THE CHILDREN Previews
THE CHILDREN Previews
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#1THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/25/17 at 10:10pm
Previews for the Royal Court Theatre production of Lucy Kirkwood's new play, The Children, begin in just a few days (Tuesday, November 28, 2017) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Starring Francesca Annis, Ron Cook, and Deborah Findlay, The Children is set to open officially on Tuesday, December 12 for a limited run currently through February 4, 2018.
Who's going?!
JustAnotherNewYorker
Broadway Star Joined: 12/20/16
#3THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/26/17 at 7:26am
I am going on Saturday.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#4THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 8:22pm
Bump! First preview happening now.
Updated On: 11/28/17 at 08:22 PM
#5THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 9:46pm
I'm home after seeing the first preview and while I wasn't completely gung ho about the play I did find enough to admire. The premise is weird/unique; definitely not your typical Broadway fare.
It was refreshing to see a play that only has characters of a certain age, dealing with aging-related issues. Material like this may be better suited for an intimate off-Broadway venue or an indie film, but MTC took a risk and gave it some Broadway exposure.
The acting is quite strong. The characters aren't exactly lovable, but they are carefully drawn. The play runs 1:50 with no intermission. There's little plot, so to even discuss the premise is to give away what happens for the first 45 minutes or so.
This isn't the type of show you can recommend to everyone. For each good response you read here, I bet an angry, negative one will follow.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Alfie6
Stand-by Joined: 3/30/15
#6THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 10:20pm
I was at the first preview tonight and bored for most of the play in which very little plot happens, bascially there are three older characters sitting around a table in the kitchen for two hours. That would not be a problem if these characters were especially interesting/likable/fascinating but alas they are neither of those things. The characters are mainly discussing getting older and whether their lives had any meaning. I was sitting in the mezzanine and there were about 5 people who just got up and walked out during the show. I can't say it is the worst thing I have seen in recent memory but I will probably forget all about it in a month.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#7THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 11:05pm
Ghastly.
Two interminably boring hours --- no intermission, to boot --- of dramatic inertia, with some grotesque, malodorous chatter thrown in for bad measure, eg. dialogue about what one of the characters expelled in the downstairs toilet.
Ghastly.
#8THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 11:12pm
After Eight said: "dialogueabout whatone ofthe characters expelledin the downstairs toilet."
Don't tease us like that. What did they expel?!?
Theater3232
Featured Actor Joined: 10/16/10
#9THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 11:15pm
The play runs 1 hour 57 minutes with no intermission and feels like twice that. Row after row after row of people, all had their eyes closed. It was hard to find one person with their eyes open. If they trimmed it down to 60-70 minutes, perhaps it could be tolerable. These people just talk and talk and talk, at a very slow catatonic pace. There's a lively dance for a few minutes towards the end that wakes up the audience, and one person slaps someone else. But other than that, it's a huge snoozer. Why wouldn't MTC tell this playwright to develop her craft in playwright school, rather than jump to Broadway? We all have to start somewhere, and perhaps this playwright should go back to off-off-Broadway. Another audience member was bragging about how she got her cheap tickets on Todaytix.
Updated On: 11/28/17 at 11:15 PM#10THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 11:17pm
Theater3232 said: "Row after row after row of people, all had their eyes closed. It was hard to find one person with their eyes open."
Three posters above you all seemingly had their eyes open the whole time.
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#11THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/28/17 at 11:17pm
Disappointing that MTC has another clunker at the Friedman now, especially right after their thrilling 2016-17 season.
#12THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/29/17 at 9:43am
Theater3232 said: Why wouldn't MTC tell this playwright to develop her craft in playwright school, rather than jump to Broadway? We all have to start somewhere, and perhaps this playwright should go back to off-off-Broadway.
I think this is a bit unfair (and inaccurate). Kirkwood won an Olivier for best play (Chimerica in 2013) and has been produced quite a bit in her native UK. The Children ran at the Royal Court in 2016 with this cast/production and received quite strong reviews; here's the favorable NY Times review https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/theater/review-the-children-in-london-offers-hints-of-an-apocalypse.html
The play is not inept. It's a very deliberate play and not one that appears to have fallen short of the author's goals. That doesn't mean anyone has to like it, of course, but without knowing Kirkwood personally, it seems safe to assume that the final product is the play she set out to write.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Matt Rogers
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/04
#13THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/29/17 at 6:27pm
Theater3232 said: "The play runs 1 hour 57 minutes with no intermission and feels like twice that. Row after row after row of people, all had their eyes closed. It was hard to find one person with their eyes open. If they trimmed it down to 60-70 minutes, perhaps it could be tolerable. These people just talk and talk and talk, at a very slow catatonic pace. There's a lively dance for a few minutes towards the end that wakes up the audience, and one person slaps someone else. But other than that, it's a huge snoozer. Why wouldn't MTC tell this playwright to develop her craft in playwright school, rather than jump to Broadway? We all have to start somewhere, and perhaps this playwright should go back to off-off-Broadway. Another audience member was bragging about how she got her cheap tickets on Todaytix."
