Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Theater Take That, Haley Joel Osment!
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 1:43 PM
Ssssssssst. That whooshing noise coming from the Belasco Theater is the sound of the air being let out of David Mamet’s dialogue. Robert Falls’s deflated revival of Mr. Mamet’s “American Buffalo” — which opened on Monday night with the mixed-nut ensemble of John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment — evokes the woeful image of a souped-up sports car’s flat tire, built for speed but going nowhere.
Ben Brantley lays it down.
Ticket sales, I'm guessing, are still going to kick ass, if only to watch Haley Joel get bludgeoned nearly to death at the end.
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3
You know, if local theater critics ever LIKED anything, local theater might not be on life support all the time.
4
Isn't he in some movie that's basically an episode of Saved by the Bell? It involved sports, journalism and STEROIDS duhhh!
5
Oh if only the theater had only been able to reach out to some kid at BFE High with some Shakespeare!!!
8
@3: If people weren't sheep that entrust their theatre going decisions to the opinions of one or two individuals, instead of going out and experiencing theatre and finding companies and artists that they like and supporting them as if our culture depended on it, perhaps theatre wouldn't be on life support all the time.
10
@8: Of course. Failing theaters are never the fault of the people who make theater (or 'theatre'). It's the unwashed masses' absurd refusal to let themselves be lectured into becoming more cultured.
11
Why is it people who never go to the theatre are the most vocal in saying something they never go to sucks?
I mean, like, how would they KNOW?
I mean, like, how would they KNOW?
12
It's super easy to say something in theater sucks because you have a 90% chance of being right. When you land on one where someone might think you're being a bitch, just say something like "I was having a bad day and I just didn't feel engaged with it, ya know" or "there was a directors note. psh" and you'll get away with it while sounding profound.
13
@10: Hence my comment about FINDING COMPANIES AND PERFORMERS YOU LIKE. Yes there is sucky theatre (or 'theater' if you're going to be a dick about it) out there and it certainly is responsible for its own death.
However, I was responding to someone proclaiming that pissy critics are responsible for the death of the theatre. I'm actually positing that the masses (I care not about their hygiene) NOT be lectured about culturing themselves, but rather that they go out and EXPERIENCE it.
However, I was responding to someone proclaiming that pissy critics are responsible for the death of the theatre. I'm actually positing that the masses (I care not about their hygiene) NOT be lectured about culturing themselves, but rather that they go out and EXPERIENCE it.
14
@ 3: Read the theater section much? We've had several positive reviews in the last few weeks. And more coming next week.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Theat…
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Theat…
15
First time I saw American Buffalo was in the early 90s at the old New City Theatre with Paul Giamatti as Teach and my old high school fellow thespian Adrian Latourelle as Bob. Both went on to Yale Drama school...why couldn't THEY have been cast on B'way (well, Adrian would be too old now but Paul was too young back then and would be perfect now.
Tickets to that show were $6/ea.
Tickets to that show were $6/ea.
17
Funny, I always thought "archaic" meant "outdated, or no longer in common usage", which is pretty funny considering roughly 75% of all theatRE companies use this spelling, as opposed to only about 25% that use the other.
19
Anyone who doesn't think that theatre critics are whiny, back-biting, know-nothing twats should rent the documentary "Show Business".
20
@17: And who else in the United States besides 'theatre' companies uses the term? Look, unless you also use spellings like 'colour,' 'shew,' 'centre,' or 'esquimaux,' it is 'theater.' Catch up to the 20th century at least, Grandpa.
22
too bad. i caught william h. macy in off-off broadway many years back in nyc tackling the mid-aged mans role (the young guy was written for him)
23
@21: OH NOES! Theater people insulted me on the internet! Nothing to do now but throw myself off the Aurora Bridge. At least I'll die knowing I can spell shit properly.
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