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Showing posts with label Peter Scanavino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Scanavino. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Boys' Life

Boys growing up and the challenges they face in becoming responsible adults.  Life is tough and you find out how many different problems there can be and how much responsibility being an adult really requires.  I saw an Off-Off-Broadway production of this show at the Spoon Theatre exactly 1 year ago - See 2007 Review

I have to say the quality in this 2nd Stage production show was

bit better than the black-box theatre I saw this in before, but not by much.  The annoying "trailer-park" cut-away sets were distracting and seemingly built by a spatially  challenged set designer (Mark Wendland).  They were too big for the stage - and hence, annoyingly jockeyed around the stage with every scene.   OK, but was the acting any better?  About the same actually.  These guys were above average - all things considered.   Jason Biggs (The Graduate), Rhys Coiro (Dinner at Eight), and Peter Scanavino (SubUrbia, Shining City) aptly take the helm as "the boys".   


Besides the annoying sets, I also did not enjoy the fact that much of the guts of the play have been chopped out, holding true to the 90 Minutes - no intermission recipe.  In this case, unsuccessful, if you ask me.  So much was chopped out, (and if you saw the full play before) you would notice several unanswered questions and "left hanging" story lines.   

Overall, I believe the problem with the sets and the script chopping is the fault of the director.  The actors get an "A" while the director gets an "F".  Sadly disappointed in this production but still enjoyed the performances.   Biggs, Coiro, and Scanavino are all adorable, believable, and true to the words on the page.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

SubUrbia

SubUrbia - Powerful. A dose of social truths. Is this how our kids are really growing up today? I'd say it's pretty darn close. Kids are messed up today. Who and what is the cause? Our parents? Our culture? Did this happen overnight? I think not.
Perhaps some might think it's a bit of everything thrown into the pot and stewed for 2.5 hours... others might say - well.. the same thing and that's just how it is today.

The cast - superb. Peter Scanavino - a shocking and honest standout. Kieran Culken and Michael Esper - Real. Honest. Funny. Fucked up. Like everyone else. All of the above.

We'll see more of these actors. And it was unanimous leaving the theater - the problems portrayed aren't going away any time soon. And lots of kids with these problems are now the adults with more kids... I see a pattern here.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Shining City

Great names in this cast - Oliver Platt, Martha Plimpton, Brian O'Byrne. Unfortunately the story drags and at one point i thought i'd stand up and tell Oliver Platt to shut up and move on! There's a message behind all of it - which is laudable, but took way too much effort to get to. Three main scenes - all way too long.

I went into this one with a high expectation and came out with an opinion in the basement. Good idea. Bad execution.