First stage performance ever? WOW! Huge promise on Broadway
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peterquennell — 10 years ago(February 04, 2016 06:57 AM)
PS The play has only a few weeks to run. It sells out very quick which is why my wife and I went on different nights.
The theater is small but with great sound and sightlines. Its one of a new complex on 42nd several blocks west of Times Square. Part of the very well funded complex's mission is to help new arrivals and new playwrights.
This tends to mean that there will always be some from "the industry" in the audience looking out for the new Taissas. I hope lightening strikes for her. -
ellie246 — 10 years ago(February 05, 2016 03:42 AM)
Hi Peter,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CRITIQUE !!
As I'm in London, I'll never be able to see this, so this is most welcome. And the man himself, Sam Shepherd was there? You didn't see Jessica Lange at all? She starred with Taissa in American Horror Story!
I was dreading seeing any reactions to Taissa because quite a few, (many on here), aren't usually complimentary about her acting or some, her looks, but I'm so glad an "impartial" couple have given their verdict. And of course, Nat Wolf111cf is getting the love because the girlies love him, (which is expected I suppose)!
She isn't the greatest actress but she has always said that acting wasn't something she really wanted to do but it's great to hear she can match those who have always had a passion for the craft. -
DCMarvelRules — 10 years ago(February 06, 2016 08:45 PM)
Thats where you are wrong. Taissa is a
FANTASTIC
actress and this play proves it spades. Those that hate on her wouldnt know good acting if it hit them in the beep face. They have no business of judging anyone. these pathetic losers saw her as Zoe on AHS which was a horible written character to play no substance at all even Streep would have fallen on her face with such a character. Its a saying actors are screwed if the script or the character is badly written and Zoe was such a character. Violet wasnt yet the losers forgot all about that tour de force perfomance she gave in AHS s1. And they should try and see her in her movies also to see how great she is. Critics praise her everywhere too. which is really a telling on how badly these asshats over at AHS board judge acting.
Like i say they wouldnt know good acting if it hit them in their
face.
The OP right she is a force to be reckoned with.
This message has been hidden because the poster is in your ignore list: Slam_Evil -
ellie246 — 10 years ago(February 08, 2016 06:16 AM)
I'm not sure she's "fantastic" but there is just something about her I just absolutely adore.
I have to say, a good actor would make the best of even a terrible part & I think Taissa could have shown more passion/strenght in the Zoe character even though it was rubbish, & there were parts that she was pretty poor but I think she's getting good notices for Buried Child & will continue to grow/learn.
I personally can't wait to see what she does next, hopefully a decent film role & "In a Valley of Violence" is a MUST SEE for me ! -
peterquennell — 10 years ago(February 10, 2016 03:34 AM)
Very supportive comments.
I can see now that TF's persona in this play (which is very well written and directed, and with name actors above any she has previously co-played with) is not like those in her TV series and some of her movies, always likable though she was there.
Insofar as she already has a "type" she has here been cast against it. Here she is a self-confident and very funny New Yorker in thigh-leg boots and great gear.
Maybe not totally unlike the Marisa Tomei part in My Cousin Vinnie or Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle.
Comic timing was spot-on and the humor was both verbal and physical. I still laugh at one physical scene, the "matador v all the bulls" scene.
She is onstage 3/4 of the time. When she leaves all the energy (as written) goes with her, leaving a raw and quite sad ending.
Maybe TF was just born to play this part. But to me (and increasingly others) it DID look like exceptional good acting. On stage, it is hard to fake it.
I hope this helps some. -
ellie246 — 10 years ago(February 10, 2016 05:36 AM)
Thanks again for your feedback Peter.
Wow, Marisa Tomei or Jennifer Lawrence, now that IS a compliment.
I think I'll have to seek out the play & have a read as there's no way I'll be able to see it being the other side of the Atlantic.
I really hope it leads to good things for her. Doing live theatre does mean there's nowhere to hide, so if she's conquering that, she's in good stead.
All the best. -
peterquennell — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 05:11 AM)
Hi ellie246
Well of course any play and any actor from London are like gods on Broadway. I was posting on the Alan Rickman forum about brief encounters with him.
Just in the last few months we had here Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Keira Knightly, Mark Rylance, Hattie Morahan, Helen Mirren, Ewan McGregor, Ben Miles, Nathaniel Parker, a bunch more. Charles III, Noises Off, View From the Bridge, Wolf Hall, some others, started in London, doing or recently did very well here.
Most took the RADA route (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) so stage and in particular Shakespeare are natural to them. That is rare here which makes arriving on Broadway for first play ever a heartstopping thing. Taissa is a standout in not taking a formal training route, in jumping mediums (at that age), in getting picked for this Broadway play, not least by Sam Shepherd ("greatest American playwright of his generation"), and playing well - against type.
The same new-arrival thing is about to happen again, with a lot more forewarning to Saorise Ronan, four months older than Taissa. Next month she stars in Hove's "The Crucible" about whom there muchos buzz because of her Oscar nomination for "Brooklyn". She too has never before been in a play. If she interests you, take a look.
http://nymag.com/press/2016/02/saoirse-ronan-covers-new-yorks-spring-fashion-issue.html
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/02/colm-toibin-on-saoirse-ronans-new-york.html
http://www.imdb.com/board/21519680/board/thread/246973410
I posted a few Broadway tips near the end of that thread. We see "The Crucible" on 16 March. -
peterquennell — 10 years ago(February 18, 2016 04:55 AM)
Reviewers differed a lot in what they expected - quite normal for such an iconic play! Okay mentions of Taissa:
http://variety.com/2016/legit/reviews/buried-child-review-ed-harris-1201708999/
On the same day that Tildens reasonably normal son, Vince (Nat Wolff), returns to the old homestead with his girlfriend Shelly (a nice, crisp performance from Taissa Farmiga of American Horror Story), the barren garden produces a bumper crop of corn and carrots.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/entertainment/article/Review-Family-secrets-dug-up-in-harrowing-6837958.php
The outsiders who arrive are Tilden's estranged, college-age son Vince (an intense Nat Wolff) and his naive, snippy girlfriend, Shelly (Taissa Farmiga, radiating innocent confidence). They're shocked when nobody in the family seems to welcome or even recognize Vince.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/buried-child-review-not-the-deepest-shepard-revival-1.11481827
And what about his girlfriend (Taissa Farmiga), who fits into the family with a creepy, sensual ease not seen since Harold Pinters The Homecoming? -
peterquennell — 10 years ago(February 23, 2016 05:29 AM)
Its very unusual for movie or TV actors to have their first stage arrival in a prominent role on Broadway. I doubt it happens once a year.
We do have another "example" of a new arrival right now. Its Saorise Rona2000n who is about to open in The Crucible. They were born 10 days apart.
Shes done several good interviews about how its coming together. Theres a new interview on Taissa's own preparation process here:
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/taissa-farmiga-1/ -
lauraehrhardt97 — 10 years ago(March 19, 2016 06:24 PM)
I saw it, too!
You're spot on. I was a fan of her before, so maybe I'm bias, but she really impressed me here. Maybe it was because the character is so different than what I've seen with her but she held her own and had great comedic timing and was powerful in all the right moments. I met her afterwards, too. She was super sweet and talked to everyone.
I never thought she was a bad actress and I don't understand the hate for her on here. She's just getting better as time goes on, too. I think most people have only seen her in AHS. The Zoe character was too similar to Violet so people think she's a one trick pony but she definitely proved that wrong onstage. She did the best with what she had in Coven. I still don't get the hate for her but whatever, I think she's a great actress.