10 replies to this topic

[DavidB]

I'm considering a trip to see The Lady From Dubuque as part of our forthcoming wedding anniversary, but I don't know much about the play apart from the brief story outline. I think it best to book tickets soon to ensure best seats for a Friday evening but the reviews won't be available for nearly 3 weeks. Does anyone have any previous experience of this play or any advice on this production. Thanks in advance.

[JonnyBoy]

I've not seen this play but the Broadway version a few years back was a flop and lasted barely a week from what I remember.  That doesn't mean this version will be bad though.  Maggie Smith is a wonderful actress and, even if the play isn't brilliant, I'm sure she will provide a performance worth seeing.

[imaniac]

Mind if I add another question here?

What is the running time of the play? I need to know if I can catch my train in time.

Thanks !

[plutoanddragons]

I'm considering a trip to see The Lady From Dubuque as part of our forthcoming wedding anniversary, but I don't know much about the play apart from the brief story outline. I think it best to book tickets soon to ensure best seats for a Friday evening but the reviews won't be available for nearly 3 weeks. Does anyone have any previous experience of this play or any advice on this production. Thanks in advance.

This article has a bit about the play's reception at its premiere and the story:  http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2030172,00.html

Sounds an interesting choice for Maggie Smith.

[Lynette]

Wedding Anniversay? Don't you need to book something that you know is going to be good rather than take a risk that not many on this board are prepared to take. Suggestions for our Newbie, everyone?

[DavidB]

Wedding Anniversay? Don't you need to book something that you know is going to be good rather than take a risk that not many on this board are prepared to take. Suggestions for our Newbie, everyone?

[DavidB]

Hardly a "newbie" Lynette as you might see from the User Review sections. However, I thought it might be helpful to gain advice from anyone who has seen previews of this, particularly as I know it floppoed in New York. My wife and I attend the theatre very regularly, despite living well outside town but for an anniversary it's nice to pick a show which a) we haven't already seen and will actually enjoy.

[ledcam]

David, we saw the play on Saturday evening and overall we were pretty disappointed. I would pay to see Maggie Smith read the phone book - at times during the evening I wished that she had been doing just that.

Smith only enters the fray at the very end of Act 1 - I confess it was a play I knew nothing about before seeing it. Her performance was I felt very lazy - all wrists, arched eye brows and an appalling American accent that wandered throughout the course of the play. She gets the laughs certainly but appears to have settled for playing herself. As for the play itself - well it seemed similar to other Albee's I've seen. I'll avoid plot spoilers but really is it too boring to look for conclusions?  I'm all for being challenged by a play, having my thoughts and conceptions questioned but here I just wandered out of the theatre wondering what was the point of the play. Others will no doubt disagree and that's fine but I did hear quite a few less that complimentary comments as the audience were making their way out.

All in all nice to see Smith back on stage and for that reason alone you may wish to see her.  It's not a production however that I'd want to see again.

[MarieMJS]

Awww, good and bad reviews coming from the web, overall... I guess that an Albee's play can only bring very different opinions from the beginning, somehow, no matter which one it is(minimalist and all), but I just hope the play will get better with time, it's only previews after all

* still believing a little *

*go back under her rock*

[Mikey]

Having just seen this play (12 March) and read the less than enthusiastic comments above, I want to add my own words of unreserved praise. We were just knocked out by it and are eager to see it again with our group in a couple of weeks' time. Like all Albee plays, it leaves you with much to discuss, and this one has the power of Virginia Woolf with the ambiguity of A Delicate Balance. I can understand why a Broadway audience, maybe seeking 'entertainment', found it a too depressing subject but it has much humour too. (Not sure I would choose it for an anniversary treat though, unless you are very serious playgoers!) A packed audience were very enthusiastic despite some scenes being desperately painful to watch. But the end was most satisfying and Maggie Smith will have pleased all her fans and maybe even won over some more. Totally fascinating and in very good shape despite being an early preview - my play of the year so far.