Asuncion - Review
Asuncion - Review
thismyshow
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/11
#1Asuncion - Review
Posted: 10/26/11 at 3:27am
Saw Asuncion tonight at Cherry Lane Theater. Before I give my thoughts on the piece, just want to say its a really great theater space that according to the house manager is still in major financial trouble, if you got 5 bucks in your pocket please take a second to make a donation.
Anyways.... on to Asuncion, in all honesty I was disappointed. Its not train wreck bad , I mean I have seen much much worse, but as I walked out the door at the end I felt let down, this might be because I came in with super high expectations. I really feel Eisenberg was not smart in casting himself as the lead in a play he wrote, he is too close to the material, and sometimes you need to step away at a certain point. Notice Zach Braff didn't jam himself into All New People and Zoe Kazan isnt in We Live Here.
The whole first act feels like mess around time, I didn't feel fully engaged until about 2 scenes into act 2, Eisenbergs character Edger comes off as super creepy for most of the show, Camille Mana who plays the title character feels super forced in her performance, in act one she comes off as super obnoxious and only becomes somewhat human toward the end of the play.
The only character I have no real complaint against is Justin Barthas character Vinny, He is the moral compass of the piece and yet totally deranged and his performance is spot on.
Overall its a decent distraction, some good jokes here and there and about 20 minutes of act 2 is super engaging to the point I wish the whole piece had the energy that those 20 minutes had. I feel if this had been written by Joe Nobody this would not be produced, at least not at the stage its currently in, unlike All New People & We Live Here which although had star names as writers were produced because they were also good pieces, I feel Asuncion was only produced because of the name attached to the script.
Keep in mind im writing this review at 3am so sorry if it sounds disjointed.
For anyone else who has seen the show, what did you think?
Updated On: 10/26/11 at 03:27 AM
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#2Asuncion - Review
Posted: 10/29/11 at 11:57pmA botch. Inept in plotting, dialogue, character delineation and development. No concern for consistency, credibility, or even logic. It's like a witless teen sitcom with dirty words. It could use a laughtrack, since there were no laughs prompted by anything on stage. Justin Bartha has taken on yet another rotten role.
nybound66
Swing Joined: 10/18/07
#2Asuncion - Review
Posted: 10/31/11 at 3:13pm
I absolutely loved the show, and I thought the entire ensemble was completely together and fantastic.
I rarely post here, but I find the negativity of these user reviews to be off-putting and, often times, baseless.
After reading the above reviews, I probably would have second guessed seeing the show. I think it's worth the price of a theater ticket.
Just putting my two cents out there.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#3Asuncion - Review
Posted: 11/1/11 at 12:22am
Nybound,
I'm glad you liked this show, and I understand your irritation.
And you've provided a good lesson for us all: You can't prejudge a work based on others' opinions.
It's a lesson I was painfully reminded of myself recently, after having seen a show based on the raves of posters I held in high esteem. It turned out to be an ordeal to sit through.
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