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Oleanna Reviews
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| 1 |
Fantastic! Review by: Smartypants, Dec 31, 2009 |
| Fantastic! I cannot understand the negative reviews on here. Sadly, they seem to be those who had their politically correct sensibilities violated. This production is a triumph that is not to be missed. Acting was super - make up your own mind. I am shocked by some of the reviews on here! My husband and I both loved it. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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Broadway mistake, take it Off Review by: Diract 66, Dec 2, 2009 |
| My first thought is DO NOT pay full price for these tickets. The show is over in a little over an hour. This show should never have a production in a Broadway House. It is suited for an Off Broadway theatre only. The acting was very good by the two actors and the story is also very good in stating how an innocent situation can be purposely taken the wrong way and by viewing it differently, destroy someones life. Pullman is excellent as the ... read more professor and Stiles is reflective as the student, although I never believed her character would do what she eventually does. The setting was simple, not very creative, unless you think usinf blinds as a curtain is inventive. If you have money to spend on a show...see something else first. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 3 |
Save your money. Review by: , Oct 31, 2009 |
| Save your money. I saw Oleanna today, and while I felt the acting was good, the story was innane. Bill Pullman was, I thought, quite good in the role of the professor and Julia Styles did a good job in her role as well. Unfortunately the material was absurd. Does Mr. Mamet really expect the audience to believe such nonsense? By making Styles' character so hateful, he trivializes a real problem--sexual harassment. This was the first Mamet ... read more play I have seen. I doubt I will see another. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 4 |
Not The Oleanna that I know and love! Review by: Realitycheck, Oct 23, 2009 |
| Skip it. I have seen Oleanna many times in many productions and think it is a phenomenal play. Typically -- me and whomever I saw it with talk for hours because the show is so thought provoking. This production is awful and I hope those who see it do not judge the play and writer by this production. WHO DIRECTED THS? The direction was so heavy handed that it totally distorted the whole point of the play. This play is supposed to be one ... read more long argument on a subject that has no clear answer. Well, in this production -- there is a very clear answer -- and that being the case -- takes everything great about Oleanna away from it. Let me sum it up with one observation -- would you go to see a show where a man physically abuses a woman and the audience claps and cheers him on??? |
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Don't go
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| 5 |
A Horrible BORE! Review by: kc, Oct 16, 2009 |
Don't waste your money!
I love theater and thought Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross was one of my fav's in the last years. I also enjoy Mamet's uncomfortable 'Edmund' where Stiles has small role.
This play is horribly boring & not thought provoking or relevant.
The way they change scenes is idiotic, too. You don't need to open and close the shades so we know it's a new day. |
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| 6 |
Will the real Oleanna please stand up? Review by: rtmis, Oct 15, 2009 |
I'm a little confused by some of these reviews. Did we see the same play? After I heard about it on NPR I decided I would make the trip to NY just to see it. I'm not a movie, TV, or theatre buff so I figured I would have no pre-conceived ideas. I had a difficult time buying tickets online and ended up with tickets for two nights. I am so glad I did. The play was very different each night. No... the play was the same, the acters played it ... read more slightly differently and the audience reacted totally differently. I didn't have a chance to go to the 'talk' afterwards but I can tell you that there was no audience interaction during the play the first time I saw it and a LOT of interaction during the play the second time. Not surprisingly, the first audience clapped politely and beat a path out. The second audience clapped for two curtain calls. I thought the play had a few flaws but I don't know the intentions of the author. Did the play annoy and provoke? uh, yeah. That was the idea, I thought. To provoke conversation. What about the acting? I thought the acting was phenomenal. Someone mentioned that the character of Carol was stiff? Ok, so, you're a college student who is flunking a course and you're nervous about confronting your instructor. How relaxed are you going to be? I thought Ms. Stiles was very effective, from believable tears to defiance. And Mr. Pullman, wow. All I can say is wow. Wow. I will definitely go to see him in something else, and I don't usually go to these things. The acters obviously have the range, so if you felt it was unrealistic, the fault would probably be with the way the director had them play it or the plot was not believable to you. As I said previously, I got to see them play it differently and was even more impressed that slight nuances changed the atmosphere so much.
So to answer my original question, did we see the same play? Probably not. I'll bet it is different every night. Was it boring? Absolutely not, unless you are only used to bloody action thrillers with lots of singing animals and car chase scenes and...well, you get the idea. But if you are looking for something a bit different and more thought-provoking I highly recommend it. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 7 |
Average theater - Review by: ReviewBoard, Oct 12, 2009 |
I was there Opening Night and witnessed a standing ovation that required the actors to come out twice - Must be watching a different play than the previous critics -
Does this play have faults? Sure
Should the characters have been developed a bit more? Sure
However, Mr. Pullman & Miss Stiles do a credible job and certainly don't deserve the scathing reviews that are on this board
In my opinion, of course |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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Recommended for:
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| 8 |
Skip it. Review by: hrf, Oct 10, 2009 |
| We hated it. There were 4 of us and we were all miserable throughout the entire show. The acting was weak and even somewhat annoying. I would have normally been annoyed by the fact that a show was so short, but in this case I was thrilled for it to end. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 9 |
If someone offers you a ticket-turn it down! Review by: lovable lee, Oct 4, 2009 |
| This show is an insult to women who have been sexually harrassed and to those persons in are inthe field of higher education, One of the worst plays that I have seen in years. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 10 |
Don't waste your $ Review by: box1, Oct 3, 2009 |
| This was a complete waste of time and money - Horrible! I am a regular on Broadway and I was shocked by the poor acting and the length of this drama (45 minutes). I felt as if I was robbed when I left the theather. I wasn't alone - 3/4 of the theather left for the group discussion of the play...such a disappointment. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 11 |
It's okay...I wouldn't have minded missing it Review by: jewels2u, Oct 3, 2009 |
As a Mamet fan I didnt want to miss this one.
It's 1:15 minutes long with no intermission & just two characters. The first 20-30 minutes were so boring that I almost wanted to leave. The man next to me fell asleep.
By the 2nd act I was finally at least a little interested....but barely. The characters dont seem properly developed. The story leaves more questions than answers.....& I couldnt care less really the answer ... read more to those questions. It tries hard to be controversial but the story is just too predictable. I didnt like either main character nor care about either one of them. Pullman's character is an overly verbose philosopher type. I enjoyed him at times and dont think it was his fault that I wasn't drawn in, it was the material.
By the 3rd act when Stiles character comes back to Pullman's office I was just thinking....this is so ridiculously unbelievable. Why would he let her back in his office? It did have a very good final scene & I thought Pullman and Stiles did a GREAT job with that.
There was a Q&A after the show with a woman who didn't seem to know anything about the play. That was a waste of time. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Tourists, Adults
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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