Here in America - Orange Tree

[theoracle]

Has anyone had a chance to see this yet? Seeing it on the weekend and very keen to see how this unfolds. Also have The New Real booked in Oct so excited to explore Edgar’s latest works

[lt]

Saw it this evening and thought it was very weak, felt more like a first draft than a finished play.

I think topic would have worked far better in the style of the old Tricycle Theatre tribunal plays, but appreciate that isn't the style of the OT.

Play wasn't saying anything remotely original. And I was pretty bored throughout.

I did think the acting was generally good. Although, the actress playing Monroe had a tough job I think because she was such an iconic recognisable character, and I didn't feel the actor had really captured the spirit of Monroe.

There seemed to be some extremely implausible conversations with Monroe and Miller towards the end of the play. But I stand to be corrected if there was some historical basis for this.

[kate8]

I thought this was very average. It feels like a well-worn story: everyone knows about Kazan & Miller at the McCarthy hearings, and about Miller and Monroe. If you don’t know about those things, I’m not sure if you’d have booked for this play. It was a mildly entertaining evening, but said nothing new, so what was the point?

I agree with the previous comment about the Miller/Monroe conversations, especially the bits about Monroe‘s support for Rosa Parks and Ella Fitzgerald, which felt like the playwright needed something to show how Marilyn had also stuck her neck out for her beliefs, but it wasn‘t properly woven into the plot.

The Monroe sections were sometimes Miller & Kazan imagining her, but I’m not sure what that was meant to be saying? I think we already know that MM was damaged by being objectified and idealised by Hollywood and also by those close to her, but that’s not really developed any further in this play.

[Dave B]

We saw it last night and would tend to agree that it was okay.

Sept 18, 2024 20:48:46 GMT lt said:

I did think the acting was generally good. Although, the actress playing Monroe had a tough job I think because she was such an iconic recognisable character, and I didn't feel the actor had really captured the spirit of Monroe.

I'd particularly agree with this, I did enjoy the cast and it felt like they (being still in previews) are settling in, even throughout the evening the cast seemed to be rising to the challenge more and more. Jasmine Blackborow does have a particularly tough job as Monroe but part of this is also the writing, her inclusion here feels unnecessary to the story being told.

Sept 19, 2024 7:41:02 GMT kate8 said:

I thought this was very average. It feels like a well-worn story: everyone knows about Kazan & Miller at the McCarthy hearings, and about Miller and Monroe. If you don’t know about those things, I’m not sure if you’d have booked for this play. It was a mildly entertaining evening, but said nothing new, so what was the point?

I have some knowledge, I've seen several Millers, I've seen many of Kazan's movies and I'm aware of the hearings etc but I felt like this needed a fairly solid flyer with more context beforehand. There is a lot here that it assumes the audience will have some knowledge of. As one example, my Miller is far from complete so I didn't know what the final play they were rehearsing was and they don't mention the title. Titles to others are shoe-horned in otherwise so that the audience might know, but then left out here. It felt a bit odd.

A really strong audience response last night, from a notably older audience in fairness, I think overall the cast make up for a chunk of the story that doesn't quite land.

[tmesis]

I’m sure there’s a good play to be written about Miller’s relationship with Kazan but this is not it. It was OK but there was way too much exposition that was clunkily shoehorned in.
Great cast, though, and quite a coup for OT to get Shaun Evans and Michael Aloni - they deserve better.

[theoracle]

Had high expectations and unfortunately this fell flat for me. Nothing remarkable although the story should have all the elements for a great drama. The actors were ok, no standouts for me unfortunately either. I’m intrigued to see how The New Real will measure up in comparison when it opens next month.

[Steve]

Saw this at yesterday's matinee and really enjoyed it, mostly because Michael Aloni's wily smily Arthur Miller feels like the real thing and I just enjoyed feeling like I was in close quarters with such a great playwright at the height of his powers for 80 minutes.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I do agree that it's likely that if we are attending this show, we likely know that Kazan named names to Senator McCarthy and Arthur Miller refused. So, in a sense, we are mostly just told what we already know.

But it is fun to see two such friends try to justify two such disparate opinions about the same issue to each other.

And the inclusion of Monroe and Kazan's wife, Mary, to suggest that their respective positions were bolstered, possibly even decisively influenced, by powerful muses, usefully colours the story.

Dreamily, the idealistic Monroe's contributions are presented more in the style of Miller's own plays, as hallucinatory fantasy memories populating his mind, whereas Kazan's wife is a more tangible force of nature, acidly against the Communists, her husband more guilt-ridden and wobbly.

Noone can truly embody the iconic Monroe, but I loved Jasmine Blackborow's principled dreamy musing, and Faye Castelow's Mary is excitingly the mouse that roared.

Shaun Evans effectively portrays the way a man wobbles towards betraying his principles when his career is on the line.

But for me, the principal joy of attending this play is how much Aloni embodies the young Miller. If it wasn't for a slight hint of Tel Aviv in his otherwise Brooklyn accent, you'd swear he really was the young Miller, in his appearance and in his twinkling intelligent expression. His mischievous glee in talking about the play, "The Crucible," the way it may or may not be about both Salem and HUAC, the way the comparison might make Salem look bad, filled me with delight.

I think of this play as a delightful hour and twenty minutes in the company of Arthur Miller lol. 3 and a half stars from me.

