Jake Gyllenhaal Show Starts Tomorrow

[+ Lucky]

At $100 a seat, the Roundabout Theater Company seems sure to capitalize on having a big time movie star in one of its stage productions. That's $100 for any seat- no matter if the best one in the auditorium or the worst. Now we all know that Jake is an appealing movie star, but can he act on stage? And why should I pay $100 to sit in the back of the theater when others who paid the same are in the front?

 

The title of the play is a mouthful: "If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet.” The NY Times describes it as a dark comedy about an overweight British teenager and her troubled family. The project itself was telling: The play... is an Off Broadway ensemble work by a little-known writer rather than a famous Broadway drama by a prizewinner like Arthur Miller — the vehicles of choice for Hollywood stars these days.

 

So, that $100. Right now for the several dates I checked, the best available seats begin in Row L. I like Jake, but I don't like his current beard. Nothing about the play rings out to me "must see."

So at the moment, someone else can have my seat.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/theater/jake-gyllenhaal-makes-new-york-stage-debut.html?hpw

[+ Lucky]

Did I ever do a stupid thing. I found a date for the show that offered a seat in Row J, and with plenty of leg room, so I bought it. A while later I was reading my confirmation email and realized that the ticket I bought was a month before I will be in New York. Thankfully the theater violated its no exchanges rule and gave me one for Row L the next month. So, I ended up in row L after all ,without the extra legroom.

[OneFinger]

...So, I ended up in row L after all ,without the extra legroom.

Leg room is something very important to me. At 6'5" I have a very hard time in most Broadway theaters. But, congrats on getting them to exchange your seats. I'm very surprised they didn't tell you to go pound sand.

[+ Lucky]

They had not printed the ticket yet, so it was no sweat to let me off the hook. I think the fact that I lived in California helped as i could not easily make the date I had erroneously chosen. The show is likely to sell out anyway.

[skynyc]

Lucky, I cannot wait to have you see this so we can discuss.

 

I saw the matinee on Saturday and was almost late because the streets around theater were completely crazy, closed off by the Brazilian Day Festival.

 

The more I think about the play the more I like it's unwavering look at a pretty unpleasant topic...man's reluctance to change even it must be done to save humanity. Anna is a heavy, troubled teen, bullied in school. Her mother, Fiona is one of the teachers at the school, which just adds to the bullying, and her father is pretty distant, and consumed with his book analyzing an individual's Carbon Footprint. From buying a can of pineapple, to airline travel, George travels by bike and is consumed with attempting to save the planet, when no one else around him is willing to make the needed sacrifices. When George's ne'er-do-well (the rather perfect time to use that apt phrase) brother, Terry shows up...he pushes buttons on all fronts. Mostly though, he becomes a fascination for his niece (and there's an awkward scene reminiscent of last winter's Russian Transport), and even provides her with a condom for a forbidden date.

 

As things begin to spiral out of control, the play gets quite dark, and there's an interesting stage effect, that I want to discuss with folks. The language is very blue, with a lot of the "c" word.

 

The performances are great. I understand that playwright Nick Payne is British, and they mention a couple cities in the show, but I wish they would have made it more universal, and set it in the U.S. The accents took some getting used to, and the sound in the small theater wasn't perfect...I did miss some lines, including a rather crucial one near the end. Brian F. O'Byrne is great as always, and Annie Funke as the unhappy teen is GREAT. Of course, what is getting people into the seats is the NY Theater debut of Jake Gyllenhall, and he's very solid. His accent was the easiest to understand and the tone of his voice make him the easiest to hear. Unlike some of the film stars who take a stab at the stage, I think Mr. Gyllenhall has the goods.

 

I don't think this will be a huge hit...it's too much of a downer, but I think it's very interesting theater. I haven't seen any discounts for it, but was lucky, I saw it very inexpensively.... Because the difficulty of the access to the theater on this particular day...none of the Roundabout's subscribers were given this as their assigned performance and it was on my "day-of/audience-filler" club for $4.

 

It's part of the Roundabout's subscription, and opens September 20th and runs through Thanksgiving weekend.

