As Peterquennell suggested, here is The Crucible reviews thread.
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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.
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peterquennell — 10 years ago(March 05, 2016 09:20 AM)
It seems like she cannot slip out of that "Brooklyn" accent! Quite startling. My take is she is pretty proud of it. Amused by it.
Those regional accents have become so "precious". Places which still have them tend in other ways too to be colorful. Tourist magnets.
The BBC would once only allow its announcers to use the Queen's English. Then they did a U-turn and it was no holds barred, especially in the costume dramas - leaving some of us IMDB posting "What was that?" -
Poetswan — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 05:39 PM)
I saw the show last night and am overall on the fence about it. There was certainly a lot to like in the performances and some really smart, chilling moments of staging, but I just didn't connect with or understand other elements of van Hove's vision.
Unlike some of the previous comments here, I thought the performances were strong across the board.
Saoirse Ronan is terrific in an integral but fairly small role. Even going into the production knowing that Abigal does not have as much stage time as the Proctors or even other supporting characters, I really wanted to see more of Ronan, which is a credit to her performance.
Whishaw is a very good Proctor and he has some truly terrific moments, particularly in Act 4. I do understand the criticism of Okonedo's performance because Elizabeth does come off as less than a "real" character than many, if not all, of the others, but I was somehow won over by her performance. Other standouts include Ciaran Hinds, who is perfectly cast as the Deputy-Governor, and Jim Norton. I could easily see either or both of them nominated for Featured Actor come May. Tavi Gevinson made a strong impression, too.
To the elements of the production that I didn't like: My biggest qualm is van Hove's use of the entire stage. There was so much dead space in between all of the characters at all times that the production sacrificed a lot of the necessary intimacy. To me, The Crucible should feel claustrophobic, and the paranoia and rage in such confines, with characters on top of each other, should ignite the show like a tinderbox. How do you capture that intimacy, though, when most of the character deliver their lines to each other standing ten feet apart? I know they're tremendously different works, but van Hove captured that tight, constricted feeling to brilliant effect in A View from the Bridge, where that box felt like a powder keg. I certainly don't wish that he replicated the same staging here, but everything is too expansively staged, and even moments of intimacy between John and Elizabeth are swallowed up by the sheer size and emptiness of the set. I also didn't understand the classroom setting at all or how it enhanced van Hove's vision. Sure, there are simple, perhaps reductive interpretations, i.e. school as a representation of childhood innocence and how this text subverts that trope, but I have to imagine van Hove had something more in mind. Despite these issues, there are some really great moments, and the deposition scenes of Act 3 were very successful.
On a side note, has anyone sat in the right mezzanine for this production yet? I was in row D on the side and throughout the whole evening there was a really loud and annoying metallic clanging, almost like the sound of the jangling of keys, that really distracted me from the proceedings. It's a very quiet show, at times difficult to hear, so that was a hugely irritating distraction. I did mention it to an usher at intermission, but there was obviously not much he could have anyone do with the show midway through.
I'd be interested in revisiting the production much later in the run to see what has changed and how the actors have grown into their roles. I think it's certainly worth checking out, just for the performances alone, through the lottery or rush.
by:PianoMann -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 06:48 PM)
I read it today Poetswan but didn't have the time to post it. She's getting fine reviews from the posters. I've seen the film at least three times with DDL and W. Ryder. Not being familiar with the original work, I'd thought it was a lead role, but it sounds like an true supporting one.
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zorrodvd — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 08:22 PM)
I think she is a lead. Her face (and character) are displayed on a giant marquee outside the theatre.
And this site agrees
http://stageagent.com/shows/play/1389/the-crucible -
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Poetswan — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 07:13 PM)
People are saying Lupita Nyongo could win the tony for, what looks like, a much smaller role than Saoirse's in this thread:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php5b4?thread=1090723&dt=46
so, why couldn't Saoirse get at least nominated?Lets hope. -
peterquennell — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 03:08 AM)
Wednesday I'll know better! She's young and has a following and the Tony broadcast sure could use that. And serious movie actors with a big name often get nominated seemingly on the theory that they draw more crowds into theaters which helps everyone (though they dont always win which can cancel that out).
Any actor from the UK and Ireland has an edge - ask Mark Rylance from London who has 3 Tony's now (and is back in town) or Helen Mirren etc etc. Keira Knightly should get a nomination this year. In fact there's a funny satirical musical ("Its only a play") with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in which the Nathan Lane character suggests the Tony awards show be moved to London "to save everybody the fare". See UK actors in recent lists:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_for_Best_Actor_in_a_Play
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award_for_Best_Actress_in_a_Play
Voters will want to honor van Hove and could do this for "Bridge" and "Crucible" in separate years. See this.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/broadways-man-of-the-moment-ivo-van-hove/2016/03/10/facf1940-e52d-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html -
jjabbey — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 08:07 PM)
going off from the crucible thread over there, the Abigail character isn't really something you'd win awards for. (i knew she'd be supporting since she's billed 4th) But Maybe Lupita's role is more sentimental, even if it's a smaller role maybe she has more impact than Saoirse's character.
Abigail is quite unlikable (if you compare it toda0 Elizabeth and Mary Warren), plus the worrying fact that Saoirse is underused probably contributes to their hesitance in a nomination. there's also a bunch of other plays in contention this year, but hopefully she can somehow sneak in. -
DCI77 — 10 years ago(March 08, 2016 08:17 PM)
How many plays are out this season on Broadway? Sometimes nominations are by sheer spots being open (which is why I don't see industry awards/noms as prestigious as some do). If there's only 3 female roles that are "for sure" nominations by stage time, and two spots are left, some actress is going to get that 4th or 5th spot because they need bodies to fill the spots.
As for Lupita possible win - maybe it's a really moving performance. Or politics. -
Poetswan — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 10:34 AM)
You can have an idea about the plays in this thread:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1083766&page=8
A guy posted in his predictions for the Tony:
Best Revival of a Play
Whats In:
Blackbird
Noises Off
A View from the Bridge
What Could Sneak In:
Fool for Love
The Gin Game
Lookout For:
The Crucible
Long Days Journey Into Night
Longshots:
Fully Committed
Hughie
Old Times
Sylvia