[lupo5]

I had high expectations for this play given the track record of the playwright and the cast, but I found the show disappointing. The play was rather expositional, and the limited space of the theatre meant there was little opportunity for the actors to move around. The cast includes two high-profile actors, which presumably helps attract audiences. Michael Aloni gave the strongest performance. Otherwise it seemed there were problems with the pacing, and the cast did not seem to have found the right rhythm. The acting was fine, but the play text, combined with the small theatre space, made this an unsatisfying experience.

[tmesis]

I go regularly to The Orange Tree and I think the 'small theatre space' is one of its strongest assets.

[cavocado]

I agree with tmesis, the intimate size of the OT is one of its strengths. I've seen a mixed bag of plays there, some brilliant, some I really didn't enjoy, but I like the auditorium and the venue as a whole.

[showgirl]

Also agree that the small, 4-sided auditorium is a big plus at the OT. The only downside is that unless you're able/careful to book one of the few aisle seats near the only 2 exits, it would be hard to leave discreetly during the performance, especially downstairs. In the old days this consideration never entered my head and I hope not to have to resort to an early departure now Tom L is in charge, but as shorter, no-interval plays seem more frequent at present, it remains a concern. Given the lacklustre reports of the current production and suggestions that the issue lies with the script rather than the direction or performances, I'm not sure I want to slog to and from Richmond for 80 minutes of something which may not be worth it.

[jr]

Just a quick post to praise customer service at the Orange Tree. I had a ticket for this coming Friday but cannot attend. They replied to my email quickly, put my ticket for resale, it sold, and credit was added to my account straight away, with no fee! Think it took less than 1 hour in total.

Many other theatres, big and small, should learn from them.

[lt]

Sept 30, 2024 10:15:43 GMT jr said:

Just a quick post to praise customer service at the Orange Tree. I had a ticket for this coming Friday but cannot attend. They replied to my email quickly, put my ticket for resale, it sold, and credit was added to my account straight away, with no fee! Think it took less than 1 hour in total.

Many other theatres, big and small, should learn from them.

That's good to hear. I returned two tickets for a sold out performance last year. They resold the tickets, but charged me an admin fee for doing so.

[jr]

Sept 30, 2024 11:09:36 GMT lt said:

Sept 30, 2024 10:15:43 GMT jr said:

Just a quick post to praise customer service at the Orange Tree. I had a ticket for this coming Friday but cannot attend. They replied to my email quickly, put my ticket for resale, it sold, and credit was added to my account straight away, with no fee! Think it took less than 1 hour in total.

Many other theatres, big and small, should learn from them.

That's good to hear. I returned two tickets for a sold out performance last year. They resold the tickets, but charged me an admin fee for doing so.

They have charged me a small fee before but not this time...

[joem]

I agree with most of what's been said on this thread. I didn't get the feeling I learnt anything new - factual or opinion-wise - about Kazan, Miller and the McCarthy era. And whilst it was reasonably entertaining and not badly written it wasn't like "wow!".

I've been trying to see Edgar's "Destiny" for decades (unsuccessfully) so I actually booked this on the strength of his name and Shaun Evans, who I loved as Endeavour, and my favourite sushi joint next door. I didn't have a clue on the subject matter. If anything Edgar appears, surprisingly, more benevolent towards Kazan than I would have expected.

[smithfield]

Agree with the consensus-OT is a terrific theatre that is doing so many things so well. The acting and direction were really impressive. I especially liked Faye Castlelow. The script itself was OK. This is well-tilled soil and I didn't think the play yielded much that was new. But it was insightful and quite balanced.

[Jan]

I shouldn’t have broken my rule of not seeing new plays - this was quite dull, parts of it like a dramatised Wikipedia entry with facts (most of which I already knew) and exposition but no drama.

If you want a drama about Miller’s relationship with Monroe it’s in his own work - After the Fall (the play referenced at the end here) and Finishing the Picture - and elements of the relationship with Kazan are of course reflected in The Crucible (explained for us here like a GCSE schools summary) and A View from the Bridge. I thought the Miller character was the best written and acted. I found Kazan wholly unconvincing and the two women characters underwritten and underdeveloped.

I suppose the name David Edgar sells (it was full) but I don’t think it would have got produced if it had been by a less well known playwright.

[bee]

I saw this last night. I'd concur with the general opinion on here that this is "well tilled soil" as smithfield put it above. But for all that I still enjoyed this, the actors were all good and the script is decent, and at 80 minutes it doesn't drag. So a worthwhile night out.

[pledge]

This improved a good deal on a second viewing; it's so densely written that it needs at least one repeat visit to unpack a lot of the lines motives and actions - there is a LOT going on under the surface I didn't take in first time. Having said that it still feels unnecessarily elliptical, and while I understand the idea behind the Marilyn "fantasy" sections I don't think they actually work, at least in this production. Having said that, there's unlikely to be another any time soon, so maybe one for the videocast when they do it...

[justfran]

I watched the play this evening via OT On Screen and quite enjoyed it. I've read and seen a few plays/films by Miller and Kazan but didn't fully know their relationship. The cast were great (I was initially interested in this because of Shaun Evans, as I'm a big fan of Endeavour). I'd probably rate it 3.5 stars. It is available until midnight tomorrow for anyone else interested. I'm impressed that a smaller venue records performances and makes them available to watch online like this, I'll be keeping an eye on what else they offer.