[edjames]

First of all, no offense to Jake, and he has little control over it, but I HATE the Laura Pels Theater!

The tantalizing $100 ticket offer is good only for seats in the balcony or rear orchestra, and I do mean rear, i.e. last rows, mostly side orch. I had to search about 12 calenadar dates before I found an acceptable seat in row L center orch.

 

Fortunately the theater is not big so sight lines should be OK. Take advantage of their 20% discount offer and buy another ticket for Cyrano or Edwin Drood.

 

This play runs 1 hour and 40 minutes without intermission!!! So empty your bladder before you head to your seat.

 

I'm seeing it in a couple of weeks, so I'll keep you posted. And so, the season begins....

 

This from NY Post columnist Michael Riedel on his thoughts about this upcoming season:

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/who_afraid_of_the_fall_uTpomYX04BZ9lRtFkA1FjP

 

I already have a ticket for Who's Afraid..., Grace, and Edwin Drood. I'm headed to London in a couple of months and will definitely see Mathilda there and some other productions.

 

ED

[+ Lucky]

Is Jake not such a big draw after all? With every seat* in the theater priced at $100, apparently they were expecting sell-outs. But a quick look at TKTS today shows the matinee at the half-price booth. $50 to see Jake.

Interesting to note that the "half-price" booth is increasingly not a half-price booth, as discounts of 30 and 40 % become more common.

 

*Every seat in the theater is priced at $100, but the good ones have already gone to subscribers, so Ed is correct in saying that they are only for balcony or rear orchestra. That's all that's left,.

[edjames]

This is a "subscription" production. It's part of the Roundabout Theater Group, so the production is fully funded, and has a set run. Jake's popularity has little to do with it, but it doesn't hurt box office either, however if he gets lousy reviews it will deter theater goers. The majority of the seats are reserved for subscribers. The rest of us poor folk get the cast offs.

 

TKTS is ruled by the producers of the show who release tickets at various times based on availibility. It was never a guaranteed 50% off and has routinely offered tickets at "reduced price" for years. I'm sure the tickets from TDF are either back row or balcony rear.

 

ED

[operalover21]

I'm seeing it next week. All I can say is, I sure hope Jake takes off his shirt.

[edjames]

Reviews Are In...

 

The reviews are in...Jake get's a pass and everyone seems to agree his stage skills are good, the play? Well, not such good reviews, but as I said before this is limited run, fully funded so it will continue its scheduled run.

 

http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/theater/reviews/jake-gyllenhaal-in-if-there-is-i-havent-found-it-yet.html?ref=theater

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/despite_jake_stage_debut_brit_play_DWZqtHIkhzvyKynGEZ4ZoK

 

Sounds, errr, interesting?

 

ED

[edjames]

IMO...Wadda mess! Saw this show the other night and was completely baffled. Of course, the woman next to me coughed throughout and I really wanted to strangle her, but that's another tale for another thread. Jake was good, but it does take a while to get through that East Ender accent but I still didn't get the play, yes, I understand the concept and the plot but it just fails on so many levels.. The young girl who played the teenage daughter was very good but Brian O'Byrne, who was so very good in the original production of "Doubt" seemed way too subdued for a character that is so obesses with the environment. And what the f**k was with that stage front pool filled with water that the characters kept throwing furniture in? And the stage soaking by a river of water at the end seemed ridiculous, too. The audience was completely unimpressed. The guy in the aisle seat across from me was asleep throughout. If it had an intermission, I would have bolted! A polite round of applause, no standing ovations, and no curtain calls. Save yer money, unless you want to see Jake pulling and tuggng at his pants and one very long tug on his crotch. LOL 100 minutes of my life I'll never see again!!!

 

ED

[+ Lucky]

I thought Jake was great. He had such a natural ease on stage. That's something that not all film actors can do. As for the set, it is all in a pile and taken down as needed. When it is no longer needed, the parts are tossed in a river of water in front of the stage. I thought the river was as much as to protect Jake as anything, but it also provided a clever way to make set changes. I agree that the flooding of the stage was too much.