Have you experienced our production of Mourning Becomes Electra?
We want to hear from you about this theater experience. Here on the blog, we invite you to share what your heart is thinking and what your mind is feeling after witnessing the play.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Join the conversation about 'Mourning Becomes Electra'
Have you experienced our production of Mourning Becomes Electra?
We want to hear from you about this theater experience. Here on the blog, we invite you to share what your heart is thinking and what your mind is feeling after witnessing the play.
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24 comments:
Loved the show. Strong acting. Well done!
Mourning Becomes Electra is an emotionally riveting production of a classic tragedy. The company does an amazing job of evoking all of the emotions - sympathy, anger, sorrow, joy - that the complex relationships in the play demand. The acting was superb, as was the script and directing.
It was long and I have bad back, but I found it to be enjoyable. When You are in egregious pain and still can enjoy a play, the play is good.
We love the new seating arrangement- although the double A (AA) seats are back breaking enough and difficult to sit in for a play of this length.
The play was sensational- dialogue and acting were riveting as we were mesmerized along with the rest of the audience, Bravo, brava to an excellent cast, and the exuberant new Remy manager. O'Neill doesn't laugh much, does he? and the actors did him proud. A real treat.
We were very disappointed in the show. We've seen the three main actors in other productions where they were wonderful. This show just did not draw us in. It was wooden and not believable.
Sorry, but you asked.
I'm not a big fan of Eugene O'Neill, but I loved this show. It was so relevant for today, showing the devastation of family dysfunction aggravated by post-traumatic stress brought on by the war. The actors did a great job with O'Neill's slow, plodding dialogue, moving the action forward full speed ahead. From moment to moment I found myself on edge waiting for the next disaster to assault this poor family-- and I was never disappointed!
We did not find Electra to be all that electric. The script, we felt, was quite uneven. Some strong portions but a lot of things that seemed unconvincing. Condensing the original was a good idea timewise, but the result often seemed superficial. We never understood, for example, why Christine hated Ezra so much. Plus, the mother-son/father-daughter stuff was formulaic. The four main roles were well performed even though Annabel had the night off when we attended. And Nick did a nice job as the captain, but the rest of the cast didn't was bland, perhaps because the condensation minimized their characters. Also, we didn't think the set added much to the production.
PART OF LAVINIA WAS MISCAST. SHE WAS EXCELLENT IN THE GOAT, EARNEST, LIAISONS. BUT NOT SEXY ENOUGH HERE TO MAKE HER ATTRACTION FOR ALL THE MALES PLAUSIBLE TO ME.
I thought this was the worst production I've seen at Bumppo. The acting was wooden and and at times over the top and farce-like. We (there were four of us) left at the first intermission.
I found myself quite engaged as the cast captured two generations of duplicity. The family members constantly lied, especially to each other and, most devastatingly, to themselves.
I saw the play twice and the second time I focused in particular on the children, trying to decide who they drew most from, mom or dad.
Both nights ended the way a night at the theatre should, with conversations about the story, the production, and the performance.
My parents who are also subscribers at Remy Bumppo thought Mourning Becomes Electra was absolutely incredible - one of the most profound theatre experiences that they can remember. My father, who frequently has a little nap during a show, was at the edge of his seat, and he insisted that they stay for the post-show talk to discuss its multiple meanings.
I can't wait to see it! Our tickets are not until the end of the run.
I was riveted by "Mourning Becomes Electra"! It was electifying, and the time flew by. I perhaps had built a little barrier regarding the lenghth, but that was crazy as great theater is great theater and length was not a factor at all. It was like three one-act plays with breaks in between. Moved right along.
The production, the reconfigured space, and the great story and acting captivated me. An exciting evening!
I think one of the problems some people have with this show is the style of acting that is inherent to any O'Neill work. The characters do tend to seem wooden, the language is stilted -- but that's how the author intended them to be. It takes getting used to, but when you do, it makes the story all the more emotional, at least in my experience.
I was very moved by the scene with Ezra and Christine when he was trying to win her back. David Darlow and Annabel Armour were just wonderful in this scene. It was my MOST favorite part of the play!
Here's some comments from Goldstar attendees.
Overall show rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
"Wonderful theater space and AWESOME acting!!! An engrossing play about relationships!!! It is a longer play, but well worth your time!!! Don't miss this gem!!!" - Kath via Goldstar
"Really well done. The acting was so good that's all that was needed in this nearly bare set production." - MollyAC via Goldstar
"Great acting - Annabel Armour is amazing!" - Nancy H. via Goldstar
anthiThis was a dense, high risk production. Remy Bumppo brought it off. Congratulations.
Bravo to O'Neil and the devoted actors and directors of Remy Bumppo. We see insights into an ancient Greek drama but also see insights into the drama of contemporary life. Thank you for a superb theater experience.
I was hoping you'd ask! I am a steadfast fan of Remmy Bumppo but I thought this was one of the worst productions I've ever seen anywhere. Even Annabelle Armor, who I think is an exceptionally talented actor, riveting in The Goat and many other plays, seemed wooden. The entire production left me extremely dissatisfied and makes me very worried about what might happen next at RB. Please restore it to its former brilliance for the rest of the season!
Sadly we felt the presentation was deeply flawed; chosen cuts from the 5+ hour original (which is - of course - too long and even boring)took away from some of the underlying symbolism; lines were muffed/dropped a number of times; the staging wasn't helpful (for instance the "portrait" didn't "connect" as something of dread. This was not up to standards we've expected of Remy Bumpo. Sorry, the best we can say is "nice try" but you missed.
Ms. Armour's and Mr. Darlow's performances were outstanding! We felt that the other actors were weak. The production was a good one.
I hate to say this, but we thought this was the worst production we have ever seen done by Remy Bumppo. This is a Company that we have found to be consistently exellent, with wonderful actors and interesting productions. But this production just dragged on, and on, and on. We were disappointed in the acting - couldn't understand how actors we love could be so flat and uninteresting. We found the costumes to be awful.. In fact, we could not find one thing that we liked about this production. To loyal fans of Remy Bumppo, this was such a disappointment.
Annabel Armour was amazing. Her performance was riveting. The show overall was visually stunning and the three acts flew by. O'Neill is a tough nut to crack, but this cast found a way to expose the core.
We all thoroughly enjoyed Electra (there were 3 of us). The acting was superb, which is what we have come to expect from the Remy Bumppo cast, and they made their characters come alive. We were concerned when we heard how long it was, but the time went so quickly it did not seem like 3 1/2 hours.
I thought David Darlow's scene where his character died was well-played and fully realized. Unlike too much of the rest of the play, Darlow's naturalistic style was moving, the essence of Chicago acting.
Far too much of the play was static and stilted. The nearly declamatory lines appeared directed as to be statue-like: arms at sides, torso rigid, few facial expressions. I seriously wondered if I was missing some deep "concept" basis meant to approximate ancient Greek stone works. But no.
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