagullmovie
Jan 26th
Extremely helpful test screening of #theseagullmovie last night. Now a long night of editing ahead. The audience tells us so much.
Oct 29th
Rehearsing FUNNY GIRL @MenChocFactory all day, and editing #theseagullmovie all night makes Michael a dull boy.#itsshowtime -
jlent — 10 years ago(March 03, 2016 02:41 PM)
I hate to say it but that actually worries me. The film was wrapped last summer in a short shooting schedule on a tight budget and only now it's ready to be viewed?
From what I hear, they got the sprawling Revenant finished only a month after the last scene was shot.
But pay no attention to me. I always worry. I even worried about Brooklyn. -
trvscrosley — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 01:29 PM)
I'm guessing it's probably due to her having a muc2000h smaller role than the ones mentioned. Looking again at that board someone asked who could possibly get a tony nom, one person (with a Broadway Legend tag?)answered:
Ben Whishsaw for Lead Actor
Saoirse Ronan for Featured Actress
Looks like good marks for Saoirse so far, will really have to wait till the proff reviews for real actual hope though. Plus, this is her first play, so I'm sure going forward just doing well could get her into even more roles in theater in the future. -
Jdub612 — 9 years ago(August 11, 2016 12:37 AM)
I am the message board user "JBroadway" who posted the comments about The Crucible, quoted above. I happened to stumble across the conversation, very surprised to see people discussing my comments on the show, haha. I realize his is an old-ish conversation, and you may not see this. But I just want to say for the record:
The reason I mentioned Bill Camp and not Saoirse when it came to the Tonys is actually because I thought Saoirse was more of a shoe-in for a nomination, so I didn't feel it was as worth mentioning. She was the most well-known person in that production, and the role of Abigail is also very famous and meaty (though not much stage-time). Bill Camp, on the other hand, is not well-known, and the role itself is not usually one that people think of when it comes to Tony nominations. So I wanted to emphasize that I thought he should get a nomination since it seemed less sure that he would.
Of course, I ended up being wrong. Bill Camp did get a nomination, and Saoirse did not. I wish she had been nominated, but the category was already so strong. All 5 women who DID get nominated really deserved it, so it's a tough call. I wish there had been 6 nominees instead of 5, and that Saoirse had been the 6th. -
jlent — 9 years ago(August 11, 2016 06:03 AM)
She was in the play as long as she was supposed to be, most of acts one and three.
I think people were thinking of the movie with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Miller was still alive then and he added extra scenes with Abigail. -
jlent — 9 years ago(August 11, 2016 03:26 AM)
Hey, Jdub, I'm the guy who gave you a bit of snark. Sorry about that. Thanks for the clarification!
I saw the play twice, once in previews, once in the main run. It didn't change much, perhaps a bit better paced the second time, but that just may be because of familiarity the second time. One change was poetic, when Mary (Tavi Gevinson) rejoins the girls, Abigail sits up, looks back at her and slowly stretches out her hand to her.
I like the play more than you do, though I get that Miller can be a didactic slog.
Camp was excellent, being the only character that changes his mind and sticks to the change. -
Poetswan — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 01:38 AM)
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Steve7216 — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 06:41 PM)
I'm not sure if it was Peter. I watched it on CBS last Sunday was it first aired. It was a nice little piece and one in which no doubt gave her more exposure (save the Oscar show) than she has had in some time.