This sounds awful and at 2 hours, no intermission of sitting around a table, I'm out, but the playwright is not just someone MTC plucked off the street. She won the Olivier Award for this. So there must be something good about it.
dave1606
Broadway Star Joined: 12/8/07
#14THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/29/17 at 10:38pm
I saw this tonight and have to say I'm very surprised at all of the negative reviews on here. It is a bit too long (tonight's show ran exactly 2 hours), but I found it to quite funny and gripping with three excellent performances.
I saw Francesca Annis onstage in the West End in 2008 and loved her so I was thrilled at the chance to see her onstage again. She is wonderful here and gives the strongest performance out of the three. She delivers so brilliantly dry line readings and has some of the best humor in the piece.
I agree with Whizzer the premise is unique but I thought it was handled quite well. It's an engaging an absorbing story and while the plot is a bit thin (and occasionally parts I found a bit repetitive), the three actors are all so excellent I don't think it matters.
I think the dialogue is quite sharp and far more than just three people sitting around a table for two hours. There is definitely a fully formed play here and the themes that it explores are quite engaging.
It's my favorite play of the Broadway fall season.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#15THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:23pm
Matt Rogers wrote: "She won the Olivier Award for this. So there must be something good about it."
Not necessarily. It just shows us, unfortunately, that award givers in the UK can be just as sorry as those over here.
DeepVSexyWitch2
Chorus Member Joined: 7/31/15
#16THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/30/17 at 11:15pm
I saw this tonight. I quite enjoyed myself. The premise was interesting, the acting was strong, and it didn't cut itself short. It's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea but it's a small little rock of a play.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#17THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 11/30/17 at 11:49pm
DeepVSexyWitch2 wrote: "it's a small little rock of a play."
And equally inanimate.
One thing I've noticed through the years that is the closest thing to a sure-thing you'll ever find: whenever you read comments such as, "it's definitely not for everyone," "I can understand why some people won't like it," or "it won't be everyone's cup of tea," you know then and there that the show in question is a real stinker. This play bears that out once again.
#18THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/2/17 at 8:19pm
I went into this one VERY wary (almost 2 hours with no intermission?!), however, I found this to be an exceptionally well crafted play. The one hour and fifty minute run time absolutely flew by. I was throughly engaged and intrigued the entire time. I won’t write anymore, because to do so would spoil the play, but I definitely enjoyed this.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
nmlhats
Stand-by Joined: 5/26/14
#19THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/2/17 at 11:20pm
I enjoy a good "thinker" play so I hope to enjoy it when I see it in Jan. But it sounds like I should try to remember to NOT have anything to drink with my lunch before the show!
#20THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/11/17 at 12:01am
Damn did I see this show at Mtc tonight?
A show that by all accounts should have been at BAM or St. Anne's. What a risk, and one that pays off.
How refreshing it is to see a play with such depth and breath that is so perfectly performed.
If you are in the under 30 program you must must must see this play. These ideas and conflicts are coming right down the pipeline.
The people who don't enjoy this play or at the very least don't see it's merits. *Cough After8 Cough* are exactly who this play wants to piss off and exactly who we are up against.
#Resist
#21THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/11/17 at 10:00am
I really enjoyed this but warning: it's very slow moving. It's extremely well acted, but essentially just a 2 hour conversation in real time with some difficult decisions having to be made by 2 of the characters. I really felt like a fly on the wall watching private moments play out.
I did not enjoy the set. I thought something more would happen with it. Why was it tilted?
#22THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/11/17 at 10:01am
I thought this was a better play than Junk, The Parisian Woman, and Meteor Shower, and the cast is terrific but it is still too talky and dull. The characters weren't interesting enough, nor was the situation riveting enough to really hold my attention. I thought it was about 20-30 minutes too long.
But kudos to MTC for putting this on Broadway. This seems like something they'd stick in their City Center space. It's nice they have an original work in the Friedman.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#23THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/12/17 at 2:30pmI haven’t seen this yet - though I’m looking forward to it - but I always find it interesting when people desire more risks be taken on Broadway, and then when someone does (especially a stodgy institution like MTC can be), there’s so many cries of “should’ve been off-Broadway or at St. Ann’s.” Which is it? Should Broadway stay plainly commercial and relegate all the more risk-taking work to the fringes? I’m genuinely asking.
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#24THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 12/12/17 at 5:39pm
Lavieboheme3090 wrote:
"The people who don't enjoy this play or at the very least don't see it's merits. *Cough After8 Cough* are exactly who this play wants to piss off and exactly who we are up against."
"ITS merits." Alas, the greater problem is that there are no merits to see. And the ones who are up against it are the poor members of the audience who have to suffer through this sludge.
#25THE CHILDREN Previews
Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:10am
I saw it today. Actually I was more engrossed in the first part where it is more grounded than the second part when the action takes off after the reveal. It is an interesting portrayal of people being forced to think the unthinkable by their situation, a discussion whose seriously, IMO, is unfortunately detracted by the not so well handled reveal.
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