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Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Hand to God and Spring Awakening | |
| Posted by: | Teacher64 04:16 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| I saw both of these shows this past weekend. First I saw HAND TO GOD, which I may have come in with a preconceived notion that this was going to be a hilarious, laugh out loud comedy. It was NOT. It was very dark, somber, surprisingly violent, preachy and terribly unfunny. Perhaps if there had been more of a progression of the puppet taking over instead of the puppet already being in charge in the first scene it would have been more interesting and the main character would have been more sympathetic. As it was, I did not laugh all that much, did not really buy into anything that was happening, did not like the preachy "message" at the end, and found the whole thing to be unpleasant. No wonder the theater was only half full. (Thanks to the nice lady at the box office who changed our seats from front row mezzanine to fifth row orchestra. That was a pleasant surprise.) SPRING AWAKENING was completely and utterly amazing. The acting, singing and most of the staging was simply top notch. I did have a few issues with having actors sitting on the edge of the stage on some kind of trunk, blocking the view of everything that was going on upstage. That was just sloppy staging. All the people in front of me were stretching their necks trying to see what was going on behind this actor who was sitting on a trunk downstage of the main action. It didn't last too long, but it lasted longer than it should have (it really should not have happened at all). Otherwise, this is an amazing production and I hope I can see it again before it closes. | |
| reply to this message | |
| re: Hand to God and Spring Awakening | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 09:28 am EST 12/24/15 |
| In reply to: | Hand to God and Spring Awakening - Teacher64 04:16 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| I thought Hand to God was hysterical. | |
| reply to this message | |
| You are just too wholesome for hand to god | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:27 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| In reply to: | Hand to God and Spring Awakening - Teacher64 04:16 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| I found it hilarious with lots of great one liners. And the opening second act set is an eye full. And the ending of play is cringe worthy--which if I didn't care for the characters I wouldn't have cringed. I wish I could see it again. I'm hoping that Berkeley rep does it next season, they could do the play justice in regional production. I still laugh at the one joke--you are so far in the closet you are in narnia. What a brilliant joke. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god | |
| Posted by: | NeoAdamite 05:08 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| In reply to: | You are just too wholesome for hand to god - dramedy 04:27 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| And the ending of play is cringe worthy--which if I didn't care for the characters I wouldn't have cringed. I'm not sure if you mean "I cared for the characters, so the ending made me cringe...because it was badly written" or "...because what it said about the characters was piercing." (I assume you're talking about the last two minutes, not the scene preceding.) I like the play very much. Bringing it to a big house was a gamble worth taking. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god | |
| Posted by: | BruceinIthaca 06:22 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god - NeoAdamite 05:08 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| I loved it (and agree about the top of Act II--"Jesus listens to Slayer" still cracks me up), and thought it beautifully acted. Not for everyone--but then, what is? I'm sure there are things Teacher64 LOVES that I would detest. I feel quite sure of that, in fact. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 05:20 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god - NeoAdamite 05:08 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| Not badly written, but what happened to the characters made me cringe. They should have closed in August and either did a few tour stops before London or open in fall in London, but maybe there weren't any theaters available. I assume it has lost a lot of money staying open this fall with such low grosses. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god | |
| Posted by: | Torjohnson 01:59 am EST 12/24/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You are just too wholesome for hand to god - dramedy 05:20 pm EST 12/23/15 |
| Maybe the o.p. just didn't like the show...doesnt make them wholesome. It's an opinion. I love Hand to God. I was so pleased to see it in July. It is a brilliant show. I have known people who didn't like it. I did. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
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